WAGNER. Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg

by | Mar 30, 2007 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews | 0 comments

WAGNER. Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg

Performers: Giorgio Tozzi, Richard Cassilly, Arlene Saunders, Ernst Wiemann, Toni Blankenheim. Musical director: Leopold Ludwig, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra (1970)
Studio: Art Haus 101 273 (Distr. by Naxos)
Video: 4:3, Color
Audio: PCM Mono
Length: 240 minutes
Rating: ***1/2

You read it right. This 1970 production is in mono. Odd as that seems for even back then, it doesn’t matter a whole lot. [It’s because it’s video…Ed.] True, the sound is a bit clipped at the highs and surround sound is still two years from its first generation, SQ (Stereo Quadraphonic); yet the singing, indeed the whole experience, suffers little for it. [Not really – Fantasia with six-channel sound was 1939..Ed.] Sagely, the sound engineers post-dubbed those many years ago, which, in my view, compensates. No slamming doors, no pattering feet, no voices swallowed by ill-aimed directional mikes. The visuals are fairly good, with only an occasional dust fleck or wiggly hair. The color, nowhere near as brilliant as today’s, is serviceable. (The studio politely warns us about this in the credits.)

All considered, it’s a well-restored film of a German television production. More importantly, it is so well acted, you can lose yourself in it and not notice the technical shortcomings. Meistersinger is Wagner’s only comedy, it had better be funny, and this one is. And it had better be well-sung. No problems there. Well, maybe one. Giorgio Tozzi, who plays Hans Sachs, sings in an overcast manner. Gray is his tone color. Even when he is angry, railing at human frailty in the celebrated “Wahn Monologue,” Tozzi seems slightly stiff, controlled. Compare his to Wolfgang Brendel’s performance released two years ago (also by Art Haus), and you will see more layers of subtlety and dramatic tension in Brendel’s. On the other hand, Toni Blankenheim as the bureaucratic Sixtus Beckmesser is precious. Using just the right combination of ludicrousness and menace, Blankenheim gives us a Beckmesser well worth pondering for hours. His pantomime scene in 3.iii is well-improvised and his vocal gymnastics during his master song are so sprightly they’re hilarious. As Eva, Arlene Saunders displays curiously sexless, fifties-mom acting chops, but still manages a poignant duet with Sachs in 3.iv. And as Walter, Richard Cassilly sings the role so well, so professionally, he stuns. He conveys adoration and annoyance with equal alacrity. I have only one question: why did they leave out my favorite aria, David’s “Mein Herr” from 1.ii? How is mastersinger Walter going to be able to tell the difference between a Pewter and a Cinnamon-Stick melody?

— Peter Bates

 

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