Richard WagnerWagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Bernd Weikl, Siegfried Jerusalem, MariAnne Haggander, Hermann Prey, Graham Clark, Matthias Holle, Horst Stein, Bayreuth Opera

This production has been around on VHS for years, and I've been wearing out the local library's copy, waiting for the DVD. At last it's available, and it has been well worth the wait.You may be wondering why I consider this to be the best video performance of Meistersinger; after all, there are at least three outstanding productions on DVD.I'll be honest. One purely personal reason is that it was the first production of Meistersinger I ever saw. They say that the first time for anything is always special....But putting that aside, let's consider the production on its merits.Meistersinger is by far Wagner's most light-hearted, humorous, and above all human operas, but it's also his longest. It puts enormous demands on the performers, since in addition to putting Wagnerian demands on their stamina, it also requires them to show the essential humanity of their characters. Everyone in this opera is a human being, with good and bad points, and, importantly, with a depth of character - they can't be played as caricatures. This doesn't always happen.What makes this production special is that every performer: the singers, the conductor, the orchestra, the musical and television directors, and every member of the chorus works together to produce a coherent and warmly human performance.This is a Bayreuth production, directed by Wolfgang Wagner, with television direction by Brian Large. As one might expect, the quality is excellent.Bernd Weikl is a superb Sachs - one might say the definitive Sachs - thoughtful, melancholy, but with a well-developed sense of fun. The director makes an excellent decision in the prelude to act 3, by showing Sachs peacefully reading his book, instead of the traditional Gables of Olde Nurnberg. Very effective.Hermann Prey plays Beckmesser as a right royal pain - a malicious, self-important bureaucrat with a singular lack of scruples. He's still a human being, though. We still care ( a bit) when he receives his just desserts.The chemistry between Sachs and Eva (played by MariAnne Haggander)was palpable, and entirely believable. This is vitally important, if we are to care about both characters. Eva herself was well played - just the right combination of coquettishness and compassion.Siegfied Jerusalem's Walter was perfectly acceptable (although I prefer Heppner's interpretation).Graham Clark brought great energy and enthusiasm to the part of David, which was very evident during the part when David enumerates a seemingly endless list of musical tones and styles. He managed to differentiate each one; many singers don't bother.And talking of endless lists, I suspect I've gone on too long.I'll cut to the chase.An excellent production, meticulously transcribed to DVD. The sound and picture quality is superb, far surpassing the worn-out VHS tape that I've been used to watching. The Surround-sound conversion is convincing without being obtrusive; ambience rather than audience noise.If you love Meistersinger, you must have this performance.Oh yes, I almost forgot. Look for a cameo appearance of Wolfgang Wagner in the closing seconds of the opera, joining the hands of Sachs and Beckmesser.And now, if you will excuse me, I think I'll watch it again...

Haven’t watched it yet.

This is the best recorded performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger.Here's why:Who is more likely to know Richard Wagner's conception for the opera, than his grandson, Wolfgang Wagner, who is the artistic director of this performance?Next, imagine assembling some of the very best Wagnerian singers of the past quarter-century: Bernd Weikl as Sachs, Hermann Prey as Beckmesser, and Siegfried Jerusalem as Walter. They all sing and act inspiringly!The staging, scenery, and costumes are perfect: it's like you're transported back to the Germany of centuries ago.Richard Wagner was commenting on the rigidity and closedmindedness of the music critics of his day, and the character embodying those critics was Beckmesser, whose role is thus pivotal. Fortunately, this production's Beckmesser (Hermann Prey) is pedantic, sycophantic, officious and tedious--in a word: he's perfect!The opera makes the point that minds must be kept open to new ideas, while still retaining an understanding of what makes "classical" classic.The Johannestag festival music is some of the brightest and happiest, so much so that those who think Wagner is always heavy and ponderous, will scarcely believe their ears.Finally, as icing on the cake, when the song contest is over, and the winner crowned, centerstage in the background, you will see Wolfgang Wagner himself, sort of "patching things up" between Beckmesser and Sachs--it's a wonderful touch by the artistic director, and I can't help but think that Richard Wagner would approve of his grandson's gesture.

This 1984 Bayreuth "Meistersinger" is good if not completely satisfying. It is, above all, Wagner's grandson and producer Wolfgang Wagner's "Meistersinger." Seemingly reacting against the nationalistic tendencies that this opera can bring out, Wolfgang Wagner went the other way, accenting the down-to-earth, folk aspect of the German characters and the German people. There is a simplicity, a naturalism here that has its draws. But something is missing. In Wolfgang Wagner's stretch to make these just everyday people, some of the color, the magnificence of the characters has been lost.Sachs can be an rather too humdrum here. It is pretty well sung by Bernd Weikl although his range of color is not great. He is best in his poignant individual exchanges with Walther, Eva and Beckmesser. Siegfried Jerusalem's Walther is well sung, often dark toned, albeit a bit stiff in his acting. He is ardent if again a bit on the ordinary side, which however you look at it - is this very natural or somewhat on the boring side - seems to be the modus operendi of Wolfgang Wagner's presentation. The unknown to me Eva, Mari Anne Haggander, is simply ordinary at best with a voice that tends toward the squally in forte. Her launching of the Act 3 quintet does not rise to the occasion.Herman Prey's Beckmesser is seriously toned down, from a haughty, bumbling snoot to just an ordinary guy who makes some bad decisions. An overdone Beckmesser can damage the proceedings, but an underdone portrayal is no better. What a shame to waste Prey's fine comic acting talents (as in his "Die Fledermaus" DVD with Kiri te Kanawa and Solti at Covent Garden). This is especially evident in Act 2 during his exchanges with Sachs, when the latter is really speaking to a hidden Eva. This loses its comic value here, and comes off like weak coffee. A dose of the comic zaniness of Don Knotts would have been helpful for this Beckmesser. There are few chuckles here.Graham Clark brings more excitement to David than generally is the case with the rest of these singers. Marga Schiml has some charm as Magdalene. Manfred Schenk's Pogner is solid but stolid. The masters are a convincing lot; their common sense attitude seems right here. The chorus is magnificent. Stein's conducting, as befits such a staging, is a traditional reading, lacking some impetus and detail in the first two act but rising up to the occasion in Act 3.The sets, as befits this approach, are pleasingly natural if rather plain, especially enticing in the Act 2 Nurnberg street. Ending the fight scene in Act 2 with buckets of water being poured down from a balcony is a nice touch. The glorious Act 3 entry of the tradespeople and mastersingers is too crowded, however.Brian Large generally has his cameras in the right placed at the right time, but as is his occasional tendency, the Act 2 fight is marred by extreme close-ups, Large's Achilles heel. It's true the scene is held up by Stein's rather pedantic tempos and Large does bring some excitement by this action, but this filming is too much of a shock and is not convincing.This was filmed over 12 days at Bayreuth and there are no curtain calls, no applause and no sight of an audience, which leads me to believe it was not a live performance.Overall, there is a charm and a simplicity here that is appealing and grows on you, but a fair amount of the character's zest is missing to give this an unqualified endorsement. I'd had high hopes for this, as it apparently won the Japan Prize years ago.In rival videos, Levine's Met DVD boasts the glorious singing of Ben Heppner's Walther and Karita Mattila's Eva as its prime recommendations but is seriously dragged down by Levine's lethargic approach and James Morris' pedantic, wobbly Sachs. The best recommendation is Fruhbeck de Burgos' superb, detailed and insightful "Meistersinger" from the Deutsches Oper on Arthaus. It has all the excitement, warmth and frisson you could ask for.

Pour une fois, j'ai bien fait attention à acheter un DVD un peu ancien pour avoir une très jolie mise en scène et je ne suis pas déçue; c'est lumineux et merveilleux !Quelle distribution en plus : Jérusalem, Prey en autres !

WeiklのHans Sachsが第一に気に入った要因です。歌だけではなく、演技も細かいところまで、Hans Sachsになりきっていると思います。Hermann PreyのBeckmesser, Siegfried JersalemのWalterも気に入っています。内容的にはその時代を反映したものなので、今から見ると不自然なところもあると思いますが、それだからといって演出で新しい現代の事情を取り入れるのは非常に難しいのは他のWaganerの楽劇でも同じだと思います。Evaの立場についてもWagnerはSachsにたのMeisterと考えが違う点を主張しているし、私自身はそれで十分と思っています。蛇足ですが、Rheingoldでは、Wagnerが自然はいに反発しているように取れるところはありますが、それだからといって人工のダムを取り入れてもうまくつじつまが合うはずがありません。演奏については、Furtwenglerの名演と比較するだけの力を持っていませんから、Steinさんで十分満足しています。

Eine gut restaurierte DVD aus dem Jahre 1984. Ton ausgezeichnet, Bildqualität gut.Wie alle Werke, schrieb Wagner die Meistersinger nicht als historisches Werk, sondern im Mythos Charakter, weil nur der für alle Zeit wahr wäre, so Wagner. Trotzdem sind gerade die mehrdimensionalen Meistersinger als historisches Werk mißverstanden worden, teils bis heute. Das vorgestellte Nürnberg gab es in dieser politischen Form nie, sondern Wagner implementierte seine Weltanschauung in ein Libretto, nutzte hier lediglich historischen Figuren und Sitten. Eine Grundform seiner Arbeitsweise und für das Verständnis seiner Werke entscheidend.Ein Aspekt von vielen in diesem Werk, ist die Geißelung von dogmatischem Normenverhalten in Sachen Kunst. Nun ist es eine Ironie der Geschichte, daß ausgerechnet dieses Werk im Laufe der Rezeption zur emotionalen Ankoppelung für Spießer-Seelen in Sachen Kunst wurde. Kunstdogmatiker mit chauvinistischer Seele mißbrauchten das Werk als Projektionsfläche ihrer Sehnsüchte, wie ja generell Wagners Werke in dieser Hinsicht umfunktioniert wurden zu kleinkariertem Wahrnehmungsokkultismus.Kunstdogmatikern wird hier der Spiegel vorgehalten, nur sie merken es nicht.Sicher war Richard Wagner selbst ein wenig Sachs, ein wenig Stolzing, ein wenig Beckmesser. Sein Werk generell und speziell,, teils kosmopolitisch raumgreifend liberal, wie sendungsbewußt kleinkariert. Kleinkariert in der schon wahnhaften, antisemitischen Fixierung seines realen Handelns.Die Inszenierung ist in allen Rollen vorzüglich umgesetzt.Ausschnitthaft nur zu benennen, der glänzende Sachs von Bernd Weikl. Manfred Schenk als hervorragender Pogner. Siegfried Jerusalem als Stolzing. Hermann Prey als Beckmesser zeichnet den Charakter fern von jeder Tölpelhaftigkeit.Horst Stein dirigiert überzeugend.Insgesamt eine zeitlose Aufführung, die ein wenig Staub angesetzt hat, da man heute Personenregie und Dramaturgie akzentuierter begreift. Trotzdem - 5 - Sterne - allein schon wegen Weikl`s Sachs.

Finalmente un'esecuzione entusiasmante, dove tutto è perfetto o quasi. Però ha una ventina d'anni, e conferma così la mia convinzione nell'estremo decadimento in cui si trova l'interpretazione wagneriana, dovuto alla rarefazione di interpreti adeguati ed alla sublime imbecillità di alcune regie.

I have had a copy of this masterpiece for many a year on VHS and have watched it many times. I recently purchased a DVD recorder to transfer my Wagner collection to a more permanent medium. However the quality of the transfers leaves a lot to be desired especially the sound. The Bayreuth setting for this opera I think is perfect as I am of the old school who believes the Masters directions should be followed. Bernd Weikl to me is the perfect Hans Sachs and in this recording at his peak. Praise must also go to Seigfried Jerusalem as Walter who always gives me pleasure both for his singing and his acting. Graham Clark gives a brilliant potrayal as David with his fine voice and his stage presence. Hermann Prey plays Beckmesser with just the right balance of pomposity and vulnerabilityto make you almost sorry for him. Eva and Magdalene are also sung and acted well as are the Masters and the rest of the cast, as always the Bayreuth choir are in excellent voice. Writng this review makes me want to hear it again so excuse me while I set up my cinema room. I thoroughly reccomend this version even though I do enjoy the Met offering, I have a very fond memories of the Festpielehause having been lucky enough to have spent 14 glorious nights inside its hallowed walls.