My previous experience of a live Wagner opera was Tristan at the Bristol Hippodrome, before the lifetime of this blog. I was invited to sing in the chorus of Tarnhelm Opera’s staging of Meistersinger, but wasn’t free on the evening of one of the performances. I was able to go to the other one though.
It was cut down to two hours, but with considerable skill so that the essentials of the plot and most of the high points survived. The only part I really missed was the chorus which precedes the contest; something I sang myself in an opera gala performance. Perhaps if I knew the opera more thoroughly I would have noticed the gaps more. The accompaniment was provided by organ (demanding as it played throughout) and harp, and as the performance progressed I adjusted to this and didn’t find myself missing the orchestra.
Several of the singers were familiar to me from Bath Opera performances and I’d already had a chance to chat to a couple of the people involved when they visited Christ Church the previous Sunday to case the joint. All concerned had a good time and dare I say it, but Meistersinger benefits from a few cuts? I suppose that shows I’m not really a Wagnerian.