The Wagner Festival opened last summer with a gripping new production of Der fliegende Holländer. Dmitri Tcherniakov framed his Bayreuth directorial debut as a study of alienation, revenge and redemption. It was also a Bayreuth debut for conductor Oksana Lyniv - never before has a woman stood at the festival podium in its 145-year history - and likewise for Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian, who triumphed in the role of Senta. The production's extraordinary cast also included John Lundgren (Der Holländer), Georg Zeppenfeld (Daland), Eric Cutler (Erik) and Marina Prudenskaya (Maria). Tcherniakov understands the work in a contemporary way. He explores the psychology of interdependence in a closed community, projecting the drama of Wagner's romantic opera into a present of fractured relationships, urban violence and barren architecture. The renowned Russian director and set designer, "right up there with the front runners" (Opera News), moves the opera's action from its proper setting on the coast to the soullessness of a modern city. Here the Dutchman was born and as a child witnessed his mother take her own life. As the overture sounds, his recurring dream of trauma is silently played out on stage. The Dutchman - doomed to eternal wanderings unless a woman's undying fidelity redeems him - returns home after a long absence and proposes marriage to Senta, the daughter of Daland, whose callousness once drove the Dutchman's mother to suicide. Tcherniakov's reading of the material, a tug-of-war between the main characters, leads inevitably to the destruction of the city and the death of the hero. The premiere audience was enraptured and gave the performance thunderous applause. Every artist had been convincing. The Financial Times praised Georg Zeppenfeld as a Daland "whose lips you hang on to"; "effortless, lyrical and hauntingly passionate" was Eric Cutler as Erik, declared Seen and Heard International; while John Lundgren came across as an "enigmatic, icy and unsettling Dutchman," according to ConcertoNet. In particular, Asmik Grigorian's brilliant performance received a standing ovation from the Bayreuth audience, "one of the best operatic performances I have ever seen," wrote Seen and Heard International, concluding that the soprano "doesn't just sing Senta, she becomes her!" Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv, formerly chief conductor of the Odessa Opera and the Graz Opera, imbues Wagner's score with her own unique urgency and dynamism. Her interpretation was praised by the New York Times for her "keen eye for detail and tempo," and her Holländer was "taut and animated," according to the Frankfurter Rundschau. "The Flying Dutchman in particular is not an easy opera," Lyniv says. "It is one of the heaviest Wagner operas, although it is also the shortest. There's tension in every moment, a lot of variety, all in one go, two and a half hours, you really need experience and talent and patience and passion at the same time." Both Lyniv and Tcherniakov have spoken publicly about the Russian invasion of Ukraine in recent weeks. Tcherniakov is one of many artists around the world who have written an open letter calling for an immediate end to this "nefarious war," while also urging fair treatment for all Russians and Belarusians who are not affiliated with the Putin regime. Lyniv, whose family still lives in Ukraine, has called on Russian artists to condemn the invasion and penned an open letter to Putin herself. "Conducting gives me the strength to live," she wrote. "And to fight - for peace and democracy. Music has become my weapon. And it is a powerful weapon."