The repertoire of “Bayreuth by the Danube” – the Budapest Wagner Days festival held annually at the Müpa Budapest – expanded once again to include a new work in 2013, namely the German composer’s comic opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Ádám Fischer, who is fully conversant in Wagner’s music and highly regarded as a conductor of his works having appeared as a guest on several occasions in Bayreuth, brings a cast of world-renowned singers to this production at Müpa Budapest.
We have already had the chance to see and hear Eric F. Halfvarson as Gurnemanz in Parsifal and as Hagen in The Ring of the Nibelung cycle, while Klaus Florian Vogt and Annette Dasch are appearing for the first time at the Wagner Days. Debuting here in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is Denmarks Bo Skovhus, who originally studied to be both a doctor and a singer. His choice of career was eventually made easy by his hugely successful performance in the role of Don Giovanni. Since then, he has appeared in the world’s great opera houses and gained the title of Kammersinger from the Austrian state. We also welcomed another new performer in the shape of James Rutherford, one of the outstanding representatives of the British opera singing elite. The director, set designer and costume designer for this performance formed a familiar team, as Michael Schulz, Dirk Becker and Renée Listerdal have already worked together on a production of the complete Ring tetralogy staged in Weimar. A DVD of this production was received enthusiastically by the public and critics alike.
This recording was made at the performance held at Müpa Budapest on 15 June 2013.

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg – An opera in three acts (German-language performance, with projected subtitles in Hungarian)

Artistic director and conductor: Ádám Fischer

Performers: James Rutherford – Hans Sachs, Eric F. Halfvarson – Veit Pogner, William Saetre – Kunz Vogelgesang, Domonkos Blazsó – Konrad Nachtigall, Bo Skovhus – Sixtus Beckmesser, Miklós Sebestyén – Fritz Kothner, István Horváth – Balthasar Zorn, József Csapó – Ulrich Esslinger, Lars-Oliver Rühl – Augustin Moser, Piotr Prochera – Hermann Ortel, Ferenc Cserhalmi – Hans Schwarz, Zoltán Nagy – Hans Foltz, Klaus Florian Vogt – Walther von Stolzing, Uwe Stickert – David, Annette Dasch – Eva, Gudrun Pelker – Magdalena, Dömötör Pintér – A Nightwatchman

Featuring: Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hungarian Radio Choir (chorus master: Csaba Somos), Hungarian National Choir (chorus master: Mátyás Antal)

Creators: Michael Schulz – Director, Dirk Becker – Set, Renée Listerdal – Costumes, Sylvie Gábor – Director's Assistant and Master of Stagecraft

Presented by: Müpa Budapest