Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Tomlinson, Gustafson, ROH, Haitink, 1993) (320kbps .mp3)
Celebrating Bernard Haitink, who conducts this classic Royal Opera performance of the 1993 production by Graham Vick, which stars John Tomlinson as the cobbler-poet Hans Sachs. Gösta Winbergh sings the young iconoclast Walther, Thomas Allen is the prissy Nuremberg town clerk Beckmesser, and Nancy Gustafson is Eva Pogner, the young woman caught between them all.
The great Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink, who died last October at the age of 92. This production of Wagner's comic masterpiece was one of Haitink's greatest artistic triumphs as Music Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden - perfect for Opera on 3's contribution to Radio 3's exploration of his legacy.
Graham Vick's acclaimed production, brand new in 1993, featured sunny designs inspired by the paintings of Breughel and Dürer, and a cast at the top of their game, as John Tomlinson's Sachs tries to save Eva from the threat of marriage to the dreaded Beckmesser - but will he give her up to the man she loves, or does he want her for himself?
Presented by Donald Macleod, in conversation with John Tomlinson.
Hans Sachs ..... John Tomlinson (bass)
Eva ..... Nancy Gustafson (soprano)
Walther von Stolzing ..... Gosta Winbergh (tenor)
Sixtus Beckmesser ..... Thomas Allen (baritone)
Magdalene, Eva’s nurse ..... Anne Howells (mezzo-soprano)
David, Sachs's apprentice ..... Deon van der Walt (tenor)
Mastersingers:
Veit Pogner, Eva's father ..... Gwynne Howell (bass)
Kunz Vogelgesang ..... Alasdair Elliot (tenor)
Konrad Nachtigall ..... David Ellis (bass)
Fritz Kothner ..... Roderick Earle (bass)
Balthasar Zorn ..... Ian Thompson (tenor)
Ulrich Eisslinger ..... Paul Crook (tenor)
Augustin Moser ..... Christopher Gillett (tenor)
Hermann Ortel ..... Michael Pearce (bass)
Hans Schwarz ..... Alan Ewing (bass)
Hans Foltz ..... Clive Bayley (bass)
Nightwatchman ..... Mark Beesley (bass)
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor Bernard Haitink
Broadcast: 15 January 2022 (BBC Radio 3)
