Die Meistersinger [Box set, Hybrid SACD, SACD]

This is second release in the ambitious project of conductor Marek Janowski and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra to perform and record all of Wagner's operas together. And judging by the exceptionally high standard of this Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, when finished it will be a cycle to cherish.

Janowski's approach to Wagner, immediately apparent from the majestic but buoyant flourish with which the Meistersinger overture springs into life, is lively and vibrant without losing any of its essential weight or epic scope. There are many classic recordings of this opera, the only one of Wagner’s mature works to be entirely free of tragic doom and gloom, but even the greatest of them – especially those made in the 1970s and 80s – are often characterised by an overbearing, even oppressive swagger that can bog down its joyous spirit. Janowski, in contrast, never imposes any superfluous heaviness on the score; his Meistersinger breathes naturally, brimming with compelling drama and homogenous humour.

He is helped by a superb cast. As Hans Sachs, the rock-solid crux of the dramatis personae, Albert Dohmen exudes commanding authority tempered with avuncular softness, his gloriously rich and mellifluous voice never strained. Peter Sonn's David is one of the most fluent and lyrical accounts ever recorded. Robert Dean Smith cannot match Sonn for tonal beauty, but he has just the right youthful heroic vigour for Walther, demonstrating great stamina and virtuosic agility, especially in his passionate monologue at the heart of Act 2. Edith Haller's relatively light, creamy Eva is delightful, and Dietrich Henschel delivers the right level of comedy for Beckmesser without hamming or crude over-singing. The crowd scenes bristle with energy, nowhere more so than the tumultuous excitement at the end of Act 2. Never hurried, Janowski’s tempi are swifter enough than most to ensure that Acts 1 and 2 each fit complete on single discs – a major plus point.

The recording, made at a public concert performance at the Berlin Philharmonie in June 2011, is excellent – clear and well-spaced, it is faithful to the voices and vividly captures the sumptuous orchestral sound. There is very little audience or stage noise. Handsomely packaged in hard-back book format with complete libretto, this is a winning Mesitersinger that more than holds its own with any in the catalogue.

--Graham Rogers

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...The allocation of the main roles has obviously been undertaken with much care, yielding overall as fine a cast as one could encounter in most of the major opera houses today. The psychologically complex role of the cobbler poet Hans Sachs has always been difficult to cast, but Albert Dohmen has risen to the challenges of this part with great success. Sachses on record can be fatherly, benevolent, noble, intellectual, profound - even bitter or some combination of all these qualities. Dohmen is a deeply serious Sachs, often sounding almost angry yet he shows the sensitivity of his character in the delivery of his two famous monologues. His singing never flags throughout his taxing part, and at the opera's conclusion he delivers his paean in praise of 'heil'ge deutsche Kunst' in firm and forthright tones. The American tenor Robert Dean Smith brings his vast experience of the role of Walther von Stolzing to this recording. It is fourteen years since I heard him at Bayreuth in this part and though, inevitably, his voice has lost some of the youthful freshness it possessed then, his singing a combination of lyricism and ringing tone never disappoints. Edith Haller has a beautiful voice that she uses with intelligence. Her girlish sounding Eva is at its best in the scene with Sachs in Act 2 ( Disc 2 Tr. 4) and the Act 3 Quintet. However, she can at times sound rather tentative and choppy in her phrasing. The Beckmesser of Dietrich Henschel avoids any of the irritating caricatures that beset some interpretations of this part. His singing is generally firm and accurate though he does lack the individuality and humour of the finest interpreters of the past. The lively Magdalene of Michelle Breedt and fresh-voiced David of Peter Sonn are well matched, providing the necessary contrast with the voices of Eva and Walther. Georg Zeppenfeld proves himself a most reliable and noble sounding Veit Pogner. His fellow Mastersingers are generally well characterised, although the unsteady and strained Fritz Kothner of Tuomas Pursio is something of a trial. Matti Salminen's brief appearances as the Nachtwächter in Act 2 are two cameo gems. This brings us to the question of pacing a work that even without intervals can last almost five hours. For reference, Janowski's timings for each act are: I 79.54 II 58.34 III 114.47 He begins the opera with a fast (8.33), but flexibly moulded 'Vorspiel' that immediately demonstrates the clarity of sound that he wishes to achieve in Wagner. Here, as throughout this recording, one marvels at the exceptionally fine orchestral playing of all sections of the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester especially the rounded brass and characterful woodwind. Janowski's penchant for brisk tempi certainly propels the action forward, usually to the work's benefit, and his straight no-nonsense approach to the score will be welcomed by many listeners. Occasionally a sense of the music's warm expansiveness and grandeur is missing one example being the orchestral passage that links the opera' final scenes where he tends to push ahead too rapidly... The 4-disc set is handsomely packaged inside a 350-page book that includes the full German/ English libretto, biographies of the singers and an interesting essay on the characters by Steffen Georgi. In the final analysis Janowski's Meistersinger for all its estimable qualities is not quite in the exalted company of some of those listed above. Nevertheless it remains fine achievement and a most valuable addition to recordings of this work on disc. Recommended. --Copyright © 2011 Graham Williams and SA-CD.net

...In any event, Wagner's gargantuan comic opera (well over four hours in length) has, besides some nigh-slapstick humor at Beckmesser's expense, grandeur, pathos, and great spectacle as well. It must present quite a challenge for opera producers, especially in this age of straightened finances. But as with the rest of the operas in this PentaTone series, the present recording is based not a staged performance but on a live concert performance from the Berlin Philharmonie, which, come to think of it, must have presented its own challenges, given the huge forces both vocal and orchestral involved. I haven t heard the Parsifal from this source, which seems to be garnering mixed reviews, but as in Der fliegende Holländer, Janowski's pacing of the music and command of his musicians are impressively sure. The orchestra plays with great force and color, while the chorus is drilled to a T, emotive to a fault. As to the solo singing, this is an opera with a rich recorded tradition behind it. There are celebrated recordings by Karajan, Jochum, Kubelík, and Solti, featuring the greatest singers of the day: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau vs. José van Dam (Sachs), Hermann Prey vs. Ben Heppner (Beckmesser), Gundula Janowitz vs. Karita Mattila (Eva). I m not sure that any of Janowski s cast is quite of legendary quality, but Albert Dohmen, who was a very fine Holländer in the first opera in the series, makes a commanding Sachs: large voiced, touched with the right degree of noble pathos. Edith Haller can't compete with Janowitz (who could?) but is a sympathetic Eva, balancing innocence with awakening passion as the role demands. Her voice is light and clean, poised throughout. Apparently, Walther is a hard role to bring off, and while the American tenor Robert Dean Smith is mostly good, he seems to have tired by the third act; his song Morgen ich leuchte, the vocal set piece of the opera, shows strain compared, say, to the magnificent Ben Heppner, who admittedly enjoys the benefit of the studio recording experience. Actually, I find Dietrich Henschel's Beckmesser more effective, a fine performance throughout, including his comically muffed delivery of Walther's song to the accompaniment of a very twangy lute. The lesser roles are all handled more than competently by a veteran cast. If anything, PentaTone s live recording is an improvement on their mostly excellent Holländer; the rear channels aren t employed for any off-stage business, as they were in Holländer, but they're used to provide credible ambience and help define a very deep soundstage. Solo voices are beautifully, realistically placed in relation to the orchestra, chorus and orchestra being crystal clear, large of presence. In short, except for the a bit of splashiness in those big cymbal crashes, this is SACD sound at its best, live recording or no. From here, Janowski and company move on to Lohengrin. If they provide as fine a listening experience as in this Meistersinger, it will be worth hearing for sure. Lee Passarella --http://audaud.com/2012/04/wagner-die-meistersinger-von-nurnberg-complete-opera-soloistsrundfunk-sym-berlin-marek-janowski-pentatone-4-discs/

German composer Richard Wagner s only successful comedy was his three-act opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg). Lasting well over four hours, it was first performed in Munich in 1868. The story takes place in Nuremberg during the middle of the 16th century and revolves around the real-life guild of Meistersinger (Master Singers), an association of amateur poets and musicians, mostly from the middle class and often master craftsmen in their main professions. The Mastersingers developed an intricate system of rules for composing and performing songs and the work draws much of its charm from its faithful depiction of the traditions of the guild. One of the main characters, the cobbler-poet Hans Sachs, is based on a real person, Hans Sachs, the most famous of the historical Mastersingers. As part of the Pentatone label s ambitious plan to release a Complete Edition of new recordings of Wagner s ten major operas, conductor Marek Janowski and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin feature here in a live performance captured at the Berlin Philharmonie in June 2011. The surround sound quality on this four disc SACD set is superb and the excellent soloists include baritone Albert Dohmen as Hans Sachs, with Georg Zeppenfeld, Michael Smallwood, Sebastian Noack, Dietrich Henschel, Edith Haller, Robert Dean Smith and Jörg Schörner. --http://www.new-classics.co.uk/html/opera.html