Austria Wagner, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Vienna State Opera / Philippe Jordan (conductor). Recorded (directed by Ella Gallieni) at Vienna State Opera, 11.12.2022. (JPr)
Production:
Director – Keith Warner
Set designer – Boris Kudlička
Costume designer – Kaspar Glarner
Lighting designer – John Bishop
Video – Akhila Krishnan
Choreography – Karl Alfred Schreiner
Assistant director -Katharina Kastening
Dramaturgy – Barry Millington
Cast:
Hans Sachs – Michael Volle
Veit Pogner – Georg Zeppenfeld
Sixtus Beckmesser – Wolfgang Koch
Fritz Kothner – Martin Hassler
Walther von Stolzing – David Butt Philip
David – Michael Laurenz
Eva – Hanna-Elisabeth Müller
Magdalene – Christina Bock
The Goblin – Josef Borbely
Kunz Vogelgesang – Joerg Schneider
Konrad Nachtigall – Stefan Astakhov
Balthasar Zorn – Lukas Schmidt
Ulrich Eisslinger – Ted Black
Augustin Moser – Robert Bartneck
Hermann Ortel – Nikita Ivasechko
Hans Schwarz – Dan Paul Dumitrescu
Hans Foltz – Jusung Gabriel Park
Nightwatchman – Peter Kellner
This new Vienna manufacturing of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg from British director Keith Wagner with a British singer making his debut as Walther von Stolzing replaces Otto Schenk and Jürgen Rose’s 1975 model that had 77 performances up till 2012; one among which I noticed on a go to to Vienna 4 many years in the past. There have been many alternative approaches to the opera lately, some I’ve seen – like Barrie Kosky’s at Bayreuth (evaluation right here) and a few I by no means did, reminiscent of Stefan Herheim’s on the Salzburg Festival. Herheim had, I perceive, Hans Sachs dreaming up the entire thing, and that is manner Warner additionally now interprets the story.
In his personal phrases Warner explains the method as follows: ‘I imagined Sachs’s dream as a artistic want, within the sense that he creates a narrative about his emotions. But I wished this dreaming to be contagious. That those that get contaminated and have the mandatory expertise can create their very own worlds, a sort of phantasm. Suddenly Sachs begins to immerse himself in Walther’s fantasy, he wanders by way of his worlds, and conversely Walther can entry these of Sachs, Eva additionally joins them. I prefer it when the connection between actuality and the interior creativeness of the artist or the person dream turns into fluid. One not asks: What precisely is that this? We know this from Shakespeare, from Midsummer Night’s Dream, but in addition from The Tempest and different works, that actuality and phantasm are very intently interwoven. This is precisely what I’ve felt for a very long time within the music of the Meistersinger. One may present the entire thing solely as a dream of Sachs – however the older I get, the much less I need to develop a conceptual view that enables just one manner, just one interpretation. I prefer it when there’s an ambiguity.’
After the Prelude there’s a procession of the ages from figures in sixteenth-century garb by way of to the current day as Hans Sachs is proven affected by author’s block and making an attempt to put in writing one thing on the entrance of stage and frustratedly screwing up his failed makes an attempt. As Warner suggests, what we start to see is ‘fluid’ as Sachs turns into embroiled within the ‘lives’ of his characters. Various shades of blue and incessantly different pastel shades dominate Kaspar Glarner’s costumes starting with the dungarees of David and the apprentices with their outstanding treble clefs. Warner illuminates David’s lecture for Walther on the mastersingers’ guidelines with a number of whiteboards throughout the stage with their animated musical notes. These flip to indicate cartoons (which might be rapidly erased) of the named mastersingers which might be put behind every of them after they are available carrying their regalia and sit in a circle. Intriguingly, Pogner seems to simply accept a bribe earlier than he introduces Walther to the masters as a candidate to hitch them and compete for his daughter Eva’s hand in marriage on the music contest. Sachs is proven as an outsider within the firm of those fellow mastersingers. When Walther sings the masters flip their chairs as in TV’s The Voice earlier than working away from Walther as if he’s has gone mad. However, Sachs clearly finds his method trendy and revolutionary.
A fantasy determine appeared onstage on the finish of the primary act and a goblin/leprechaun (as Sachs’s muse?) will pop up once more throughout Warner’s staging. Inspiration for this got here from Sachs’s ‘Wahn! Wahn!’ monologue in Act III who refers back to the insanity on the finish of the earlier act with the phrases ‘God knows how that came about? A goblin must have helped.’ Sachs in in his dreamworld and we see dancers twirl by way of a (early-nineteenth century?) ballet. Then there’s a quite naked stage with a single bench and Sachs consoles Eva who’s clearly distraught at what’s to grow to be of her. Increasingly the railing and indignant Sachs jogs my memory of Tevye in Fiddler of the Roof. He fantasies about Eva in a marriage costume earlier than she arrives onstage. They nearly kiss earlier than he explains that may be a widower and won’t be singing within the contest. The realisation dawns on Sachs that Eva is eager on Walther. Everyone is seething together with Walther when he turns up and imagines the masters as fantastical birds. Walther and Eva plan to elope however are caught within the gentle from Sachs’s home as Eva muses on ‘What trials I have with men!’ Beckmesser’s apprentice trundles on an amplifier linked to an electrical lute and Beckmesser provides each impression of an ageing rocker. At the again of the stage is a projection of fifteenth-century Nuremberg (probably a woodcut by Michael Wolgemut). We have already seen Sachs’s writing desk/device cupboard and his antics throughout Beckmesser’s failed wooing of Eva is a little bit of a multitude with Sachs tossing wood lasts right into a bowl held by the goblin. The act ends with a proper tough and tumble of everybody woken up by all of the racket. Any buildings we see are primarily simply skeletal buildings and now there are individuals on totally different ranges on three sides. Sachs remains to be orchestrating occasions as he freezes the preventing at one level. The Nightwatchman comes on because the grim reaper and WAHN is spelled out throughout the stage.
During the Prelude to Act III, we see Sachs going by way of reminiscences of his previous life as he rummages by way of in some wood crates. Walther is now in silvery-white with a pair of braces as he recounts his dream (now inside a dream) which Sachs writes down as standard. The bruised and battered Beckmesser enters with eye patch and arm in a sling earlier than Sachs catches him with Walther’s music and straps him to a chair. He is ultimately let out and rushes out solely to return for David’s girlie journal which he discovered earlier in his desk. The melody sung through the quintet is named the ‘Blessed Morning Interpretation Dream Melody’.
Eventually Sachs is left alone together with his writing, and we marvel if his haunted desires are precise reminiscences of his previous or maybe these characters have by no means existed. We see the cobblers (all in the identical aprons we’ve seen Sachs put on), Jewish tailors and hungry refugees (for the Bakers). He waltzes with Eva and the ghost of his spouse. Finally, there’s the music contest with the gaily dressed individuals crowding onto the balconies on each facet. There is a central podium with steps main as much as a platform. For the ‘Wach’ auf!’ refrain it opens for Sachs to see the premonition (quite like Scrooge in Dickens’s A Christmas Carol) of his burial subsequent to his spouse, Cunigunde. She reappears and poignantly we see the markers for his or her a number of youngsters. Hans Sachs in his blue frock coat provides a speech earlier than the one genuinely humorous second on this Die Meistersinger as Beckmesser (dressed as one among Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band) goes up the steps and falls down the again! The crowd award his music zeros whereas it’s 10s all-round for Walther. He distains the shied he’s awarded and locations the silver wreath he’s proffered on Eva’s head. Sachs storms over and confronts Walther, Eva makes an attempt to crown Sachs with the wreath however it will likely be handed spherical a gathering crowd holding up works of nice literature or artwork books in numerous languages. This comes after Sachs has praised German tradition and maybe are there to persuade him to not be so insular.
That is what I noticed, as to what I heard it was after all by way of loudspeakers, nevertheless it was dominated by Michael Volle’s Hans Sachs. Volle is in his early sixties however within the vocal type of his life and is likely one of the most excellent actor-singers of his technology. Volle sang many phrases with a Lieder-like supply however is absolutely able to the dramatic outbursts Wagner calls for and, on prime of this, portrayed a completely plausible character. There was one other wonderful instance of Wagner singing from Georg Zeppenfeld as a noble and resonant-sounding Pogner; Hanna-Elisabeth Müller’s Eva was youthful and endearing; rarely-still, the sweet-toned Michael Laurenz’s David was extra ‘theatrical’ than some interpretations; while Christina Bock’s enticing and pleasantly sung Magdalene was Eva’s supportive and conspiratorial ‘nurse’ who was removed from the ‘old maid’ she is described. Wolfgang Koch (who has himself sang Sachs) was a gruff and grizzled Alberich-like Beckmesser, completely excellent for what Warner wished from him, despite the fact that on this evening he was having to deal with a slight cough. All the remainder of the masters have been well-characterised and equally well-sung. David Butt Philip was a strongly lyrical Walther and displayed spectacular stamina in singing a rapturous prize-winning music. However, not being within the opera home I puzzled if his voice was sufficiently massive for the function.
Philippe Jordan will bid farewell to Vienna State Opera on the finish of his contract in 2025 over a dispute about director’s theatre and Intendant Bogdan Roščić is abolishing his place of Music Director when he goes. Jordan was resoundingly applauded by the viewers after main the unsurpassed Vienna State Opera Orchestra by way of a well-rounded efficiency and proving utterly answerable for each musical side of Die Meistersinger.
Jim Pritchard