Wagner's 'shaggy dog' story

Composers Datebook

Synopsis

On today’s date in 1843, Richard Wagner’s opera The Flying Dutchman had its premiere performance in Dresden. The opera’s sea-swept overture was supposedly inspired by a stormy voyage Wagner and his wife Minna took from Riga to Paris, their journey interrupted by an emergency stop in a Norwegian fjord due to rough weather, as well as a longer layover in London.

As usual, Wagner was fleeing creditors, and made the cramped voyage — as usual — in extravagant style, namely in the company of a huge Newfoundland dog he named Robber. Imagine, if you will, being cheek-by-jowl with a wet, seasick Newfie. That North Sea crossing must have seemed as interminable as the Flying Dutchman’s eternal wanderings!

Negotiating London also proved a challenge, as Wagner recounted in his memoirs:

“The dog whisked round every corner and dragged us every which way. So the three of us sought refuge in a cab, which took us to the Horseshoe Tavern, a sailor’s pub recommended to us by our captain ... the narrow London cabs were meant to carry two people facing each other, so we had to lay Robber across our laps, his head through one window and his tail through the other...”

Music Played in Today's Program

Richard Wagner (1813-1883): The Flying Dutchman Overture; Berlin State Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, conductor; Teldec 88063