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Richard Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
Рихард ВАГНЕР - Нюрнбергские Мейстерзингеры
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Год записи/издания: 2011/2012

Лейбл: Opus Arte
Страна-производитель: UK
Жанр: Opera
Продолжительность: 300 min
Язык: German
Субтитры: English, French, German
Режиссер: David McVicar

Hans Sachs Gerald Finley
Walther von Stolzing Marco Jentzsch
David Topi Lehtipuu
Sixtus Beckmesser Johannes Martin Kränzle
Eva Anna Gabler
Magdalene Michaela Selinger
Veit Pogner Alastair Miles
Fritz Kothner Henry Waddington
Kunz Vogelgesang Colin Judson
Konrad Nachtigall Andrew Slater
Balthasar Zorn Alasdair Elliott
Ulrich Eisslinger Adrian Thompson
Augustin Moser Daniel Norman
Hermann Ortel Robert Poulton
Hans Schwarz Maxim Mikailov
Hans Foltz Graeme Broadbent
A Nightwatchman Mats Almgren

London Philharmonic Orchestra
The Glyndebourne Chorus

Conductor Vladimir Jurowski
Director David McVicar
Designer Vicki Mortimer
Lighting designer Paule Constable
Movement director Andrew George
Fight director Nicholas Hall
Glyndbourne Opera; 21st May 2011

Качество видео: 2xDVD9
Формат/Контейнер: DVDVideo
Видео кодек: MPEG2
Аудио кодек: DTS, PCM
Видео поток: NTSC
Аудио поток: DTS-HD & PCM 2.0 Stereo and DTS-HD 5.1

It's tempting to make a snap judgement about a production of a Wagner opera right from the first note, and it's surprising just how accurate that judgement can often turn out to be. I'd suggest that you can get a feel for the tone of the whole 2011 Glyndebourne production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg just from Vladimir Jurowski's conducting of the London Philharmonic Orchestra through the opera's beautiful overture. Being Wagner, everything is there upfront in the Vorspiel to Act I, and in such a work with its richness of meaning and infinite ways of interpretation, you could aim for an approach that is respectful and serious, emphatic and declamatory, sensitive and romantic, even playful and irreverent and you would still be touching on vital ingredients that are all part of the make-up of Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg. You might well pick up elements of those qualities in this Glyndebourne production - and by rights they should all be in there - but from the very first note my overriding impression was that there was a particularly English touch to the delivery that emphasises the qualities in this remarkable work that one doesn't find so readily in the composer's other grand music dramas - a lightness, a warmth, a sense of humour and an air of melancholy, the tug of deep human emotions bound up in something great and beautiful.

This is a light, delicate and sensitive treatment of a beautifully balanced, thoughtful and considered work then, a far cry from the most recent Bayreuth production. I don't always like the odd touches that David McVicar adds to his productions and I often find him weak on a cohesive concept, but I can rarely fault him on his ability to hit on the perfect mood and find the most effective way of expressing it through the performers and in their relationship with all the other aspects of the production and musical performance. His work for this Glyndebourne production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg is just about flawless. It's perhaps a little unadventurous - setting the work within the years of Wagner's apprenticeship around 1820 rather than the original 16th century setting - but his handling of the diverse moods and rhythms of the work is masterful throughout, taking in the wide range of emotions and tones that has Hans Sachs at its heart, from melancholy to slapstick, without ever missing a beat or hitting an incongruous note that isn't suggested by the score.

Everything about the production respects this, having a cohesiveness in the period design, in the enclosed sacred locations - the church as much as the craftsman's workshop or the community square - in the lighting, in the little touches of humour and irreverence. There's also a recognition that everything important that needs to be expressed is there in the music itself, within the very structure of Wagner's composition which is the very definition of his views on the strength and power of the music-drama, the two aspects conjoined and inseparable, each supporting the other to create a rhythm and balance between the surface drama and the inner nature, with all the contradictions and complexity that this implies. It's enough to give the work room to breathe and allow the performers of the music and the singing to consider the detail, interpret it and express it through their individual strengths of personality. There's never a moment where you are waiting to get to the next more interesting scene, every moment has its own magic and Jurowski and McVicar give the singers all the opportunity they need to luxuriate in the beauty and the rich wonder of Wagner's incredible score, revealing it in all its majestic glory.

Gerald Finley's performance of Hans Sachs is the best example of this. Never have I ever seen Finley look so at home in a role, his lovely baritone sounding warm, rounded and unforced, not over-expressive, but arising naturally out of consideration for his character, rolling around the beauty and the very sound of the words, taking the time to consider their meaning and luxuriate in their phrasing. But it's far from the only impressive singing performance, the clear lyrical lightness of Marco Jentzsch's Walther and Topi Lehpituu's David both perfect foils for Anna Gabler's emotional Eva and Michaela Selinger's Lena. If their singing could be considered to lack traditional Wagnerian force, the work gains from their youthful sincerity of feeling. On the other side of the coin, but perfectly complementary, Alastair Miles displays a studious good natured gravity and solemnity as Pogner with a tone that is as beautiful as it is expressive. You could listen to this for hours. Beckmesser's comic value is easy to overplay and demonise and the role consequently has a tendency to be underrated in comparison to the earnestness of the other characters, but he's no less a vital component to the overall structure and tone and Johannes Martin Kränzle brings colour and personality to the role, with lots of comic grimacing, slapstick and double-takes, all of which fit in perfectly with the tone presented here.

This is as memorable as Meistersinger as any you'll find, one that capitalises on the intimacy of the Glyndebourne theatre and finds an appropriate tone in the performance, the staging and the singing to delve more deeply into the particular human qualities that are unique to this Wagner music-drama, expressing everything that is great about this work on levels I've never considered before. The Glyndebourne effect and the challenges of staging Wagner there is explored in the concise extra features, in interviews with Jurowski, McVicar and Finley, with particular consideration on the approach taken for this work. The Glyndebourne relationship with Wagner is also covered in the accompanying booklet, which also contains a full synopsis.