I have to admit that I clicked on the webcast with that a slight skeptism, despite my love for Wagner's operas. I was almost preparing to turn in after a long day earlier, if the first few minutes into the opera didn't move me. The moment the first sounds of the production this evening came forth through my headphones, I knew I was hooked for the entire duration of it. For the few times when I've gone through the entire length of Wagner's operas, they were all savoured together with the visual staging. This was by far the first time I was hooked on the entire production simply based on the music without any visual stimulation.
Such a wonderful opening to this year's production of the Bayreuther Festspiele! Sebastian Weigle conducted the Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele with such Wagnerian charm, with the right touch of humour in this opera. The soloists sounded beautiful this evening. If the staging was anywhere as good as the music, this completely new production by Katharina Wagner would have been a success.
As to the composition of this opera, the libretto is beautifully and poetically written! Lighter in mood compared to his other works, but it certainly doesn't lose out in depth compared to them. How can one not be impressed when confronted by the Wagner's ingenuity?
So much to talk about, but I shan't disgrace myself further by showing my ignorance. I'm still new to the Wagnerian opera scene and have lots more to learn. Let's wait for the professional critics to come out with their reviews...
Almost seven hours of live audio webcast of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg after a full day of activities, it's nigh time I catch some sleep. And Tannhäuser's on tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Dear Jeff,
It was a pleasure for me to read your posting, as I made more or less the same experience as you did, only some thousand kilometers away. Weigle conducted Meistersinger so inspiring that I followed the performance sitting on the floor the whole 7 hours to be able to listen to the webradio via my headphones, hardly noticing how uncomfortable my seat was.
I think that if you open your heart to music you are able to learn more about music and life as long as you live. What I doubt is that professional critics are of any help in that process. Especially after having glanced through several reviews on this Meistersinger production I came to the conclusion that you only can get a wide range of opinions from awful to wonderful triggered by taste or ideology of the newspaper or whatever. So I decided that I just follow my impressions, learning more by hearing as many opera performances as possible.
Greetings from Vienna/Austria,
leporellina
Dearest Leporellina,
I'm so glad to find that someone shares my opinions for Meistersinger! I was almost wondering if I have a warped taste for music! At least for us, the auditory experience was inspiring!
The professional critics were there to catch the performance in person, as such, they were obliged to comment on the modern staging as well, which really seemed to be distasteful to most.
Thanks for visiting this most unworthy website and for your most inspiring comments, Leporellina.
Post a Comment