After the success of his third completed opera 'Rienzi', Wagner turned to putting a topic to music which he had come across in Heinrich Heine's 'Schnabelewopski' fragment a few years before. 'The Flying Dutchman' for the first time implemented a topic that determined the character of Wagner's compositions until his last music drama 'Parsifal': the idea of salvation. 'The Flying Dutchman' is at the same time the composer's first step from the number opera toward the through-composed music drama.Apart from the libretto, this edition contains introductory commentaries of Kurt Pahlen who also adds information on the compositional structure and context to the musical as well as external and internal dramatic action of the opera. A short synopsis and a brief outline of the genesis bring the work into relation with the composer's entire oeuvre and life, thus offering a comprehensive, richly illustrated introduction.