Richard WAGNER (1813-1883)
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg [233:39]
Walther – James King (tenor)
Eva – Pilar Lorengar (soprano)
Madgalene – Shirley Love (mezzo)
David – Loren Driscoll (tenor)
Pogner – Ezio Flagello (bass)
Beckmesser – Benno Kusche (baritone)
Hans Sachs – Theo Adam (bass-baritone)
The Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra/Thomas Schippers
rec. originally broadcast live, Met, 15 January 1972. Mono
SONY CLASSICAL 88697 853042 [3 CDs: 78:20 + 77:50 + 77:19] 
This recording is a joy, a friendly wave from a former age and a window onto
what must have been a fantastic afternoon in the theatre. It also takes its
place as an important historical document, part of the great Met tradition
and an instalment of their - surely unrivalled - recorded legacy of Saturday
matinee broadcasts which has been ‘raided’ by Sony for this current set of
CD releases.
One glance down the cast-list is enough to know that this performance will
be special. Most of these performers never recorded the opera elsewhere and
in almost every case that is something to be regretted. The main attraction
is the pair of young lovers. James King is an absolutely outstanding Walther,
his voice glowing, burnished, radiant, heroic. Again and again you hear things
in the part that you just hadn’t noticed before. King plays him as an Alpha-male
so that it is clear from the outset just why Eva finds him so attractive and
why Beckmesser finds him so threatening. There is a lovely sense of caution-to-the-winds
in his trial song, which is exactly the way it should be, and he is also a
great actor: just listen to his “O diese Meister!” in Act 2! The climax, however,
comes, as it should, with his Prize Song, which is a thing to marvel at, especially
in its final version at the festival: it shines with beauty while pulsating
with energy and vigour. King is quite wonderful and his performance alone
would justify the purchase of this set. When he is put alongside the outstanding
Eva of Pilar Lorengar the decision makes itself. She is a delight, the voice
clear and radiant, glowing with purity without becoming prissy. She lights
up every scene in which she appears and her dialogues with Sachs are fantastic
psychological portrayals, full of will-she-won’t-she suggestions. She crowns
the great quintet after a radiant “O Sachs, mein freund!”
The other standout is Benno Kusche’s Beckmesser, an magnificent character
singer whose singing brings Beckmesser to life with his vocal acting. Your
mind’s eye can see him easily as he blusters in the Song School, serenades
Eva in the street and submits to humiliation before the townsfolk. He never
resorts to unpleasant mannerisms, though, and his performance is never less
than fully musical. The ensemble of the other masters is very good too, and
includes a young “Sachs of the future”, James Morris, as Schwarz. Ezio Flagello
is perhaps a surprising choice for Pogner, but his cavernous bass adds greatly
to the character’s gravitas, almost making him surpass Sachs for authority
and weight. Shirley Love is a characterful and interesting Madgalene, and
Loren Driscoll’s David is loveable, if a little nasal at times.
The only slight reservation is Theo Adam’s Sachs. Adam’s voice is never one
I have loved: too often he can sound gritty and stretched and, to be honest,
there are times when he sounds that way here. However, I expected to find
this more off-putting than I eventually did, whether because my ear tuned
in to him or because it suited his interpretation of the role. His voice certainly
lends an extra air of world-weariness to the monologues of Act 3, and only
in the address after Wach auf! does he sound a little thin and brittle.
However, if you liked his assumption of the role for Karajan on EMI then you’ll
enjoy him here. Speaking of Wach auf, the Met Chorus are on outstanding
form throughout, and this Act 3 climax is incredibly moving, not least thanks
to the intelligent conducting of Thomas Schippers. He keeps the whole work
moving with a keen sense of pacing so that everything feels natural, though
he wallows a bit too much in the Prelude to Act 3.
It’s a shame that the 1972 radio sound is in mono, as if not then this could
have challenged some of the very best versions of this opera. The sound remains
perfectly acceptable, though, and is relatively clear in some places, though
it’s a shame that the on-stage drummers stood so close to the microphones
in Act 3!
Only one thing stops me from recommending this whole-heartedly: there is a
short but extremely bizarre cut in Sachs’ final monologue and it is the very
section which tends to contribute most to the work’s bad reputation, namely
the section about “false, foreign rule” and Holy German Art. It’s very odd
as the cut can’t shave any more than about 2 minutes off the running time
and it makes me wonder if it was done for some misguided ideological reasons.
Many listeners won’t be bothered by this, though for me it smacked of dishonesty.
If you’re going to perform Meistersinger then you need to accept its
beauties and its faults, warts and all, as it were, and what you do with them
is up to you, but you need to accept the whole work rather than picking and
choosing the less unsettling aspects.
However, taking my own advice I’m going to accept this recording, warts and
all, and for me there is so much good that I will happily live with it. It’s
not a version for beginners due to the sound and the fact that the documentation
is minimal (only an English synopsis) but if you know the opera then this
is a version to acquire and to love. It is something very special, and the
budget price undoubtedly helps.
Simon Thompson
Something very special, and the budget price undoubtedly helps.