the Judgment Day to put an end to his pilgrimage.  ’Annihilation be my lot,’ he cries in his madness, and from the depths of the black vessel the weird crew echoes his despairing cry.  Daland issues from his own vessel and gives the stranger a hearty greeting.  The name of Senta arrests the Dutchman’s attention, and after a short colloquy and a glimpse of the untold wealth which crams the coffers of the Dutchman, the old miser consents to give his daughter to the stranger.  The wind meanwhile has shifted, and the two captains hasten their departure for the port.

In the second act we are at Daland’s house.  Mary, the old housekeeper, and a bevy of chattering girls are spinning by the fireside, while Senta, lost in gloomy reverie, sits apart gazing at a mysterious picture on the wall, the portrait of a pale man clad in black, the hero of the mysterious legend of the Flying Dutchman.  The girls rally Senta upon her abstraction, and as a reply to their idle prattle she sings them the ballad of the doomed mariner.  Throughout the song her enthusiasm has been waxing, and at its close, like one inspired, she cries aloud that she will be the woman to save him, that through her the accursed wretch shall find eternal peace.  Erik, her betrothed lover, who enters to announce the approach of Daland, hears her wild words, and in vain reminds her of vows and promises made long ago.  When Daland brings the Dutchman in, and Senta sees before her the hero of her romance, the living embodiment of the mysterious picture, she gazes spell-bound at the weird stranger, and seems scarcely to hear her father’s hasty recommendation of the new suitor’s pretensions.  Left alone with the Dutchman, Senta rapturously vows her life to his salvation, and the scene ends with the plighting of their troth.

In the last act we are once more on the seashore.  The Dutch and Norwegian vessels are moored side by side, but while the crew of the latter is feasting and making merry, the former is gloomy and silent as the grave.  A troop of damsels runs on with baskets of food and wine; they join with the Norwegian sailors in calling upon the Dutchmen to come out and share their festivities, but not a sound proceeds from the phantom vessel.  Suddenly the weird mariners appear upon the deck, and while blue flames hover upon the spars and masts of their fated vessel, they sing an uncanny song taunting their captain with his failure as a lover.  The Norwegian sailors in terror hurry below, the girls beat a hasty retreat, and silence descends once more upon the two vessels.  Senta issues from Daland’s house, followed by Erik.  In spite of his importunity, her steadfast purpose remains unmoved; but the Dutchman overhears Erik’s passionate appeal and, believing Senta to be untrue to himself, rushes on board his ship and hastily puts out to sea.  Senta’s courage rises to the occasion.  Though the Dutchman has cast her off, she remains true to her vows.  She hastens to the edge of the cliff hard by, and with a wild cry hurls herself into the sea.  Her solemn act of renunciation fulfils the promise of her lips.  The gloomy vessel of the Dutchman, its mission accomplished, sinks into the waves, while the forms of Senta and the Dutchman transfigured with unearthly light are seen rising from the bosom of the ocean.