(Photo credit: ©Enrico Nawrath) “My friend, that’s exactly the poet’s job: to make notes of his dreams – and then interpret them.” Hans Sachs, Act III A great mistake is often made in considering Wagner’s operas as complicated. Rather, they are dense, psychological investigations directly confronting archetype personages, be they gods, myths, or members of the family of man. When {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced a cast change for its August 14 performance of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.” The company said that “Georg Zeppenfeld is unable to take on the role of Hans Sachs due to illness. He will perform the role scenically; Nicholas Brownlee will sing the part.” Meanwhile, “Matthias Stier is also unable to perform for health reasons. The role {…}
On July 25, the Bayereuth Festival is set to open with a new production of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.” The production will be streamed on Deutsche Grammophon’s STAGE+ platform and will also have a delayed screening of the inaugural performance across Germany as part of the “Wagner im Kino” initiative. The July 25 premiere will also be televised on a {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has unveiled its 2025 season. The season opens with “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” starring Michael Spyres, Georg Zeppenfeld, Christina Nilsson, Christa Mayer, and Matthias Stier. Daniele Gatti conducts and Matthias Davids directs. Performance Dates: July 25 – August 22, 2025 Valentin Schwarz’s “Das Rheingold” will be conducted by Simone Young and features Tomas Konieczny, Olafur Sigurdarson, Daniele Behle, {…}
It has been 23 years since Daniel Barenboim offered three performances of Wagner’s comedy at Teatro Real. It was the first Laurent Pelly Wagner production, and therefore the expectations were high. And the result did not disappoint an enthusiastic audience which gave strong ovations at the curtain call. Pelly is a master in “comedy” and he recognizes that he doesn’t {…}
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced a change to its upcoming festival. The company said that it would replace Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” with Verdi’s “Falstaff.” Daniele Gatti will conduct the masterpiece in Sven-Eric Bechtolf’s 2021 production with a cast that includes Michael Volle (Falstaff), Markus Werba (Ford), and Claudia Huckle (Meg Page), who were already scheduled for “Meistersinger.” {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced a major cast change for its production of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.” The company stated via social media that Sir Donald Runnicles was forced to withdraw from the production due to an “acute shoulder illness.” In his stead, audiences will see and hear conductor Markus Stenz at the podium. He will join a production {…}
(Credit: Devon Cass) The Vallejo Center for the Arts has announced that the Empress Theatre will reopen after two-year long hiatus due to COVID-19 pandemic with a special concert featuring Canadian American dramatic soprano Othalie Graham. The concert, which will take place on Jan. 15, 2022, will be dedicated to the great German composer Richard Wagner. Graham will perform dramatic {…}
(Credit: Opera Online) The Oper Leipzig has announced the cancellation of all performances between Nov. 22 and Dec. 12, 2021. Per the latest order of the Government of Saxony, all theaters and opera houses must remain closed until Dec. 12, 2021. The opera house did manage to complete its run of performing David Pountney’s production of Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von {…}
(Credit: Richard Termine) For this edition of the Opera Quiz we turn to one of Wagner’s greatest (and longest) operas, “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.” Past editions of the quiz focused on musical or dramatic questions about the operas in question. But we are focusing even more acutely in this edition – by literally testing your knowledge of the mastersingers themselves. {…}
(Credit: Richard Termine) The Metropolitan Opera opened its revival of Wagner’s masterpiece “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021 to a half-full hall. I don’t usually bring up audience attendance because it is beside the point in terms of artistic merit and the integrity of performances. But given that we live in a “post-pandemic” world, there is no {…}