The Fleeing Dodgem - The True Story.

As you know many composers have stolen ideas and elements from the work of others, and so has Richard Wagner. For instance, most of the original parts of his "The Flying Dutchman" where stolen from the now lesser known, but once more reputed composer, Giovanni Oro . For reasons to become clear below, this original version was called "The Fleeing Dodgem", and, like so many of Oro’s operas, it was (at least partly) autobiographic.

Oros main character is not from Holland at all, but rather a peasent from Hålandsdalen. (as is his mate Dalland, of course) But he goes to Holland, more precisely to Amsterdam, where he ends up staying for a month, although his intention was to tour Europe by Interrail.

The Hålender can not fly, of course, weighing as it is, some 100 kg, although he frequently (when he's drunk that is) thinks that he can. Likewise, there is no echo-cliff, but instead, the Hålender dials a (very) wrong number (actually Cliff Richards) when trying to get a taxi, and ends up talking to an answering machine on a bad line with lots of echo. (”Halloho-hallohohohoho”) This is at the point when he desperately is trying to escape from an angry restauranteur to whom he owes a large amount of Guilden. In high spirits he jumps off from a balcony (”huiissa!”). Convinced that he is Tarzan, he tries to reach a tree at the other side of the 20m-wide street, but crashes onto a convertible, which is parked outside the restaurant. The Hålender goes straight through the roof and lands on top of a couple lying inside the car. To break the ice he begins to sing an aria (”Me Tarzan, you Jane, but who is this monkey?”) but they are not very happy with him. So the Hålender ends up running down the street with a half-naked man and a furious restauranteur after him. In order to elude his persuers he then runs into what appears to him as China Town, but which is actually an amusement park. He discovers a smart little sportscar, jumps into it and tries to flee in it, but since it is really a dodgemcar, it does not get very get far outside the platform. And, as you know, as soon as a dodgem stops, it is crowded by hundreds of kids trying to get the next ride, and this saves our hero who manages to escape through the tumultes.

Well back (well, not very well, but quite) on the hotel room he robs the minibar ("Lieb nachtbar habe dank!" - Kjære nattbar ha takk) and falls asleep. The following night, (or maybe the night after that - he can not recall) not wanting to be recogized, the Hålender puts on his long coat, stupid hat, a false nose, a wooden leg and an inflatable parrot. He limps around in the back-alleys of Amsterdam telling wild stories about all the brave things he has done back in Norway, trying to impress the women. At one point it seems that he is in luck. He interests a beautiful Italian tourist, Manuela di Centa, but when she realises that he is lying, (and besides, spots his melting nose) she trows him, (not herself, of course), into a canal. (Well, show me the girl who is willing to throw herself into the sea for a man!) Some say that the Hålender drowned in the canal, others claim that he is rowing about the canals of Amsterdam for eternity looking for Italian girls.