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What our customer's say!

"Is Wagner Truly a Great Composer?", Quite a pageant, this Meistersinger! The sets are magnificent. So are the costumes. The comic bits are really funny, and the poignant bits are poignant enough. The recording and cinematography are first rate, good mainstream movie quality. The orchestra plays beautifully. I sat through most of the 292 minutes of the DVD thinking that I would have to award at least four stars. Make no mistake: I was genuinely entertained. However, there were four dreadful weaknesses:

1. The singing of James Morris. As other reviewers assert, his voice sounds old and tired. His tuning is imperfect at critical moments. His lower register is feeble and raspy. I kept finding my ears wishing he'd sit down and let someone else sing. Perhaps he has been a great singer in his days, but he's not adequate to the burden of singing Hans Sachs today. I could go farther; I could say that his voice has all the musical charm of a gas-powered leafblower, but that would be cruel and impolitic.

2. The chorus. Did no one else notice what a growly mess they made of their music? Such an approximation of tuning! Pfui! Teufel!

3. Hans Sachs's final paean to German mastery. Not only was James Morris's voice reduced to a thin snarl by that time but the whole aria is anti-climactic both musically and dramatically. Given the historical resonance of Wagner's role in German culture, it was also painful to the mind.

4. The music. Half of it is glorious, memorable, inspiring. I've carried the Meistersingers' entry march in my mind since I first played it myself in my junior high school orchestra. Unfortunately, the other half of the score is grind-it-by-the-foot sausage music. Did Wagner's ego blind him to the compositional requirement of giving us his best at all times, of polishing and selecting? I loved the high points of this performance, but it required a bovine patience and devotion to fairness to sit through the rest.

Others have commented on the problems specific to the DVD format, that both Karita Mattila and Ben Heppner look too old and stiff. I had the same problem at first. Heppner in particular has the physical presence of a tuba player in a small town oompah band. But I overcame that sensation of incredulity as I listened to their splendid vocal performance. Opera is still a stage art, and such magnificent voices are not so common that a few wrinkles and a little pudge should banish them from the stage.

"Very good traditional performance", Actually I would rate it 4 1/2 stars. The singers and conducting are excellent, the sets and costumes are excellent (very traditional) The reason I don't give it 5 stars is because the opera has some tedious sections. If you love Meistersinger, you will probably give this DVD 5 stars.

"Met production a worthy addition to your Wagner library", This performance of Wagner's epic (length) romantic comedy is technically very accomplished and the performances are quite splendid. I must say that Thomas Allen's Beckmesser is perhaps the funniest 'villian' I have ever seen in an opera. He stole every single scene he was in. He has a wonderful voice, but is also an extraordinarily gifted actor. Kudos! Yes, this opera does go on and on and on, but with Wagner, this is to be expected. I might make millions of Wagner devotees go bald with horror, but a good libretto editor would definetely have helped lift Wagner's glorious music out of the plodding overlong speechiness that weakens every one of his operas. Good stuff, but pack a suitcase!

"A Magnificent Meistersinger", I know this opera very well, having played it several times (violinist) and heard/seen it many more times.

I believe this is the finest opera DVD I have seen. It is full of the visual charm needed to place it in its context as a German opera, and musically it is superb. The acting, lighting, scenery and costuming are matchless in my experience. Every part is sung/acted convincingly, even though not all the singers seem perfectly suited to their parts in regard to age.

I plan to see it many times on our new 42-inch HDTV. I can recommend it without hesitation.

"Uneven but overall a welcome addition", As with most MET DVDs, this one is brightly filmed; the sets are generally colorful and realistic (i.e., look appropriate to Nuremberg rather than Aunt Lizzie's broom closet or some such). The orchestra is first class, and the singers mostly do justice to the work.
Why not five stars? An opera DVD can compromise somewhat on the voices (as this one does), but it lives or falls on the sets, direction, and acting ability (as well as appearance) of the singers. (If you desire the best voices, look for an audio recording -- the Kubelik, the second Karajan, or the Sawallisch are good bets from the vocal/orchestra perspective.) Here's where my reservations enter:
1. Although the sets for Acts II and III are what one would expect (and accomodate the crowd scenes well within the limitations of a stage), the set for Act I is terrible. After the magnificent overture (a little too stately from Levine, but that's his style), the curtain rises on the congregation in song. Done right, this can be a powerful visual experience. What the MET does is place the chorus behind a wooden screen with a single doorway (through which Eva can be seen), so the visual impact of the church scene is lost. It's as if the viewer were a church mouse peeping out of the rector's closet. The visual doldrom of this set contributes to what seems to be an extra long Act I (again, Levine's tempos don't help either).
2. This production suffers from the all too frequent perverse relationship between singing and acting/appearance. The best singers (Heppner, Mattila) are the worst actors and/or the actors that appear least appropriate for the role. (Although Heppner hardly looks like a dashing young knight, at least he gives some representation to the weight challenged among us (including me) who are underrepresented in most of the entertainment world.) Morris looks ok in the part, but his voice shows significant signs of wear (especially in Act I; things improve, curiously, as the opera progresses). The exceptions are Allen (Beckmesser) and Pape (Pogner) who both sing and act well. (Pape would have been better as Sachs.)
3. Although the MET orchestra plays beautifully, there is a sluggisheness to the proceedings. Levine prefers slow tempi; that can work in Parsifal (it does in the 1979 and 1985 broadcast performances; less so in the 1993 filmed version)and Mahler (in my view he is an underrated Mahler conductor). However, Meistersinger requires more sparkle; you can't find that here despite the excellence of the sound.
As for comparisons, I have only seen a portion of the Australian opera production with McIntyre as Sachs; overall, the MET production is superior.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"View this at your peril, Wagner-haters!", It's hard to imagine a better performance, even given that Mattila is not a brilliant actress, though she makes up with enthusiasm and sheer charm.

The orchestra and Levine do a more than competent job. Not a lot is needed to make this work shine (notwithstanding some of the reviews above); everyone involved seems to love this piece --though it's hard to say with Morris; several decades of Wotan can't make it easy to see all things anew-- and rightly so.

Karita Mattila is a wonderful soprano, with one of the most beautiful faces I have seen. She plays Eva as an eager, precocious young woman, but I don't think she gets it *quite* right. (I'm a lot better at imagining the middle ages than most people, and I can't think anyone alive today could get that character just right, and still sing Wagner, but that's just my opinion...) But that's the beauty of it; you don't *have* to get it perfect to make a wonderful DVD. Mattila has a glowing voice, as close to a lyrical soprano as you can get in Wagner opera.

Heppner has sung this role with Mattila before (I know of Chicago and Solti, for instance, at least for a audio recording), and he really is both a good actor and an excellent tenor, not a heldentenor, which would, IMHO, not be appropriate.

James Morris brings a great controlled stillness to the role of Hans Sachs. Wagner depicted Sachs as a patriarchal figure, struggling to emerge from his middle age with grace. Morris manages this easily; the close-ups show the details of his facial expression (which the theater audience probably would have not been able to see), climaxing in the third act with an outburst in which he deplores being the universal uncle (though he complains ostensibly of being a cobbler). The outburst --the emotional climax of the opera-- is quelled, or perhaps resolved, by young Eva, who declares her love for him in such a way that Sachs finds it possible to be the Uncle once again, and help the young lovers. Wagner can be forgiven much for this scene: so human, so forthright, yet so restrained--for Wagner! But the Wotan Wobble is present; love me--love my wobble, says James Morris.

The supporting cast is better than excellent, from the comical Beckmesser, to the inept but loyal couple of Lena (Magdalena) and David.

View this at your peril, Wagner-haters!

Arch

"Mediocre - but only just.", This version is an undisguised copy of the 1951 Beyreuth production and suffers from being produced in the New World where many things can be done well but few, excellently. The Metropolitan is in this mould - whether it is Vaudeville or Wagner, both will be done with great competence but without brilliance.
Brilliance, alas, is what is needed in Wagner and it is a pity that the orchestra and chorus cannot be given a conductor of equal ability.

"Grand Slam", I attended the live performance that was filmed to make this DVD. It was one of my all time favorite Wagner opera performances. There was great chemistry between James Morris and Karita Mattila. Ben Heppner was his usual great self. Matthew Polenzani who is a relative new comer to the Met was a delight. The last scene in the live performance was electric. Unfortunately the DVD doesn't fully capture the magic of the performance although if you hadn't seen the live performance the last scene on the DVD is a knockout.

"Heppner and Mattila aside, too often a drag", The best parts of this Meistersinger are Ben Heppner's Walther and Karita Mattila's Eva. Heppner is in gorgeous voice for Walther, although his girth literally can get in the way of the action and the viewer's enjoyment (Brian Large's all-too-frequent closeups do not help). Mattila is the best actor on stage, an infectious, lovely Eva in fine fettle. Her interactions with Heppner provide most of the spark on stage. Thomas Allen's detailed and insightful Beckmesser, and the refulgent sound of the Met Orchestra are also high points.

James Levine's Wagner has never been to my taste - too ponderous, with little line or shape (unless, as they say, round is a shape). Most of the big moments here - Sach's two monologues, the quintet - lack any fire, any conviction. Too often, when Levine does get any momentum going, it is in such contrast to what has preceded it, the music simply does not hold together. Knappertsbusch also took slow tempi in Meistersinger (although judging from his superb 1952 Bayreuth version, not nearly as slow as Levine). But Knapperstbusch knew how to sustain the line and didn't force his singers into levels of discomfort like here.

James Morris' Sachs is a case in point. Under Levine's heavy-handed approach, Morris is stretched to where his wobble becomes even more pronounced. The voice is just not in very good shape. His low range is pretty shot and the vocal weight is not there. His acting, too, leaves something to be desired; Morris is pretty stiff, often resorting to simply crossing his arms and looking uncomfortable. An insightful, wise poet-cobbler he is not. When I saw Morris as Sachs in San Francisco, one of his finest moments came at the end when he approached the scorned Beckmesser and put his arm around him, a touching, consoling gesture. Here he is not even close to Beckmesser at the end, instead swamped by the masters. An opportunity lost.

The masters also often look pretty uncomfortable, resorting to petty reactions in Act 1 that belittle their own tradition. Watch the masters in Fruhbeck de Burgos' touching DVD version with the Deutsche Oper, and you have a totally different feeling. They may be stodgy, resisting Walther's radical new singing, but they still have a dignity and tradition which makes their dilemma compelling, and which eludes the Met's masters, who too often seem petty and childish. Sets here are traditional but drab, not enlivening the proceedings.

Without question, the Fruhbeck de Burgos version is far more inviting. Better acting, inviting sets, fine voices throughout and buoyant tempos make it a wondrous experience, full of humanity. Meistersinger frequently brings a lump to the throat and Fruhbeck's performance delivers in abundance. Other than Walther's prize singing and Mattila, this one too often is a drag.

"Music performance fine; but acting terrible", The orchestra under Levine and the singing are great. Mattila has a radiant voice and Heppner is fine too. But the acting is simply awful. Beckmesser is made into a silly fool with a sour expression almost all the time as if suffering from severe indigestion while Mattila's Eva is flighty and flirtatious when she ought to be restrained and demure. Morris is too too American in manner to be a convincing Sachs. And Polenzani is a bit hefty for a young journeyman. The Bayreuth video with Weikl and Prey and Jerusalem is almost as good musically and infinitely better acted. It has much nicer sets too. This Met production makes the final "meadow" look more like a car park than anything else.