Baritone Byron Jackson talks about an innovative new production of Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman.

A new production of Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman is aiming to break down barriers and increase accessibility to opera.

The show, which plays The Bradshaw Hall at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire this month, is an ethnically led production directed by the city’s 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony artistic director, Iqbal Khan. 

Featuring a professional cast in the lead roles and a community chorus of more than 30 singers, the production aims to encourage people from all backgrounds to give opera a try.
In partnership with the Conservatoire, the production is presented by Persona Arts, a charitable incorporated organisation which aims to bring different communities together to perform and watch high-quality opera, classical music and choral productions.

The story tells the tale of the ghost ship of the Flying Dutchman, doomed to sail the high seas until the true love of another can break the dreaded curse. Premiered in 1843, it is one of Wagner’s most popular works.

This particular version of the opera is a labour of love for Persona Arts’ artistic director, Byron Jackson. The Birmingham baritone has not only developed the project but will also take on the role of the ill-fated Dutchman.

“The whole essence of what I’m trying to do with this production is to bring in new audiences to opera,” explains Byron, who has sung with companies across the globe, including English National Opera, Opera North and the Netherlands-based De Nationale Opera.

“The Flying Dutchman is a piece that I always wanted to do. I did the cover for the role of the Dutchman for Longborough Festival Opera in 2018, and although I didn’t perform it, the experience really gave me insight in terms of singing Wagner.

“I think Wagner and his works are often perceived as one of the elitist artforms in the opera canon, particularly in this country, but this has been because of how Wagner has been treated. His work is seen as being really intellectualised, but I believe opera should reach out to the heart, to everyone, no matter what their background.”

And so the new production, which has been supported by Arts Council funding, is featuring singers from diverse areas of Birmingham and the West Midlands, some of whom have been involved in workshops since 2022.

“It’s a huge undertaking because we are using a predominantly volunteer community chorus,” says Byron.

“But it is about bringing people together to experience something that is outside of the preciousness of a country-house opera or one of the grand opera companies. 

“It’s about bringing the community to be part of the creative process in a relaxed, informal way where people can actually develop their craft.”

Byron has worked with chorus director Colin Baines and a host of choirs, including Birmingham Choral Union, Junior Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Choir and Handsworth’s St Mary’s Church Choir. Rehearsals have taken place in different localities, including Handsworth, Small Heath and Moseley. 

And this all aims to open up opera as an artform across these communities.

“What I want to see changing, and not just in Birmingham, is different audiences coming to enjoy opera. It has to move and evolve from audiences who are white, middle to upper class, generally middle-aged to the elderly, experiencing and controlling and moving the narrative forward.

“We need to get away from this tokenism of performance that ‘we’ve got a great family of ethnicity who are fantastic musicians’ but not actually supporting diverse families of musicians within our community to get to a higher level.”

And Byron, who trained at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, knows only too well how alien classical music can be to a child of Jamaican heritage growing up in the inner city. 

“I was brought up by my grandmother, and it was hard. We lived on the breadline, and I didn’t have the opportunity for music lessons and paid activities. [What was important] was the support of others - particularly my first music and choir teacher, Bron Salway, who taught at my local primary school, Heath Mount. She passed away less than two years ago, so this production is dedicated to her memory because she was always supportive and knew the struggles I had to face. 

“I should also give credit to Amanda Doyle, who was my secondary school music & drama teacher. A great teacher really can be transformative.”

Byron was keen to involve Iqbal Khan in the Flying Dutchman project. They had first met when they worked together on Birmingham Opera Company’s Otello in 2009.

“He was so enthusiastic; he has had a massive and long-time yearning to stage The Flying Dutchman. This is the first piece where he has directed me in a major role, but I had seen some of his work and been involved in his projects. We’re both Brummies, and we’re both from really strong and diverse communities, him growing up in Small Heath and me being Balsall Heath born and bred. You can’t get more diverse and home-grown than that to produce this work at this level. We are inbuilt in the city. This is our fabric; we are part of the tapestry of the city.”

The production is sung in German with surtitles in English.

“The original languages are what the composers have set the text to, and I feel it sings better in German. And there’s something rewarding and educational in singing something in its original language. 

“I wanted to challenge the narrative that you need to sing in English or Latin if you are a community chorus. In terms of this production, what sets us apart from other opera companies that have used community volunteer participants, both regionally and nationally, is that we’re doing it in German.”

The professional cast features singers from across the Commonwealth, including Anando Mukerjee, Mari Wyn Williams, Laura Woods, Christian Joel and Gerrit Paul Groen. The production will be performed with Central England Camerata, conducted by Jack Ridley. 

The performance also features a new commission, related to Wagner’s classic, by Birmingham composer Bobbie-Jane Gardner which will feature a community children’s choir.

Byron says the performances will be special.

“Audiences can expect something unique. The Flying Dutchman has a lot of elements which I think will reach out to all sections of the community. It has a very relatable story, it has great music for the chorus and the principals, and its length of two hours and 15 minutes is very amenable.

“And then, as well as the beauty of music, there’s the enjoyability of our diverse community chorus. What audiences will see is a much truer representation of our communities on stage than they would usually see in the classical sector.

“It’s about celebrating communities, no matter what your background is. It’s about the fact that you’ve got people from our local communities who are wanting to produce and perform in work which will hopefully resonate with you and some aspect of your everyday life.”

The Flying Dutchman shows at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Bradshaw Hall from Sunday 7 to Saturday 13 July.

by Diane Parkes