The Meistersinger of Nuremberg

Die Meistersinger stands as the central point and pivot of Wagner's entire body of work, according to Christian Thielemann. He believes that the opera is a response to Tristan on one hand and a way out of a creative impasse he found himself in with Siegfried on the other. Die Meistersinger is a work that contains everything - hero and anti-hero, comedy and tragedy, lovers from different social classes, burlesque and introspection, the old and the new. For Thielemann, the key words that sum it up are "atmosphere" and "poetry". As a conductor, he asks himself how he can make the music shine in its exaggerations and parodies while also giving it authority. On the other hand, he wonders how to make its emotionalism sound genuine, emphasizing the deeply felt popular elements in the music. Wagner is essentially asking his interpreters to accomplish the impossible, which is why Die Meistersinger is such a challenging work to perform. Thielemann suggests that perhaps the only way to succeed is through osmosis - by fully opening oneself up to all the opera's moods, colors, and aromas, and breathing them in so deeply that they naturally emanate from the performer at the right moment.

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