Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Richard Wagner's only operatic comedy (not in the knee-slapping sense, but because it has a happy ending) is easily his most accessible work, though at four hours it's still a Wagnerian epic. Essentially a love story in which the lovely Eva, daughter of one of Nuremberg's guild of master singers, is won in marriage by the ardent young knight Walther against the claims of the officious town clerk Beckmesser, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is also a glorification of German national genius, represented by the wise, noble cobbler Hans Sachs, who is instrumental in arranging the young man's triumph over his older rival in a musical contest. (Surely it was Sachs's final peroration on the purity of the German artistic soul that made this Hitler's favorite opera.) This 1995 performance from the Deutsche Oper Berlin, spread over two discs, is superb in almost every respect, with Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos conducting a performance that is measured but never turgid, mellow and rich but still transparent. The singing is top-notch, especially by the men: Wolfgang Brendel is a superb Sachs, Gosta Winbergh a heroic Walther, and Eike Wilm Schulte an amusing Beckmesser; moreover, under Gütz Friedrich's astute direction, the soloists and chorus members shine as well, and the expert staging is nicely captured on film by Brian Large. Some of the stage noise is a bit intrusive, and there are a few dead spots where the voices are not well caught, but to make too much of these defects would be positively Beckmesserish. Presented in fine if unspectacular PCM stereo, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)