The Mastersingers of Nürnberg
Quick Summary
Richard Wagner's opera, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, is a tribute to the common people and the tradition of German meistersingers, or "master singers". These musicians and poets, primarily from artisan and trading classes, flourished in Germany from the 14th to 16th centuries. They practiced a form of singing based on elaborate rules, with members progressing through grades to become masters.12
The opera is partly inspired by the historical meistersinger Hans Sachs, a shoemaker and prolific poet. While Wagner's work is a celebration of this tradition, meistersingers were not widely popular in their time, and their songs were often ignored by the general populace. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is noted for its blend of comic opera elements with themes of love and the wisdom of age.123
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- E.T.A. Hoffmann
…stories from Die Serapionsbrüder for Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868), as did Paul Hindemith in Cardillac (1926) and Jacques Offenbach in The Tales of Hoffmann (1881), in which Hoffmann himself is the central figure. The ballet Coppélia (1870), by Léo Delibes, is also based on a Hoffmann story, as is…
Read More…stories from Die Serapionsbrüder for Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868), as did Paul Hindemith in Cardillac (1926) and Jacques Offenbach in The Tales of Hoffmann (1881), in which Hoffmann himself is the central figure. The ballet Coppélia (1870), by Léo Delibes, is also based on a Hoffmann story, as is…
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Hans Sachs…idealized in Richard Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
Read More…idealized in Richard Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
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