An Introduction to Die Meistersinger
To accompany the first ever Glyndebourne production of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the 2011 Festival (the long held dream of the founder John Christie) Professor Julian Johnson of Royal Holloway, University of London, gives us some studied insights into the work.
The DVD/Blu-ray release of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is now available to purchase from the shop.
Comments
An excellent introduction to a great Glyndebourne performance.
The sound was barely audible from the far side of the Organ Room. Continuous traffic through the room made this worse.
Surround-sound speakers would be a useful addition.
We mananaged to catch most of the video in the organ room before the first night's performance and thought it was a very good initiative. Are you thinking of doing others?
Never having seen the opera before it was a helpful insight.
I really enjoyed the video, although would have been happy for it to have been twice the length. It was excellent.
We liked this as an alternative to the more formal pre-performance talk as a means of setting the scene for the opera. If it becomes a regular feature of future productions then perhaps a notice at the door to advertise the video would also discourage people from walking through. Otherwise it could be moved to another venue with better facilities such as the Ebert Room.
I am afraid we were some of the annoying Patrons who traipsed in front of the video because we had absolutely no idea it was showing. We walked through the Organ Room as part of our usual pre performance amble as did many others. So the video is a nice idea but the Organ Room is the wrong place to show it unless you shut it off at one end and reserve it for the exclusive use of video patrons. And to be honest I don't think we would ever want to watch such an explanation, however erudite, at that point in the day's proceedings. On a nice summer evening there are far better things to do in the beautiful pre-performance environment of Glyndebourne. Why not put it up 'on line' beforehand?
As for the production. Words fail me but let's just try - Absolutely magnificent! A triumph!
Many thanks for that.
We arrived nice and early and after setting up our picnic table we ambled over to the Organ Room - the video was just the right length and gave us some interesting pointers to look out for in the opera. We enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and comfort of the room. Thank-you.
We always visit the Organ Room, and much appreciated the informative video on meistersinger. The Steward in the Organ Room was v helpful finding chirs etc.
The opera itself was wonderful, Gerald Finley terrific (much better than as Don G last year) and the sets were really astonishing. Many thanks - 4.5 hours slipped by!
A most informative and user-friendly video that was much appreciated.
However, our ability to hear it at times was marred by the Glyndebourne steward in the room talking very loudly to patrons at the end of the room who were not interested in watching.
Production was impressive and Sachs and Beckmesser superb. Sadly the same could not be said for Walter.
Please repeat for other operas . . Julian Johnson is magic!
V much enjoyed the video on 14th June - a great idea but maybe others who were not interested could be made aware that the video was in progress!!
The Meistersinger video was excellent, well presented and, as a non-musician,it increased my enjoyment of the music.
Have been coming to Glyndebourne for 25 years.....appetiser in Organ room was great, and set the scene for the main course, a truly outstanding production.....impossible to find the tiniest fault! Well done to all.
We loved the video, having seen it briefly before on-line, it was doubly special for being filmed and then watched in the Organ Room with it's back associations. It certainly enhanced the experience - almost as good as a pre-performance talk which we always enjoy.
A magnificent evening.
We slipped in for a moment and stayed for all of it. Julian Johnson was pertinent and thoroughly enjoyable. More please.
Interesting, helpful and absorbing - I would have been happy with more but, allowing for other viewers, it was probably the right length.
Friday 10th June was a truly wonderful performance. We were privileged to have Anthony Negus conducting - he clearly is a Master himself of Wagnerian opera. The stage sets were stunning and congratulations on the last scene change. We held abated breath and it was rewarded by one of the most spectacular moments we have ever experienced over many years of opera attendance.
Well done to all concerned on producing such a magnificent & memorable operatic experience.
The video was of appropriate length, the presentation excellent, and it covered themes in the opera - not a mere plot summary. It should be repeated for future productions. People passing by weren't a bother to us. I couldn't read the titles of the extracts.
Excellent idea! We much enjoyed the video; it was really helpful and the right length. Do think about doing this for other (all?) operas.
Having listened to the excellent podcast on the website, we nearly missed Julian Johnson's video in the organ room on June 2, not realising that it would be different. In the event, we slipped in, and thoroughly enjoyed both.
Although there was, naturally, a bit of coming and going in the Organ Room, we found the video enlightening and attractively presented - just the right length too.
An excellent idea! Although we knew the opera, it was most enjoyable to have an up to date interpretation of the production. And we were very grateful to come inside - it was very cold on Monday night!!
What a wonderful idea. Congratulations to all involved. having worked back-stage at Glyndebourne during the 60s, I can imagine the excitement and anticipation of singers and staff for your wonderful new production. Break a leg.
The wonderful genius of David McVicar was a joy to experience. A truly spectacular and deeply moving performance.
We watched Julian Johnson's video in the organ room before the performance on 21st May and found it very enjoyable. Sadly it was interrupted by patrons passing through.
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