Search - Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Mackerras, Doese, McIntyre, Opera Australia on DVD

Great Production, Average Sound

Brian J Hay | Sarnia, Ontario Canada | 02/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The real fun in this performance is in the scenes shared by Donald McIntyre and Jonathan Pringle. As Hans Sachs and Sixtus Beckmesser respectively both men excel in their roles. These two had fun doing this and it's noticeable everywhere. Their facial expressions and body language are hilarious and their timing is superb. The level of spontaneity they share exceptional to the point where they don't appear to be acting. These two feed each other the way the members of some of the great comedy teams have and go beyond just being funny. One of the moving moments in the production comes near the end when Sachs goes to the humiliated Beckmesser to lift him back up. It's rare to see roles played with such a rare mixture of (wicked) glee and compassion.

One criticism that dogs Wagner is that his work lacks melody. It is true that he seldom made use of conventional song structure but he did know how it was done. "Morgandlich leuchtend im rosigen Shein" ("Shining in the rosy light of morning") should lay that myth to rest once and for all. This piece combines combines melody with formal structure and an injection of free thinking but stays within the traditional rounded form beautifully. This is also a very good performance of it. Paul Frey's rendition of this classic is great. His singing throughout the drama is splendid.

His acting isn't as strong. It's passable but not in the same class as the work from Donald McIntyre and John Pringle. His portrayal of Walther is somewhat one-dimensional and seldom does more than provide a springboard for the actions surrounding him. There are also a few times where he looks a bit lost. To be fair the character is never given the same depth as the rest of the principle players but there's still the feeling that more could have been done with the role. He also lacks chemistry with Helena Doese who plays Eva. His singing however, is excellent. For her part, Doese gives an excellent performance in the role of Eva. She has a beautiful voice and sings with all the warmth, power and compassion the role demands. The only weak points in her performance lie in her scenes with Frey. The attraction she's supposed to have for Walther never matches the obvious warmth she has for Sachs. Again, this points to a lack of chemistry between her and Frey.

The music from 'Die Meistersinger' is one of Wagner's brightest (perhaps his brightest) scores and this is an excellent performance of it. Conductor Charles Mackerras leads the Opera Australia Orchestra through an up tempo and airy rendition that captures its sunny nature beautifully. The music sparkles as if there's a series of small multi-coloured sunbursts flashing in time with the action. It isn't the type of time signature that follows a metronome though. It has its own signature, one that flows with the tide of the music and creates its own beat. Unfortunately, the sound has been compressed on this recording. It's not extreme enough to make it really dull, but it's not as vivid as it could be. Brass instruments have a real growl at their bottom end. In the real world stringed instruments have a noticeable bite (the bow does bounce off of the strings as it moves across them) to their sound. The list goes on. The audio track on this set has these qualities but not to the degree it should. It would be nice to see this production re-mastered to Dolby (or at least PCM without compression like the Chéreau production of the Ring). It would surprise a lot of people.

It would also lift this set to a near perfect rating. Paul Frey could have done more but his singing is excellent and his shortcomings don't really hurt the production. The sound isn't quite what it could be but the work of the ensemble comes close to making up for it. Highly recommended."