Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg

'Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg' may be one of Wagner's longest operas, but it is also one of his best. Even if somewhat light on plot, the story is still compelling and has so much joy, emotional investment and entertainment value, as well as so much narrative and musical detail, that it doesn't feel that way.

The characters are also interesting and easy to relate to, especially Hans Sachs, if also quite demanding (again especially Sachs but Beckmesser is also a problematic role to play as well) to sing, which is true of Wagner generally. Lastly the music is simply magnificent, with so many gems in the score such as the Overture, the Quintet, the Prize Song and Sachs' big monologue.

Of the generally solid DVD competition, one of the better overall DVD competitions of all Wagner operas, the only bad one is the irritating, crass and distasteful to the point of causing offence Bayreuth production directed by Katharina Wagner, redeemed only by the performances of Beckmesser and Walther. Faring best are the 2011, 1984, 2001 and 1970 performances, though most range from very good to great.

This production is one of the weaker productions available, but is by no means bad. And while there are some less than tasteful touches and the stage direction and two performances that don't work, it is certainly not as continually irritating, crass or distasteful as the Bayreuth production.

Visually it is a beautiful production to look at, being rustic, charming and rich in colour, with a specific time period and no mish-mashes. The miniatures do have charm and serve their purpose well at first. Stefan Herheim's stage direction is successful in some areas, but questionable in others.

It does succeed in bringing entertainment and joy when needed like with Beckmesser's failed attempt at the Prize song for instance, it's nuanced and moving in the Quintet and doesn't try to do too much in that scene which would have been spoilt it completely and develops Sachs and Beckmesser (who manage to be complex characters here) incredibly well. Very much liked the opening additional scene with Sachs, which saw his vulnerability straight away and immediately made him somebody worth rooting for.

Where it is less successful is for example not having enough romantic chemistry between Eva and Walther, that should enchant but was at best lukewarm, some tonal shifts at times jar to an unsettling degree and while the miniatures served well at first they did start to grate and tried too hard to be cute, if there is anything that 'Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg' isn't really it is cute.

The exaggerated and pointless reactions to the first time Walther started singing also grated, the big Sachs and Beckmesser is over-directed and took Beckmesser's treatment of Sachs to rather extreme levels (Michael Volle and Markus Werba did act and sing the heck out of that scene though), but faring worst was the end of Act 2 which was very bacchanal-like and like stepping into some kind of weird and crass nightmare which did not fit the music at all. Don't mind things when it's different, do when it has no reason, distracts rather than adds and feel pointless.

Musically, it is mostly brilliant. There are two exceptions to the performances, Anna Gabler's Eva and Roberto Sacca's Walther (not the first time these roles have been flaws), very capable singers sadly not in very good voice. Gabler often sounds shrill and laboured, sounding taxed in the Quintet, which was a shame as the scene was staged beautifully and very well performed elsewhere, and unlike the earlier Glyndebourne production she fails to bring charm and allure. Sacca is stolid and lacks ardour, while also sounding worn, tired and unsteady, his Prize Song was less than winning and did the impossible of making Beckmesser's failed attempt at singing it more listenable. Personal opinion of course.

However, the orchestra are on fine form, capturing every dynamic and texture in a very textually rich score, with rousing brass, soaring woodwind and often delicate woodwind. As are the beautifully balanced and prepared chorus, who also do much with little and cope well with touches that a lesser chorus would have looked much more ill at ease with. Daniele Gatti clearly conducts with a love for the music, which always does help, and is sympathetic without being sluggish and lively and alert while not as completely as inspired as other readings.

Michael Volle is fantastic as Sachs, vocally it is a warm voice of many colours and very musically phrased and shaped, with a gruff bite but also tender nuances. Dramatically, his Sachs is complex and multi-faceted, every dimension of this fascinating character brought out vividly. Markus Werba, as a younger than usual Beckmesser, is a real find with a great career ahead of him and worthy of more DVDs and recordings.

Here is a Beckmesser with a beautiful and lyrical voice also used with character without resorting to yelling or barking. The role can easily be obnoxious and over-acted, but Werba brings the prissiness but is also very funny, occasionally menacing but also he achieves the seemingly impossible task (like Johannes Martin Kranzle for the recent Met production, which is splendid by the way) of making one feel sorry for Beckmesser. Georg Zeppenfeld is an authoritative and gracefully and nobly sung Pogner. All the secondary roles are very well taken.

Overall, uneven but often impressive. There are better productions of the opera around, but there are far worse representations of Wagner around. 6/10 Bethany Cox