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Wagner’s The Mastersingers of Nuremberg is perhaps his most controversial work.
It has usually been seen as his biggest operatic expression of anti-Semitism, as it contains some passages calling for Germans to protect themselves from foreign rule, and the character of Beckmesser is often interpreted as a satire of a Jew.
In the Nazi period, the nationalistic elements of the opera were intensified in many performances, often by making Beckmesser more comical. The whole thing can still be staged as a farce nowadays, with Walther a bumbling fool, Beckmesser a stupid idiot and Hans Sachs a German version of Father Christmas.
So this DVD of the opera, staged by Wagner’s grandson Wolfgang at Bayreuth in 1984, is refreshing, because it portrays every character as intelligent – and as a bonus, the singing is mostly excellent! The designs are all atmospheric, but particularly the nocturnal scene of the second act.
Bernd Weikl is a wise Hans Sachs, but not remotely stuffy. You can actually believe that Eva has a passing crush on him, and his voice is in excellent condition. The ‘Wahn’ monologue shows a full tone, and he has the charisma to hold the stage in the climactic final address.
The star is Hermann Prey as Sixtus Beckmesser, the town clerk. Prey is by far the most beautifully sung Beckmesser on record, bringing the fine art of the Lied singer to Wagner’s careful vocal lines. In this interpretation, the character becomes a tribute to the intellectual who insists that rules be kept; the argument at the heart of the drama is between Sachs’ call for change and Beckmesser’s insistence that standards of song-writing be maintained. Wolfgang Wagner’s decision to have Beckmesser return in the final scene to hear Walther’s performance, having been humiliated, shows the character’s interest in other ways of composition, one of many clever additions in the production.
Siegfried Jerusalem has a nice warm voice as Walther von Stolzing. However, signs of the strain that would plague him years later are already apparent in the performance of the Prize Song at the end, thus undermining the plot. His handsome appearance and general attention to words and line are very welcome, though, and this is a very different manner of singing the role than Ben Heppner shows on the recent Met DVD.
Veit Pogner is Manfred Schenk, whose powerful voice is fitting for the father figure of the opera. The young Graham Clark is a strong David, and both Mari Anne Häggander (Eva) and Marga Schiml are sweet-voiced without being anything special. The Bayreuth musicians and chorus play and sing with warmth and romance under Horst Stein.
Aside from the dated haircuts, this is a pretty solid Meistersinger. The presence of Prey as Beckmesser makes it a must-buy for Wagnerians and anyone with an appreciation for fine singing.
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