Meistersinger, Bayreuth 2017 Complete

[FamilieBecker-ex]

Ich habe diese Inszenierung 2018 mit meinem Sohn gesehen. Sie bricht mir jedes Mal das Herz. Musikalisch natürlich großartig. Volle unglaublich. Aber was Berry Kosky hier geschaffen hat - ohne Zweife die intelligenteste Meistersinger-Inszenierung, die es jemals geben kann oder wird. Wie der Wagner's Geschichte selbst erzählt - diese in der Oper "entdeckt" obwohl wir alle wußte, dass sie da drin steckt. Wie der den Antisemitismus inszeniert - im zweiten Akt stockt mir der Atem. Nie hörte man die rohe Gewalt der Massenszene besser heraus als in dieser Inszenierung. Dann das Ende: Wir sitzen zu Gericht. Über Wagner, seinen Charakter, seinen Antisemitismus, aber auch, das, was daraus wurde, unsere eigene schreckliche Geschichte. In der Tat - wo anders als in und wer spricht Wagner am Ende frei? Seine eigene, göttliche Musik. Am Ende steht die Kunst für sich selbst - sie ist der Anwalt, der beim Urteil über Wagner den Freispruch erwirken muss. Aber auch wir - die Deutschen - die in jedem Takt dieser Musik verwoben sind - in unserem Bemühen um diese Kunst, um unsere großartige Kultur, wir dürfen auf Gnade hoffen. Wie seltsam klingt der sonst oft peinliche, patriotische Abgesang des Hans Sachs: In der Tat - die wahren Deutschen Meister wurden verraten und verachtet 1933-1945. Was war diese Zeit anderes als eine Verachtung von allem was deutsch und gut? Danke, Berry Kosky, danke für Ihr Verständnis, danke für Ihre Liebe zu dieser wunderbaren, großartigen und doch auch furchtbaren Deutschen Kultur.

[przemysawprzemo]

5:33 Preludium
Akt I
14:44 scena I
26:55 scena II
42:47 scena III
Akt II
1:37:11 scena I
1:41:00 scena II
1:46:19 scena III
1:52:59 scena IV
2:03:03 scena V
2:10:38 scena VI
2:31:50 scena VII
Akt III
2:46:34 scena I
3:08:13 scena II
3:27:57 scena III
3:43:21 scena IV
4:03:36 scena V

[andrewtang]

As a German learner, I thank you for the German subtitles.

[matteor.]

Beyond the directing, the performance is one of the most surprising. This orchestra is incredible, we feel that that he understand every single note.

[tue-hainguyen]

The story of the opera (wiki)

The prelude (orchestral introduction) to the opera is very famous and is often played by itself at concerts. It has several tunes which are sometimes cleverly played at the same time (counterpoint). These tunes are used during the opera and are associated with particular people or ideas (such tunes are called leitmotifs).
Act One

The young knight Walther is in church and sees a beautiful young girl, Eva. He wants to know whether she is married. She tells him that she will be married to the person who wins the singing contest the next day. Walther tries to learn the art of the Mastersingers from David, who works for Hans Sachs, the cobbler. David himself is in love with Magdalene. The apprentices start to prepare the stage for the contest.

If Walther is to win the contest he will have to compose his own mastersong and sing it. He will have to compose it according to a lot of strict rules (the number of lines, the rhyming patterns etc.). When he meets the other Mastersingers he introduces himself, saying that he learned the art of singing from the ancient poet Walther von der Vogelweide and from nature itself. He sings this in a song which is very beautiful, but it does not obey the rules of the Mastersingers. The Mastersingers are not able to understand the beauty of his song.

One of the Mastersingers is the town clerk. His name is Beckmesser. He is a comic figure and Wagner makes him look very silly. Beckmesser is the “marker”. This means something like: an “adjudicator”. When a singer makes a “mistake” (disobeys the rules) the marker puts a chalkmark on the board. When Walther sings his song Beckmesser makes lots of chalkmarks. Hans Sachs is the only person who realizes the beauty of his song. There is a lot of shouting and Walther has to stand on a chair to finish his song.
Act 2

A street in Nuremberg at night. Eva’s grand house is opposite Hans Sachs’ simple house. Eva’s father realizes she is in love with Walther. Hans is thinking about the young knight and how well he sings. Eva asks Hans who he thinks will be likely to win the song contest. Then she is called back by her father. Beckmesser has come and would like to serenade her (sing her a love song). Walther meets up with Eva and they wonder whether they should elope (run away together). Eva changes clothes with her maid. Hans Sachs stops them as they are about to elope. Beckmesser is tuning his lute ready to sing. Walther would like to argue with him but Eva gets him to sit quietly while Beckmesser sings. Hans Sachs, who is mending Beckmesser’s shoe, has other ideas: he sings a song himself, and this annoys Beckmesser who is trying to sing to the girl he thinks is Eva (but it is Eva’s maid in disguise). He tells Hans to stop singing. Hans says that he will stop, but he will hammer on his shoe every time he hears Beckmesser make a mistake. Beckmesser starts singing again, and Hans hammers lots of times. All the neighbours wake up and come into the street and argue and fight. In the end the night watchman comes and everybody goes back into their houses.
Act 3
Eugen Gura as Hans Sachs

David is preparing a song for the midsummer festival. Then Walther arrives and tells Hans that a song came to him in a dream. Hans helps him to prepare the song for the contest. When they have left the workshop Beckmesser comes in and sees the piece of paper with the song. He picks it up when Hans returns and says that it is obvious that he, Hans, wants to enter the contest. Hans tells Beckmesser that he can have the song. Beckmesser is delighted and thinks he can now win Eva in marriage.

At the song contest Beckmesser tries to sing the song, but he sings it to his own tune which does not fit the words, and he gets the words all muddled up. Everyone laughs and he leaves the stage angrily, saying that Sachs wrote the song. Walther now sings his prize song. This time people realize how beautiful it is although it does not obey the usual rules. Walther can marry Eva.

[alexsandroalvesartecultura]

5:33 Prelúdio
14:44 - 1:28:03 Ato I
1:37:11 - 2:36:10 Ato II
2:46:34 - 4:47:24 Ato III

[maximwilson]

Barry Koski has created a marvellous and engaging production. I loved every minute.

[Operafreak]

I think Volle is the best Sachs I have ever seen. This work exhausts my vocabulary. Every moment new revelations, new tears, heightened sense of the joys and beauties of life.

[oliverperra]

2:11:40"Jerum, Jerum"
4:33:45 "Morgenlich leucthend im rosigen Schein". You'll be grateful

[antoniopascualsanz]

He tenido el placer de escuchar todas las operas de wagner muchas veces . Para mi son lo maximo...

[arneandersen]

I just have to thank you for uploading this masterpiece! I have grown up with Mozart's Operas, and I knew the Magic Flute by heart when I was really very young. Later on, I learned to love all the big Operas by Mozart as well as Rossini's works and became a big fan of Jacques Offenbach's opéra bouffes. However, I always thought, that Wagner was just terrible. I didn't know better, in my musical upbringing Wagner was despised.
I tried several times to warm up to his music in my 20s and watched tiny bits of Tannhäuser or Lohengrin, but it never really worked. Well, now I'm 30 and this production of Wagner's Meistersinger finally did After watching the first act five times, I'm utterly and irreversibly in love with this opera. Suddenly, it's the most beautiful music in the world and it plays on and on in my head from dusk till dawn. And watching this fine production on youtube helped tremendously. I love the orchestra, the superb singers and the gently ironic setting. Last but not least I'm really grateful to have the opera on youtube, because one cannot listen to Wagner on music streaming services or cd's. Because at the end of each track there is a pause and that spoils the "eternal melody". So thanks a lot :D

[josebenito]

I love Wagner.. Who doesn't? And sometimes I think this one is The Best. Walter.. Forever. Thanks so much for uploading this production ❌

[terryhammond]

Thanks a million for this. Wagner would have adored Klaus Florian Vogt's exquisite bel Canto approach to his music. I know I do. And those effortless high notes without a trace of strain. What ecstacy.. Ohhh, that Prize Song! 👏👏👏👏🎹💖👏👏

[ysur]

The orchestra is SUPERB. I'm not sure I've heard a better orchestra for this opera.

[mrlopez-pzpu]

Thank you for the English captions!!!! ;)

[dichterfuerstin]

I absolutely adore this production, especially the first act. Love the idea with the many Wagners.
The singers are also great, I especially liked Walther, Sachs, Beckmesser and David.

[tarikabaraka]

Los maestros cantores de Núremberg es una ópera en tres actos con música y libreto en alemán de Richard Wagner. Es una de las óperas más largas, aproximadamente alrededor de cuatro horas y media. Se estrenó en el Königliches Hof- und National-Theater en Múnich, el 21 de junio de 1868.

[timotheuspeter]

Philippe Jordan is really great with Wagner; his Bayreuth-Parsifal from 2012 is worth a listen, too.

[Treeboar]

It's a great starting point if you need something before Tristan.

That's not how my journey went, but i feel like it's more accessible, without necessarily falling in love with the great composer

[yummyyum]

I really understand why traditionalists want to see a "real Meistersinger".
I believe in the opera as the composer intended it.
"If" however a modern staging is going to be attempted this particular staging does it the right way for the most part.
I find the ""Beckmesser is a Jew" trope via "Levi" flawed and labored, as I do the third act technique of "putting Wagner on trial".
The general idea of multiple Wagners and setting much of it in the "Salon atmosphere" in which the real Wagner often presented his works is a fantastic idea.
If I have a problem with the production at all it is the under powered singing of "Wagner/Walter" and "Cosima/Eva". If they struggle to be heard over a standard triple wind orchestra in a relatively small house designed to project voices and diminish the possibility of the orchestra burying them imagine just how inaudible they would be in the less friendly acoustics of an American house.
On the whole however, especially when I compare it to some of the other bastardized Wagner "modern stagings" this one is a jewel.