Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Act One
Saturday 10 March 2007 17:00-18:30 (Radio 3)
Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, live from the New York Met.
The only comedy amongs Wagner's mature operas, the story takes place in the German town of Nuremberg in the 16th century. The plot revolves around the singing competition of the real-life guild of Master Singers, an association of amateur poets and musicians. Eva, the daughter of one of the Master Singers, will be betrothed to the winner of the competition.
Can the young knight Walther win her hand despite breaking the Master Singers' rules about what music should sound like? Possibly, with the help of cobbler-poet Hans Sachs, who foils the attempts of the other contender, the arch-pedant Beckmesser.
Tenor Johan Botha sings the role of Walther von Stolzing, bass-baritone James Morris is Hans Sachs with
Duration:
1 hour 30 minutes
Playlist:
Eva, Pogner's daughter ...... Hei-Kyung Hong (soprano)
Magdalena, Eva's nurse ...... Maria Zifchak (soprano)
Walther, a young knight from Franconia ...... Johan Botha (tenor)
David, Sachs's apprentice ...... Matthew Polenzani (tenor)
Hans Sachs, cobbler, Meistersinger ...... James Morris (bass-baritone)
Beckmesser, town clerk, Meistersinger ...... Hans-Joachim Ketelsen (baritone)
Pogner, goldsmith, Meistersinger ...... Yevgeny Nikitin (bass-baritone)
James Levine conducts the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra.
Act 1
Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait.
