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
