Bayreuth Festival Theater. Left Parkett (Seat 28-9, 287 euros).
Curtain Call, Meistersinger von Nurmberg.
Daniele Gatti - conductor. Hans Sachs - Georg Zeppenfeld, Veit Pogner - Jongmin Park, Sixtus Beckmesser - Michael Nagy, Walther von Stolzing - Michael Spyres, David - Matthias Stier, Eva - Christin Nilsson, Magdalene - Christa Mayer, Ein Nachtwachter - Tobias Kehrer.
After last year's rather interesting (and generally positive) experience with seeing Wagner's Ring at Bayreuth, we decided to give it another try this years. Getting tickets was reasonably straightforward, and we got the three performances we wanted to see.
When I watched a Met Opera on Demand performance of this opera, I was sure without the help of English surtitles I would be very lost, as the story (especially Act I) moves forward rather slowly. (For a 4 1/2 hour opera, the synopsis is only about two pages long.) I am happy to report I could get the broad outline without any problems. Of course every now and then I had to re-sync what was happening on stage with what I remember of the synopsis; but that I expected. I also lost concentration (just shy of dozing off) at the beginning of Act 3 when different people showed up at Sachs's workshop - that part actually was reasonably straightforward to follow.
A little about the sets, some of which was explained in the Program Book we bought for the opera (9 euros). The geometric shapes employed in the three sets were triangles, squares (or perhaps rectangles), and circles. Triangles are often used to represent deities, and the setting for the very first scene is a church. The long stair case (30 plus steps) presented some degree of difficulty for those that were not that mobile, but no one slipped (whew!). Not sure why the church located at the top had to collapse at the end of the scene, given things didn't get any sacrilegious. The set was then rotated to show a classroom, or the seats in a concert hall; there the rules of Meistersinging (my word) were described. Instead of Beckmesser using chalk to mark the mistakes Walther made, he made some soft sounds later revealed to be "nein's" marked on several scrolls. Act 2 was the setting of a village square, although what struck me was how much it evoked Disney's It's a Small World. Act 3 Scene 1 is Sachs's workshop, enclosed in a circular wall (dubbed the "oval office" by Bayreuth staff). For the final scene, the wall was removed, and an inverted inflated cow was lowered from the ceiling. Instead of guilds marching onto the scene, we got more an image of a village fair (your mileage may vary). The setting is splashed all over the material describing the opera production, and contrasts greatly with the rest of the sets. Perhaps by design; a bonus is that I didn't have to squint to see what was happening.
The singing and acting were both outstanding. Sachs had a lot of singing to do here, so he undoubtedly paced himself quite carefully, and thus sometimes didn't match the volume of the other principals. To be fair, there were times he did brilliantly on the volume front. What was surprising was that the character lost his temper at least once, when he was upset at either Elsa or Walther (I forget) for something, probably not appreciating what's in front of them. Not that I am a Meistersinger expert, but in this production an intentional effort was to make Sachs more "human" than heroic. Zeppenfeld (Sachs) will also sing the role of Gurnemanz in Parsifal, that makes pacing himself even more important.
Brass fanfare before the start of Act 3.
Principals of the performance. From left. Person in black suit is the chorus master Thomas Eitler de Lint, Nightwatchman (in red), Walther, Eva, Gatti, Sachs, David, Magdalene, Veit Pogner and Beckmesser.
The opera has three major issues with today's audience. First is how in the past Beckmesser is often a caricature of a Jew. One can argue - given his reputation - whether that's how Wagner intended it, but the issue is easily remedied by proper stage directions. Indeed I have never encountered a production where this was even hinted at (admittedly I have seen only three). The other two issues are the proclamation that German art is supreme, and that how can someone give away a woman as a prize. That is the reason behind the cow hanging over the stage in the last scene. Indeed they do auction cows at country fairs (in the US anyway), so perhaps in Germany as well? Both issues are solved by Walther refusing to accept the title of Meistersinger, and walking out with Elsa on her father. Fair enough, except the libretto doesn't quite support their action. As with my experience with the Ring last year, it is advantageous not to understand a word that's sung. Compare to the Ring, the new story only involves a small amount of disconnect. Would Wagner approve these modifications? The last question is applicable to all three operas we saw this year.
By the way, that Walther walked out after winning the contest probably explains why there are no more Meistersingers in Nuremberg (groan).
I didn't know what to expect from today's performance. It turned out to be a rather good experience. My greatest worry was that I would get terribly lost with the plot. Perhaps I was, but it didn't matter at all.
These photos are downloaded from the Bayreuth webiste. Here is the "mad" scene towards the end of Act 2.
The "oval office" that is Sachs's workshop.
The Meistersingers demonstrate the rules of the competition.
Sachs and Eva.
We got into Bayreuth at about 2 pm this afternoon, and managed to check into the hotel (standard check-in is 3 pm). We got a bit of rest before walking to the Festival Hall. It was close to 11 pm when we got back.
This entry is being finalized on 8/17, after we returned to NJ. There are another four waiting to be posted. This may explain the incomplete nature of the entries.
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