Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Stefan Herheim's 2013 Salzburg Festival production of Wagner's warmheartedly romantic but also culturally charged opera is untraditional but, unlike a lot of modern rethinking of classic pieces, also perceptive and deeply satisfying. Herheim's conceit is to make the action—in which wise cobbler Hans Sachs (Michael Volle) assists the ardent but untutored knight Walther (Roberto Saccà) in winning the hand of the beautiful Eva (Anna Gabler) in a singing contest against the pedantic Beckmesser (Markus Werba)—a tale imagined by Sachs that takes place on a huge version of the desk on which he composes his songs. Herheim occasionally takes this concept too far with fairy-tale touches, but overall it works brilliantly and is beautifully realized by the design team. The musical side of the production, unfortunately, shows some weakness. Although the Vienna Philharmonic plays with its customary refinement, Daniele Gatti's conducting is slightly undernourished, and the quality of the vocalism varies. The best singing comes from Volle, who brings real nobility to Sachs' utterances, and Peter Sonn, who exhibits a sterling tenor in the role of Sachs' apprentice, David. Werba is a far younger than usual Beckmesser, lending the character a distinctively febrile energy. But Saccà, and especially Gabler, are disappointing, the former too often wobbly and the latter mostly wan. Notwithstanding the vocal infelicities, however, this remains an impressive mounting, fully competitive with the recent Glyndebourne production (VL-3/13). Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include a “making-of” featurette. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)