Der Fliegende Holländer

Sometimes legendary performers exceed their reputations to produce an operatic event for the ages. This was one of those afternoons when it all came together. The blazing intensity starts with conductor Fritz Reiner and the Met orchestra in the famous overture. And with two of the greatest singing actors of the 20th century—Hans Hotter and Astrid Varnay—as the tormented Flying Dutchman and Senta, the passionate young woman determined to save him from his fate, the drama just continues to escalate.