Premiere of this production: 21 July 2023
Running time 5 hours 45 minutes
The performance has two intervals
Feit Pogner, a jeweler in Nuremberg, stirred the entire city with his daring proposal: only a mastersinger, a master vocalist, could marry his beautiful daughter Eva, the Grand Prix winner of a vocal competition. For her, Knight Walther von Stolzing is ready to become a burgher and master the intricacies of the singing craft. Natural talent and inspiration are not enough; one must also learn to create following the rules! Walther fails his first external exam, leaving him just one day to learn the art of mastersong, a process that takes others years of study. Fortunately, Nuremberg is home to the famous cobbler-poet Hans Sachs. A single lesson from this brilliant teacher is all the equally brilliant student needs to create a song that will bring victory and happiness. Of course, it’s a song about her – about Eva, who has become his muse. The masterpiece’s recipe includes two essential components: solid training + inspiration.
Knowing the rules of composition alone is insufficient. Beckmesser, the main theorist of mastersong, is utterly barren as a practitioner. Creating as the spirit moves, like Walther before meeting Hans Sachs, is also not the way. A true artist knows and relies on tradition while simultaneously moving forward.
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg stands apart from Wagner's other operas with their medieval romanticism and redemptive ideology. The robust, healthy, major-key music of this work neither oppresses nor intoxicates: it’s an opera-celebration with a grand apotheosis in the finale. To create "The Mastersingers," an art piece about art, Wagner diligently studied numerous historical sources on mastersong and German artisan culture, generously sharing his knowledge with the audience. All twelve names of the mastersingers are authentic, and the ingenious names of the "tones" (exemplary melodies) are historically accurate (their enumeration alone is fascinating, with titles like "fennel," "calf," "tone of the deceased wolverine," "tone of the faithful pelican," and a couple of dozen more in this vein). One of the opera's main "characters" is Nuremberg itself, the beautiful 16th-century city, fragrant with elderflower and linden. It seems Wagner brought all its inhabitants onto the stage: the sprightly, mischievous apprentice boys, the perpetually hungry journeymen craving female attention, the dignified and prosperous merchants and craftsmen. The city's inner masculine energy might even lead to a general brawl, especially on the eve of St John the Baptist's festival. Then, only women and the "hand of authority" – the night watchman – can restore order in the unfolding chaos.
Wagner dedicated "The Mastersingers" to the Bavarian King Ludwig, his fervent admirer. The king expected another "knighty and epic" opera but received a comedy instead: Wagner, as they say now, "broke the stereotype about himself." This Wagner, the comedic playwright, the smiling Wagner – though still instructive – was previously unknown and a much-needed addition to the Mariinsky Theatre's collection. The final link in the theatre’s Wagnerian collection is an opera by Wagner about himself: in the character of Hans Sachs, the composer saw his alter ego and even signed letters with this name. At the opera's very end, the people applaud, waving handkerchiefs and hats, and unanimously exclaim, "Long live Hans Sachs!" In other words: "Long live Richard Wagner!" Christina Batyushina
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This highlighting is being used in accordance with Federal Law N436-FZ dated 29 December 2010 (edition dated 1 May 2019) "On the protection of children from information that may be harmful to their health"
