The opera Nuremberg Mastersingers occupies a special place in the works of the famous German composer Richard Wagner. Work on it was carried out for several years, from 1861 to 1867. The composer created one of his best works on the basis of a libretto composed by him, written in German. For the first time, the opera "Nuremberg Mastersingers" was presented to the public in Munich, the premiere date is June 21, 1868.
The work consists of three main actions. It takes four and a half hours to complete the performance (if you do not take into account intermission). All events on the plot take place in the German city of Nuremberg.
Work on the work
From the moment of the appearance of the first ideas to the final embodiment of the opera, 22 years have passed. At first, the composer worked on various sketches and determined the genre of the future work. Wagner wanted to create a new comedic parallel to his other, recently completed work, Tannhäuser.
Seriously for the "Nuremberg Mastersingers" the great composer began only in 1861 and completed what was begun in 1867. Various leitmotifs, rich and colorful melodics, piercing lyricism and a lot of pleasant humor were included in the work.
Wagner's Nuremberg Mastersingers: Overture
The composer devoted his first theme to the Meistersinger, poetry and singers from Germany of the 17th century. The overture reveals several other main themes of the work: passionate languor, reward, declaration of love, brotherhood, irony and ridicule, and others. After that, a majestic climax sounds, and finally, the overture to the “Nuremberg Mastersingers” brings the narrative to the first act.
Action I. Part 1
At first, as already noted, we are introduced to the overture to Wagner's opera Nuremberg Mastersingers, which plays the role of an introduction and leads to the main events of the work. After that, the first scene begins: a typical summer day, a local church, the moment of declaration of love of two young people - a knight named Walter Stolzing and recognized local beauty Eva Pogner. Only Eva's father, master Faith Pogner, who decided to give his daughter to the one who will take the title of best singer Nuremberg in the annual competition, can prevent being in love together. The event should take place the next day, outside the city, next to the Pegnitz River. The main condition of the competition is that its participants can only be workshop masters - mastersingers.
Action I. Part 2
Wanting to achieve the beloved’s hand and heart, Walter is ready to neglect his knightly honor and join the workshop of masters. In fact, everything is not so simple, because the workshop has its own rules for accepting newcomers. It turns out that before becoming a master, a candidate must learn all the intricacies of the art of singing. Naturally, Walter’s request leads to general outrage. However, such a reaction does not stop Stolzing, and he asks to arrange a decisive test for him. After that, the hero excitedly performs his song. The role of the judge rests on the shoulders of the city clerk Sixt Beckmesser - he must follow Walter’s singing and at the same time write down his mistakes on a special board. The performance is still ongoing, and the board is already all covered with chalk!
The bad result of Stolzing appeals to the smug Beckmesser, because he himself hopes to get a beautiful Eve for his wife. Masters demand to stop the test and announce their decision: there can be no question of accepting Walter into the ranks of the mastersingers! The only one who is trying to support the young knight is an old shoemaker named Hans Sachs. Unfortunately for Stolzing, no one hears the opinion of Sachs, and the hero has to leave the masters with nothing.
Action II. Part 1
It’s getting party. The city streets begin to empty, and the lonely Hans Sachs appears before the audience. The elderly master, weighed down by sad thoughts, is still impressed by Walter's song. We learn that Sax has long had a deep and tender feeling of love for Eve, whom he knew still very little. Being a recognized poet, Hans could personally take part in the competition and, without any doubt, win a victory in it - he would hardly have found worthy rivals. However, the venerable Meistersinger understands perfectly well that his person can cause a young girl only a deep sense of respect, but not love.
Suddenly, Eve herself appears on the street. Seeing her, Sachs pretends to be outraged by Stolzing's insolence. The girl’s answer finally opens the eyes of the old man: young people really love each other.
Action II. Part 2
Slowly, night falls in Nuremberg. Walter arrives at his beloved's house in order to convince her to flee with him from the city. Suddenly, the conversation of the young ones is interrupted by the approaching sounds of a playing lute - Beckmesser appears. The hero is not only sure that he will certainly win the tomorrow's contest, but also wants to show his musical talent to his future wife in advance. Intrigued by self-confidence, Beckmesser begins to sing a serenade. He does not notice at all that the window is not his beloved Eva, but the nurse Magdalena who pretended to be her. At the same time, the serenade is interrupted by a hammer knock - this shoe Sax is doing his job, singing a simple song. Beckmesser begins to express his dissatisfaction, but Hans does not even think to stop. As a result, the men come to a general agreement: the elderly meistersinger continues his work, but at the same time uses the blows of his hammer to indicate errors in the singing of the clerk. It soon turns out that Beckmesser made so many mistakes that Sachs could finish his work before the song ended.
Action II. Part 3
The clerk does not even have time to sing in the middle of his serenade, as he begins to wake up the locals with his harsh and unpleasant voice. A student of Sachs, young David, is awakening from a dream. He remarks that the girl whom Beckmesser performs the serenade is his bride Magdalena. The young man rushes at his false rival and starts a fight with him. Soon, neighbors who ran out to the noise also joined the squabble. Women try to separate the fighting, but all in vain. Putting an end to the night brawl manages only the watchman, honking his horn. Citizens begin to disperse to their homes. Sachs and Walter leave the street together. The guard's signal and voice are heard again. The streets of Nuremberg plunge into the silence of the night.
Action III. Picture 1. Part 1
This time, the events of the Nuremberg Mastersinger take us to the home of the elderly Saxon shoemaker. It is not easy for the hero to come to terms with the fact that Eve’s heart is given to another. He continues to ponder how his own life has failed. Despite this, the great love for people living in the heart of Sachs turns out to be stronger than tender feelings for the beautiful Eve. The venerable mastersinger understands that his songs can inspire others to do good deeds, as well as inspire striving for beauty in other people's hearts and souls.
David appears in the house. The young man shows Sax a song for tomorrow's contest, with which he plans to perform personally. The shoemaker appreciates the student’s efforts and wishes him a happy marriage with his beloved bride.
Action III. Picture 1. Part 2
In the house of Hans, another guest appears - Walter. An elderly shoemaker meets a knight with sincere joy. He hopes to help the young man if he does not win the competition, then at least take part in it. The man tells Walter that it is important for every master to be aware of the rules of singing and to understand all the related laws. Stolzing is grateful for the advice received. He decides to share with Sax a beautiful song that was born in his soul and which is dedicated to his beloved. An elderly master offers help in recording a song.
Action III. Picture 1. Part 3
Suddenly, the city clerk decides to look at the shoemaker. He needs poems with which he could perform in the upcoming contest and beat all rivals. Beckmesser himself complains that due to a night fight, he had absolutely no strength left. He inspects the home of the elderly master and, finally, notices a sheet of paper with his handwriting. Having glanced over his eyes, Beckmesser cannot believe his luck - he has a finished song in his hands! Without thinking twice, the man folds the sheet and hides it in his pocket.
Sax appears in the room. Beckmesser's appearance immediately betrays his true intentions. In the hope of teaching an arrogant guest, an elderly master gives him the stolen song and even admits that he himself decided to refuse to participate in the competition. Beckmesser does not rejoice at his luck: now he has got rid of his strongest opponent! Confident of his victory, he goes to the venue of the competition. Walter goes there too. Sax gives him a good parting word and a fatherly blessing. In order to discard the overwhelming sadness, the old master holds a fun ceremony, where he declares David his personal apprentice. The event is well received by the locals, everyone is having fun and celebrating.
Action III. Picture 2
Competition time is right. Almost all the inhabitants of Nuremberg converge to the river. Also suitable are masters who have gathered in whole columns and holding bright flags in their hands. Songs are heard from each workshop, young people dance and entertain themselves with various games.
Finally, the main point of the competition comes. Participants come forward, spectators are pulled from all sides. In the center of the circle is a smug Beckmesser. And then it turns out that because of excessive confidence in the success, the proud clerk did not even bother to properly prepare for the event and memorize the stolen song. All his attempts lead to ridicule from the audience. Beckmesser blushes with indignation and shame and leaves the contest with nothing.
Walter's turn comes up. He begins to sing about his feelings for his beloved, and his sincere, outgoing from a pure heart performance enthralls the audience. All those present begin to sing along to him. Walter Stolzing is declared a worthy winner of the competition, and he is reunited with his future bride Eva.
This concludes the Nuremberg Mastersingers. We recommend that all lovers of opera and good classical music familiarize themselves with the work.