ourse, an old one. The idea of
the world-wearied wanderer driven from shore to shore in the vain search
for peace and rest dates from Homer. Heine was the first to introduce
the motive of the sinner's redemption through the love of a faithful
woman, which was still further elaborated by Wagner, and really forms
the basis of his drama. The opera opens in storm and tempest. The ship
of Daland, a Norwegian mariner, has just cast anchor at a wild and
rugged spot upon the coast not far from his own home, where his daughter
Senta is awaiting him. He can do nothing but wait for fair weather, and
goes below, leaving his steersman to keep watch. The lad drops asleep,
singing of his home, and through the darkness the gloomy vessel of the
Dutchman is seen approaching with its blood-red sails. The Dutchman
anchors his ship close to the Norwegian barque, and steps ashore. Seven
years have passed since he last set foot upon earth, and he comes once
more in search of a true woman who will sacrifice herself for his
salvation, for this alone can free him from the curse under which he
suffers. But hope of mortal aid is dead within his breast. In wild and
broken accents he tells of his passionate longing for death, and calls
upon the Judgment Day to put an end to his pilgrimage. 'Annihilation be
my lot,' he cries in his madness, and from the depths of the black
vessel the weird crew echoes his despairing cry. Daland issues from his
own vessel and gives the stranger a hearty greeting. The name of Senta
arrests the Dutchman's attention, and after a short colloquy and a
glimpse of the untold wealth which crams the coffers of the Dutchman,
the old miser consents to give his daughter to the stranger. The wind
meanwhile has shifted, and the two captains hasten their departure for
the port.

In the second act we are at Daland's house. Mary, the old housekeeper,
and a bevy of chattering girls are spinning by the fireside, while
Senta, lost in gloomy reverie, sits apart gazing at a mysterious picture
on the wall, the portrait of a pale man clad in black, the hero of the
mysterious legend of the Flying Dutchman. The girls rally Senta upon her
abstraction, and as a reply to their idle prattle she sings them the
ballad of the doomed mariner. Throughout the song her enthusiasm has
been waxing, and at its close, like one inspired, she cries aloud that
she will be the woman to save him, that through her the accursed wretch
shall find eternal peace. Erik