Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Deutsche Oper Berlin
Chorus and Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Cond. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Hans Sachs: Wolfgang Brendel; Eva: Eva Johansson; Walther von Stolzing: Gösta Winbergh; Pogner: Viktor von Halem; Beckmesser: Eike Wilm Schulte; Magdalena: Ute Walther; David: Uwe Peper
Running time: 266 minutes on 2 DVDs
PCM Stereo
16:9 Color
Art Haus Musik. 100153
Rating****1/2

At last, an honest straightforward DVD of Wagner’s one comic opera, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. From its first scene in the church when Walther meets Eva—a scene whose pantomime acting equals the music—you are hooked. This is a realist adaptation with clothing from the late nineteenth century, a naturalist production with fanciful miniatures of the town between acts. The cast is thoroughly immersed in the opera. At no point do you get the impression that they are grandstanding to the audience. The character of Beckmesser is a bit too broadly drawn, lessening his dramatic threat to Walther, but it hardly matters. Four hours just fly by. Even scenes in which there is little action, such as Walther’s indoctrination by Sachs, are done with such likable actors (Winbergh and Brendel) that you grant it the patience it needs to develop. Sitting through this opera is similar to reading a lengthy first-rate novel like Anna Karenina. At the end, you feel as if the actors have revealed so much of their passions and turmoils that you know them personally. David’s recitation of the niggling requirements of the master song and his musical demonstration of each (“the rainbow and the nightingale tune”) are hilarious, particularly if you can hear Wagner railing against traditional forms between the lines. Of course Brendel as Sachs is both spectacular and understated in his role as the inwardly noble man who rages against the madness around him in the great excerpt “Wahn, Wahn, überall Wahn.” His regret at knowing he cannot have the fulsome Eva is palpable. I wish I could go on more about this stunning production, but I’d like to watch it one more time before it’s consigned to the archives.

–Peter Bates