Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg

A Meistersinger to Cherish
This most recent Meistersinger, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski anf directed by David McVicker emanates from the Glyndebourne festival of 2011. While the dimensions of the house have been enlarged they still cannot match most of the major opera housses in Europe, but at lest they are now able to fulfill one of the founders of the festival, John Christie, most ardent desires: the mounting of Wagner's operas. In the early aughts Tristan was presented and now we have Wagner's only comedy. Overall I would say that it is mostly a very successful investiture; however there are some reservations and they cannot be overlooked.

Of the singers the performance of Finley's Hans Sachs' is the most successful. His experience as a lieder singer is clearly evident in the two great monologues as the text is given its due. The voice is a beautiful one. But Finley is just as good an actor as he is a singer. Given his youthful appearance this is no avuncular Sachs; indeed it would not be out...

My favorite Wagner
Only once have I seen "Meistersinger"; it was an English-language production at the ENO in London. I ordered this DVD, although I doubted that Glyndebourne had the resources to stage "Meistersinger" successfully. Whether it is a trick of the camera or not, I think that this production comes off beautifully. Good voices, handsome actors, good staging. I'm biased toward Wagner. I go to bed never knowing whether it will be Mozart, Bellini, Verdi, Wagner or Strauss who has composed the soundtrack to my dreams that night -- even Gluck shows his seductive head now and then -- but they are Bellini and Wagner whose music will accompany me to the grave. And this is happy Wagner! Purists will no doubt have their quibbles, but I am happy that I bought this DVD, and it has already given me hours of pleasure.

Best Meistersinger available
This is the best PRODUCTION of Meistersinger currently available. This is the best PRODUCTION of any Wagner Opera currently available. Any shortcomings it may have are outweighed by the overall excellence of the production.

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