Can a song change the world?

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg stands apart among Wagner’s operas. This wise and warm-hearted comedy rejects the composer’s usual gods and goddesses, magical potions and faraway lands to tell a simpler story about everyday life and people. The result is a work of tremendous humanity and truth – a musical celebration of art itself.

When a young knight arrives in the city of Nuremberg he falls immediately in love with Eva. But her hand has been promised to the winner of a singing competition, and so, with the help of the cobbler-poet Hans Sachs, he sets out to win both the contest and the girl.

Described by the composer himself as 'a grand comic opera', Die Meistersinger combines lyrical arias and ensembles with vast choral statements to create a work of scope and intimacy, a piece that celebrates tradition while anticipating change and innovation.

Vladimir Jurowski conducts Glyndebourne’s first-ever staging, starring Gerald Finley who makes his role debut as the cobbler-poet Hans Sachs.

Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, Festival 2011.