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| Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Heppner, Mattila, Morris, Pape, Allen, Polenzani, Levine, Metropolitan Opera | 
| Director: Hans-joachim Ketelsen
Actors: Ben Heppner, James Morris, Karita Mattila, Rene Pape, Matthew Polenzani
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.98
Buy New: $23.00
You Save: $16.98 (42%)
Buy New/Used from $16.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  (23 reviews)
Sales Rank: 31060
Format: Ac-3, Classical, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: German (Original Language), German (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Chinese (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), German (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 292 minutes
Number Of Items: 2
Discs: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 000345509
UPC: 044007309490
EAN: 0044007309490
ASIN: B0002UNQ5Y
Release Date: January 11, 2005
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Is Wagner Truly a Great Composer? October 18, 2007
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Quite a pageant, this Meistersinger! The sets are magnificent. So are the costumes. The comic bits are really funny, and the poignant bits are poignant enough. The recording and cinematography are first rate, good mainstream movie quality. The orchestra plays beautifully. I sat through most of the 292 minutes of the DVD thinking that I would have to award at least four stars. Make no mistake: I was genuinely entertained. However, there were four dreadful weaknesses:
1. The singing of James Morris. As other reviewers assert, his voice sounds old and tired. His tuning is imperfect at critical moments. His lower register is feeble and raspy. I kept finding my ears wishing he'd sit down and let someone else sing. Perhaps he has been a great singer in his days, but he's not adequate to the burden of singing Hans Sachs today. I could go farther; I could say that his voice has all the musical charm of a gas-powered leafblower, but that would be cruel and impolitic.
2. The chorus. Did no one else notice what a growly mess they made of their music? Such an approximation of tuning! Pfui! Teufel!
3. Hans Sachs's final paean to German mastery. Not only was James Morris's voice reduced to a thin snarl by that time but the whole aria is anti-climactic both musically and dramatically. Given the historical resonance of Wagner's role in German culture, it was also painful to the mind.
4. The music. Half of it is glorious, memorable, inspiring. I've carried the Meistersingers' entry march in my mind since I first played it myself in my junior high school orchestra. Unfortunately, the other half of the score is grind-it-by-the-foot sausage music. Did Wagner's ego blind him to the compositional requirement of giving us his best at all times, of polishing and selecting? I loved the high points of this performance, but it required a bovine patience and devotion to fairness to sit through the rest.
Others have commented on the problems specific to the DVD format, that both Karita Mattila and Ben Heppner look too old and stiff. I had the same problem at first. Heppner in particular has the physical presence of a tuba player in a small town oompah band. But I overcame that sensation of incredulity as I listened to their splendid vocal performance. Opera is still a stage art, and such magnificent voices are not so common that a few wrinkles and a little pudge should banish them from the stage.
Very good traditional performance August 7, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Actually I would rate it 4 1/2 stars. The singers and conducting are excellent, the sets and costumes are excellent (very traditional) The reason I don't give it 5 stars is because the opera has some tedious sections. If you love Meistersinger, you will probably give this DVD 5 stars.
Met production a worthy addition to your Wagner library April 3, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This performance of Wagner's epic (length) romantic comedy is technically very accomplished and the performances are quite splendid. I must say that Thomas Allen's Beckmesser is perhaps the funniest 'villian' I have ever seen in an opera. He stole every single scene he was in. He has a wonderful voice, but is also an extraordinarily gifted actor. Kudos! Yes, this opera does go on and on and on, but with Wagner, this is to be expected. I might make millions of Wagner devotees go bald with horror, but a good libretto editor would definetely have helped lift Wagner's glorious music out of the plodding overlong speechiness that weakens every one of his operas. Good stuff, but pack a suitcase!
 A Magnificent Meistersinger March 22, 2007
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
I know this opera very well, having played it several times (violinist) and heard/seen it many more times.
I believe this is the finest opera DVD I have seen. It is full of the visual charm needed to place it in its context as a German opera, and musically it is superb. The acting, lighting, scenery and costuming are matchless in my experience. Every part is sung/acted convincingly, even though not all the singers seem perfectly suited to their parts in regard to age.
I plan to see it many times on our new 42-inch HDTV. I can recommend it without hesitation.
Uneven but overall a welcome addition January 6, 2007
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
As with most MET DVDs, this one is brightly filmed; the sets are generally colorful and realistic (i.e., look appropriate to Nuremberg rather than Aunt Lizzie's broom closet or some such). The orchestra is first class, and the singers mostly do justice to the work.
Why not five stars? An opera DVD can compromise somewhat on the voices (as this one does), but it lives or falls on the sets, direction, and acting ability (as well as appearance) of the singers. (If you desire the best voices, look for an audio recording -- the Kubelik, the second Karajan, or the Sawallisch are good bets from the vocal/orchestra perspective.) Here's where my reservations enter:
1. Although the sets for Acts II and III are what one would expect (and accomodate the crowd scenes well within the limitations of a stage), the set for Act I is terrible. After the magnificent overture (a little too stately from Levine, but that's his style), the curtain rises on the congregation in song. Done right, this can be a powerful visual experience. What the MET does is place the chorus behind a wooden screen with a single doorway (through which Eva can be seen), so the visual impact of the church scene is lost. It's as if the viewer were a church mouse peeping out of the rector's closet. The visual doldrom of this set contributes to what seems to be an extra long Act I (again, Levine's tempos don't help either).
2. This production suffers from the all too frequent perverse relationship between singing and acting/appearance. The best singers (Heppner, Mattila) are the worst actors and/or the actors that appear least appropriate for the role. (Although Heppner hardly looks like a dashing young knight, at least he gives some representation to the weight challenged among us (including me) who are underrepresented in most of the entertainment world.) Morris looks ok in the part, but his voice shows significant signs of wear (especially in Act I; things improve, curiously, as the opera progresses). The exceptions are Allen (Beckmesser) and Pape (Pogner) who both sing and act well. (Pape would have been better as Sachs.)
3. Although the MET orchestra plays beautifully, there is a sluggisheness to the proceedings. Levine prefers slow tempi; that can work in Parsifal (it does in the 1979 and 1985 broadcast performances; less so in the 1993 filmed version)and Mahler (in my view he is an underrated Mahler conductor). However, Meistersinger requires more sparkle; you can't find that here despite the excellence of the sound.
As for comparisons, I have only seen a portion of the Australian opera production with McIntyre as Sachs; overall, the MET production is superior.
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