Monday, August 5, 2013

EZ-Pass to Herheim's Meistersinger

If, like me, you are having a difficult time (particularly in the U.S) accessing this performance of Die Meistersinger at 3sat.de TV (and/or keeping it from freezing), some enterprising soul posted it You-Know-Where. Thanks to La Cieca for the tip. 

It's rumored that this production soon will be coming to the Metropolitan Opera. This announcement, in connection with the name Stefan Herheim, has already ruffled the delicate sensibilities of some regie-0-phobes. Not surprisingly, the outrage exploded before anyone has heard much about the actual production, much less actually seen and heard it. What I’ve seen so far doesn’t look nearly as freaky as, say, Herheim’s Parsifal or La Boheme; in general, I find Herheim's Personenregie thorough and convincing; so far so good, here

Act 1



Act 2




Act 3



Michael Volle – Hans Sachs
Roberto Saccà – Walther von Stolzing
Markus Werba – Sixtus Beckmesser
Anna Gabler – Eva
Monika Bohinec – Magdalene
Georg Zeppenfeld – Veit Pogner
Peter Sonn – David
Wiener Konzertverein
Wiener Philharmoniker
Daniele Gatti

I haven't heard much of the performance yet, so it's probably unfair to say that Roberto Saccà has seen better vocal days (maybe he is slow in warming up); but I'd rather hear Peter Sonn (David) as Walther (although he is an engaging David). It will be interesting to see who is in the Met cast. Maybe J. Kaufmann in his role debut? 

8 comments:

  1. This us AWESOME! Thanks so much for those links, let's hope they last.

    Herheim coming to the Met would be big news indeed, even with this much less disturbing production than the Bayreuth Parsifak (which is, in my opinion, pure genius)

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    1. At the same time, there were rumors of this production coming to Paris as well, but it's not scheduled this season...

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    2. I am looking forward to it here or in the HD cinema. I am glad to share these finds when I happen upon them! Thanks for reading!

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  2. I didn't find Herheim's La Boheme to be freaky. In fact, I felt I "got" La Boheme for the first time.

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    1. I really want to see that production. I only know good things about it. I also know that it probably really scares the regie-0-phobes, which makes me want to see it all the more. Have you seen the Bregenz Festival version from 2002? http://tinyurl.com/rnrBoheme

      For me, that shed a more pragmatic light on the whole bohemian falling-in-love/dying/being-artistic thing.It's a nice foil/antidote to the beautiful and anodyne Zeffirelli Met production.


      P.S. I want a violin-bridge chair, like Hans Sachs has. :)

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    2. I haven't seen the Bregenz production. It sounds interesting

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  3. This is exciting news. Good for Gelb! And I hope its still up on YT tomorrow so I can revel in the whole thing on my day off. What little I was able to stream looked wonderful (and sounded great).

    Kaufmann is scheduled for a Meistersinger somewhere, sometime in the not too distant future. Having heard his Walther in the concert version from Edinburgh, I can hardly wait.

    In a perfect world, Volle and Werba would repeat their roles in the Met production with Kaufmann as Walther.

    Tacking

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    1. Kaufmann, Volle and Werba together would be awesome! And maybe like, Emily Magee, Anja Kampe, or (for something completely different) Annette Dasch as Eva.

      I really like Michael Volle as Sachs, though he's wonderful, cranky Beckmesser, too. Some of his reviews have been less than stellar, and I disagree. I think he's wonderful.

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