Die Meistersinger

Wagner (Artist), Kollo (Artist), Donath (Artist), Karajan (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B000002RQY
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,042 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Prelude - Staatskapelle Dresden/Herbert Von Karajan

2. Act One, Scene One: Da zu dir der Heiland kam - R. Wagner

3. Act One, Scene One: Verweilt!-Ein Wort! - Rene Kollo/Helen Donath/Ruth Hesse

4. Act One, Scene One: Da bin ich! - Peter Schreier/Rene Kollo/Helen Donath/Ruth Hesse

5. Act One, Scene Two: David, was stehst? - Peter Schreier/Rene Kollo

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Act One, Scene Three: Fanget an! - Geraint Evans/Rene Kollo

2. Act One, Scene Three: Seid Ihr nun fertig? - Geraint Evans/Rene Kollo/Karl Ridderbusch/Zoltan Kelemen

3. Act One, Scene Three: Halt! Meister! Nicht so geeilt! - Geraint Evans/Rene Kollo/Karl Ridderbusch/Zoltan Kelemen/Theo Adam/Horst Lunow

4. Act Two, Scene One: Johannistag! Johannistag! - Peter Schreier/Ruth Hesse/Theo Adam

5. Act Two, Scene Two: Laß seh'n, ob Meister Sachs zu Haus? - Karl Ridderbusch/Helen Donath/Ruth Hesse

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Prelude - Staatskapelle Dresden/Herbert Von Karajan

2. Act Three, Scene One: Gleich Meister! Hier! - Chor Der Staatsoper Dresden/Chor Des Leipziger Rundfunks/Horst Neumann

3. Act Three, Scene One: Am Jordan Sankt Johannes stand - Peter Schreier/Theo Adam

4. Act Three, Scene One: Wahn! Wahn! Uberall Wahn! - Theo Adam

5. Act Three, Scene Two: Gruß Gott, mein Junker! - Chor Der Staatsoper Dresden/Chor Des Leipziger Rundfunks/Horst Neumann

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Act Three, Scene Four: Die selige Morgentraum-Deutweise...Selig, wie die Sonne - Theo Adam/Helen Donath/Rene Kollo/Peter schreier/Ruth Hesse

2. Act Three, Scene Five: Sankt Crispin, Lobet ihn! - R. Wagner

3. Act Three, Scene Five: Ihr tanzt? Was werden die Meister sagen? - Peter Schreier

4. Act Three, Scene Five: Silentium! Silentium!...Wach auf, es nahet gen den Tag - R. Wagner

5. Act Three, Scene Five: Euch macht ihr's leicht, mir macht ihr's schwer - Theo Adam/Karl Ridderbusch/Geraint Evans

See all 9 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent festival opera, July 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Die Meistersinger (Audio CD)

Die Meistersinger was the first Wagner opera I heard, and of them all it is the most unique. The comic nature of Die Meistersinger is exemplified in the marvelous casting in this recording, chosen well by Karajan. Kollo is perfect for the role of Walther: a fine romantic Heldentenor. Eva (played by Donath) has the perfect charm and tone for the role, and Adam's Sachs is lovable and charming. Schreier's David is just right for the young, animated personality of the apprentice. Magdalena, played by Hesse, has the perfect sound of an "old maid," and Ridderbusch gives Pogner a wonderful fatherly tenderness. Beckmesser most of all is splendid; Evans gave an exemplary performance in the portrayal of Beckmesser's pomposity and awkwardness.

The greatest recording of Die Meistersinger I have yet heard. Kudos!

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A shoemaker's reach for the sublime song, July 17, 2004

By 

Mike Birman (Brooklyn, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Kollo · Donath · Adam · G. Evans · Schreier · Hesse· Riderbusch · Karajan (Audio CD)

On a cold February Sunday afternoon in 1989 I watched an old and wizened man painfully shuffle onto the stage of Carnegie Hall. As he grasped the handrails placed around the podium I smiled nervously in gratitude that his ordeal was over. It was Will alone that forced his baton upwards. Thus began an astounding 90 minutes of music. The Bruckner 8th Karajan conducted that day was his valedictory, his farewell to music: and to the audience, his fellow voyagers, a glimpse of the beyond. A few months later he was dead.

I confess to being a fan of Karajan...the early Karajan of the 1950's through 70's before illness slowed his wand and his unerring vision of orchestral clarity and transparent vocal textures failed. Most of my favorite recorded Opera's of that era are conducted by him. This recording of Meistersinger is evidence of his greatness, if it is evidence you need. Arguments over this singer's aptness or that one's tonal quality are irrelevant when confronted with four and a half hours of matchless sublimity. It is the totality of this performance that recommends it. The slightly guttural sound of the Dresden brasses. The richness of the strings. The Vox Humana woodwinds. All make Wagner's most humane Opera breathe. This orchestra's Central European distinctiveness, slightly coarse and without that sheen the flashier Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics are (justly) famous for, heighten the down-to-earth nature of this Opera. No Gods. No Gold. No powerful jewelry. Just a shoemaker and a nervous song writer.

Theo Adam is not everyone's cup of pilsener. His tone is cruder than I'd like, perhaps. But he's not Wotan. The slight inelegance of his voice enhances his performance. Kollo has always been difficult for me to judge. That reediness that creeps into his voice can annoy me if I'm in a bad mood. A sort-of SpongeBob KolloPants. But then Meistersinger is a comedy. Peter Schreier has always been one of my favorite singers and I find him perfect here. Riderbusch, likewise. Helen Donath makes a fine Wagnerian ingenue. Evans avoids taking his performance of Beckmesser over-the-top. That's not easy. The part almost screams for cheap laughs. No performance detracts from the proceedings.

The real stars, however, are Wagner and Karajan. This is a great Opera. It requires a unifying vision to make it all work. Recordings of this Opera are infrequent. Great ones are rare. This is one of the rare ones. Not a Reference recording but certainly an important one. If you must choose one Meistersinger (of course, true Wagnerians never face that problem), I strongly recommend this recording. The sound is typical EMI of the era: warm and clear with a lifelike three-dimensionality creating a nice illusion of stage space. Of course, if your budget enables you to supplement this record with one or two others, the recent Sawallisch-Heppner effort merits serious consideration. 5 out of 5 stars for a great recording.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent sound, May 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Kollo · Donath · Adam · G. Evans · Schreier · Hesse· Riderbusch · Karajan (Audio CD)

I think the reviewer who complains of Karajan's 'queer and ditry sounds' may be getting confused with his 1951 live Bayreuth recording. This one, recorded in the studio in 1970, has excellent sound for its time, especially in its most recent reissue. Although it's a studio recording, Karajan made long takes with very few remakes, and the resultant atmosphere is almost as good as a live performance. The singers, if not always ideally suited vocally to their roles, are nevertheless excellent as a team with the whole performance adding up to considerably more than the sum of its parts. The one performance with which nobody could quibble is that of Karl Ridderbusch as Pogner: his voice is incredibly beautiful. Helen Donath is rather light and bright-toned for Eva, but she certainly sounds youthful, sings beautifully, and creates a winning character. Neither of the two tenors, Kollo and Schreier, sounds particularly attractive, but Kollo is fresher than he often has been, and is suitably ardent. Schreier brings a lieder singer's attention to words to David's long speech in act one - necessary if the scene isn't to become tedious - and he always excels in this type of role. Geraint Evans has gone for all-out caricature rather than real singing in his portrayal of Beckmesser, which isn't to my taste, but on its own terms it works. Ruth Hesse is a rather stodgy Magdalene, but I suppose that isn't inappropriate. Theo Adam is a likeable Sachs and brings much to the character although, as usual, his tone is narrower than that of many interpreters. I don't find this a problem, although some may. The chorus work is excellent.

With the recording now available at mid price, I can't imagine anyone being disappointed with it.