Product Details

• Actors: Helena Döse, Donald McIntyre, Paul Frey, John Pringle, Christopher Doig
• Directors: Peter Butler, Virginia Lumsden
• Writers: Richard Wagner
• Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: German (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kultur Video
• DVD Release Date: November 20, 2001
• Run Time: 277 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005RIXK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,853 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Mackerras, Doese, McIntyre, Opera Australia" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is Wagner's only comedy, a Wagner opera that will appeal to many who don't usually care for Wagner operas. It is handsomely staged by the Australian Opera in a witty, musically polished interpretation. The characters (medieval German bourgeois craftsmen and artists) are recognizable types you might still see today: three-dimensional, warm, funny. Except for the villainous Beckmesser (Wagner's caricature of the music critic Hanslick), the people in Die Meistersinger are relatively free of the kind of obsessions that haunt so many characters in other Wagner operas.

This is, among other things, an opera about the nature of music, and it gives the composer opportunities, which he uses brilliantly, to show off his technical mastery. Conductor Charles Mackerras and a well-chosen cast, including Helen Doese, Donald McIntyre, Paul Frey, and John Pringle, meet the music's challenges effectively, though there are some signs of vocal fatigue in the last act. --Joe McLellan

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Performing Arts - Opera
Rating: NR
Release Date: 20-NOV-2001
Media Type: DVD

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthy Meistersinger, December 22, 2001

By 

Richard (Minneapolis, Mongolia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Mackerras, Doese, McIntyre, Opera Australia (DVD)

First of all this is a review of the DVD and the cut Act III prelude is intact as is everything else. The problem is that the sound is compressed to a noticeable degree. It is rather annoying. Fortunately this is a good performance. Not that there couldn't be a better one. But the MET performance of this year will probably not be out for two or three years and Wagner lovers in the meantime can savor this disk. McKerras leads a fine orchestra. The soloists are overall good if not outstanding and they look their parts. No funny stuff in the production. Satisfying all around execpt for that sound.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not so bad, July 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Mackerras, Doese, McIntyre, Opera Australia [VHS] (VHS Tape)

For those who hesitate to purchase this video after reading the previous review, I want to tell you that there IS prelude to Act III in VHS version (I don't know about LD version , and I did not recognize where the "poor splice" was), so you need not worry about cuts. Though there may be a better production of Meistersinger, it is worth the price, considering it is the only Meistersinger available in VHS format. In fact, I enjoyed it. As for the performance of Sachs, I think it is the matter of interpretation, not the problem of quality.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious Beckmesser, muscular Sachs, nice atmosphere, October 26, 2001

By 

Theodore Shulman (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Mackerras, Doese, McIntyre, Opera Australia [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I think the previous reviewers do this video an injustice. Donald McIntyre is magnificent in the dialogue parts, although he does appear a bit goofy in his monologues. His interactions with other characters, particularly Beckmesser, are well-acted and interesting.

John Pringle is just about perfect as Beckmesser. His prissy manners and pedantic hand-gestures and his uncomfortable facial expressions kept me laughing all through the performance. For those of you who know the british BLACKADDER TV series, John Pringle is what Rowan Atkinson would be if he were an opera singer instead of a shakespearean actor.

I admit, though, that many of the other cast members are unsatisfactory. Why is David so much taller than Walther? Why is Eva so much fatter than Magdelene? Why is Pogner so creaky and lame? Why is Kothner so wobbly? No good answers here.

The end of Act I has a pretty funny moment--as Walther (Paul Frey) rushes off the stage after being rejected by the Masters, he accidently knocks over a large piece of the set.

If you have never seen MEISTERSINGER, this video will serve as a nice introduction if you are able to focus on the good parts and not be put off by the weaknesses.