Work: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Set in a 1930s music school, Sergio Morabito, Jossi Wieler and Anna Viebrick's new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Deutsche Oper Berlin has some inspirational ideas but they often get in the way of the music.

A cast comprised of the world’s leading Wagnerians, under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano, deserve better than Otto Schenk’s outdated and cartoonish production. 

Kosky’s production manages to maintain all hallmarks of a 16th-century fairy tale, while juxtaposing them with questions of deep human, political and artistic problems. Regietheater at its best.

There's little to like in Andrea Moses' production, but a fine cast and glorious playing and conducting make for an enthralling performance of Wagner's grand comedy.  

Having offered a strong feminist reading of Wagner's Ring, could Kasper Holten do the same again for Die Meistersinger? Opera Australia's co-production had moments of excellence, but ultimately left the viewer with more questions than answers