Because the logistical and artistic challenges of producing Wagnerian operas can be daunting, it is not very often that one gets staged by regional companies. But Opera Pacific rose to the challenge and gave Southern California audiences a visually and musically exciting taste of Richard Wagner's early magnificence. The production was a technological feat, rich in pyrotechnics and lighting effects, heavy on symbolism, and executed by a competent cast.

The drama centers on the legend of the Flying Dutchman, condemned by Satan to roam the harsh seas until judgment day - which never comes. The Dutchman's only relief is a one-day shore pass taken every 7 years. It is a day he devotes to the business of seeking redemption which, as revealed to him by an angel is, in typically Wagnerian fashion, personified by a woman who will love him with total, to-the-death commitment.

The Flying Dutchman is Wagner's first "mature" opera and its music with its evocative leitmotifs is rich, sweeping, and powerful. It also contains passages of stirring romantic melodies - which perhaps account for its being the most accessible of Wagner's operas. And if audience reaction is a guide, it can reasonably be concluded that accessibility is enhanced when technology is put in the service of Wagner's music.