The opera in three acts "The Flying Dutchman" was first performed in Dresden on 2 January 1843. The intertwined nature of literature and music, the perfect fusion of human voice and orchestra, the intertwined conflicts of love and fate, the profound philosophical propositions of sacrifice and salvation, and the sombre and psychedelic musical colours mixed with occasional moments of lightness and elegance, make it not only an operatic masterpiece in a period when Wagner was coming of age, but also the first step towards his ideal of "musical theatre". The first step towards the ideal of "musical theatre". As the shortest opera in Wagner's oeuvre, The Flying Dutchman is also one of the most accessible, understandable and popular Wagnerian operas, with the whistling of the sea, the windmills, the spinning of the spinning wheel ...... All the stories flow and are told in the music.

In 2018, the opera "The Flying Dutchman", jointly produced and performed by the Shanghai Opera House and the German Elft Theatre, was presented at the Elft Theatre and the Shanghai Grand Theatre under the baton of Xu Zhong, the renowned conductor, pianist and director of the Shanghai Opera House. In May 2023, after an absence of five years, the opera's magnificent "The Flying Dutchman" will return to the Shanghai Opera House, with its cinematic and German industrial choreography and the exquisite performances of the Chinese and German artists. After a five-year absence, the opera ship will land again. Under the baton of "Captain" Xu Zhong, the Dutchman will once again be "recalled" to recreate the magnificent production for its fans.