Richard Wagner conceived Der fliegende Holländer in 1838, when he became acquainted with a short story by Heinrich Heine. He was then inspired by his own impressions and observations of the crew of a ship sailing from East Prussia to London: the ship was caught in an unprecedented storm and the wind drove the ship against the Scandinavian shore near a fishing village.

Together with production designer Irina Syd, we moved the opera to a tiny airport near the Norwegian fishing town of Rørvik. Stormy weather forces the plane of a mysterious nuclear submarine captain to land. His tour of duty on it lasts seven years, and only once every seven years does the Dutchman have the opportunity to spend a short vacation on land. Charmed and in love with a stranger, the daughter of the airport director tries to go against fate, however, this love story ends tragically.