Composer and librettist Richard Wagner started work on Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 1845 thinking it would be good to follow the tragedy of Tannhäuser with a comedy. At that time he was the Royal Saxon Court conductor but, unfortunately, his politics resulted in his having to leave Dresden and try to find a new home, first in Paris, later in Zurich. Thus, he did not finish his second comedy until 1867. His first comedy, Das Liebesverbot, had been a resounding flop and the theater cancelled its second performance after quelling an all-out brawl between the prima donna's husband and the leading tenor, but that was in 1836. He hoped to find a much better reception for Die Meistersinger. On 21 June 1868, he found an appreciative audience at Munich’s Königliches Hof-und National-Theater. The review in the Neue Freie Press found Die Meistersinger to be Wagner’s best work to date and it described the opera as containing "dazzling scenes of color and splendor and ensembles full of life and character that unfold before the spectator's eyes."
The production seen at San Francisco Opera has already been seen at Lyric Opera of Chicago and The Glyndebourne Festival. Sir David McVicar’s updated staging of Die Meistersinger moved the action from the middle of the 16th century to the early 18th century, so the costumes were in Empire style. The story of Walther, the visiting knight who won the song contest and eventually the hand of the beautiful Eva, remained unchanged. Vicki Mortimer’s scenery was realistic and placed the action in areas that would commonly have been frequented by the ordinary townspeople of Nuremberg.
This performance marked conductor Sir Mark Elder’s debut with the company and, beginning with the overture, he offered his individual interpretation of the score. He had an enormous range of dynamics and his tempi varied widely with the emotional values of each scene. Members of Ian Robertson’s chorus were ebullient, boyish apprentices and sophisticated, decorous burghers who sang with luminous harmonies. Together with Andrew George’s dancers, they expressed their enjoyment of the delights of the summer holiday.
Well-known baritone Greer Grimsley was originally scheduled to sing the leading character, Hans Sachs, but he cancelled some weeks earlier citing health issues. His replacement, James Rutherford, whose experience includes Bayreuth, was a most worthy alternative with an expressive voice. His Sachs was a man the audience could recognize by his integrity and innate humanity. With his passionate rendition of the monologue he reminded the audience that the world has always had to deal with “Wahn, Wahn, überall Wahn” (Madness, madness, everywhere madness).