As with his contemporary set of Strauss’s Elektra, Sawallisch
brings the lifetime experience of a true Kapellmeister to his
performance of Wagner’s great comedy. In Strauss’s opera Sawallisch’s
mastery of the score couldn’t disguise the fact that some of his
protagonists were, to be frank, not up to the job. Happily his
1993 set of Meistersinger is another matter.
Working
with what were then his own Bavarian State Opera forces, Sawallisch
creates a true sense of an ensemble performance, with even
the small parts contributing in their own way to the overall
effect. His pacing of the score is expert, allowing us to
savour Wagner’s richest lyrical moments, and opening up for
the big set-pieces such as the transition to the Meadows for
the last scene of Act 3. He is also adept at projecting Wagner’s
contrapuntal mastery in this score, a tribute to historic
German tradition embodied by Bach and others. He is helped
by a sound-picture that is rich, clear and resonant.
Bernd
Weikl's Sachs is a solid, dependable creation, nobly voiced
although perhaps lacking just the last degree of poetry and
imagination which the greatest interpreters have brought to
the part - witness Hans Hotter, for example, on Music and
Arts from Bayreuth in 1956. Perhaps more cobbler than poet,
he sings well but doesn’t always pierce to the soul of Wagner’s
genial creation. It’s a performance that embodies ample experience
without being especially memorable in its own right. Theo
Adam’s Sachs on Karajan’s Dresden set came in for some criticism
for being rather gruff of voice, but he characterises the
role far more effectively than Weikl. Norman Bailey on Solti’s
first set is also very good, although he is let down by his
conductor’s slick approach. Chandos hope to release a live
Sadler’s Wells Mastersingers from 1968 under Reginald
Goodall featuring Bailey, Remedios et al which should
be worth waiting for.
Ben
Heppner’s radiantly secure Walther is a joy from start to
finish, to my mind rivalling Sandor Konya in Kubelik’s marvellous
1967 Munich set, originally made for DG but never issued by
that label and only appearing many years later on Myto and
Calig. Try to track it down if you’ve never heard it. Heppner’s
singing of the Prize Song is one of the finest on disc, and
his exchanges with Eva and Sachs are very fine. He is also
adept at projecting Walther’s nervous anger as he is initially
rejected by the assembled Mastersingers and his growing confidence
as his musical skill progresses under Sachs’s tutelage.
Studer
sings the role of Eva with radiant tone although in terms
of imagination she is not the equal of Schwarzkopf in the
live 1951 Bayreuth recording with Karajan. Her exchanges with
Sachs which form the centre-piece of the opera are well pointed
and create a believable portrait of a young woman torn between
duty to her father and attraction to the new in the shape
of Walther von Stolzing. Perhaps a little more experience
in the role would have turned her performance from good to
superlative.
The
late Deon van der Walt sings a characterful, bright-eyed David,
Magdalene is sung by the excellent Cornelia Kallisch. Siegfried
Lorenz as Beckmesser is a past master at vocal and verbal
emphasis, in the great traditions of the role; like all the
best performers this is not an unpleasant caricature and we
are not allowed to forget that Beckmesser, for all his pedantry,
is also a Mastersinger. My ideal would have been to hear Fischer-Dieskau
in the role, but that’s not going to happen!
Sawallisch
is the hero of the hour here, supported by some excellent individual
performances and choral and orchestral forces which have this
music thoroughly in their blood.
Ewan McCormick
