Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

This performance of Die Meistersinger is cut, which rules it out from the start for me. The casting is patchy and I get little pleasure from Pilar Lorengar’s Eva. Thomas Schippers doesn’t leave much of a mark on the work; Theo Adam is in his driest voice as Hans Sachs; James King is a reliable Walther, but hardly sounds like a heartthrob; Benno Kusche offers a vivid, traditional Beckmesser; and Ezio Flagello is a fine Pogner. But there are many finer Meistersingers around, and they are complete. Michael Tanner

 

Our rating

2

Michael Tanner

Published: January 20, 2012 at 4:39 pm

COMPOSERS: Wagner
LABELS: Sony
WORKS: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
PERFORMER: Benno Kusche, Ezio Flagello, Loren Driscoll, Shirley Love, Donald Gramm, James Morris; The Metropolitan Opera & Chorus/Thomas Schippers
CATALOGUE NO: Sony 88697853042

This performance of Die Meistersinger is cut, which rules it out from the start for me. The casting is patchy and I get little pleasure from Pilar Lorengar’s Eva. Thomas Schippers doesn’t leave much of a mark on the work; Theo Adam is in his driest voice as Hans Sachs; James King is a reliable Walther, but hardly sounds like a heartthrob; Benno Kusche offers a vivid, traditional Beckmesser; and Ezio Flagello is a fine Pogner. But there are many finer Meistersingers around, and they are complete. Michael Tanner

Michael Tanner

Journalist and Critic, BBC Music Magazine

Michael Tanner is a critic for BBC Music Magazine and the opera critic of The Spectator. He is now a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, having lectured in the Philosophy faculty at the University of Cambridge for 36 years. In 2010, he released The Faber Pocket Guide to Wagner.
This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk
© Our Media 2024