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Dramatic and Musical Intricacies in Wagner's Die Meistersinger

Dramatic and Musical Intricacies in Wagner's Die Meistersinger Dramatic and Musical Intricacies in Wagner's Die Meistersinger CHRISTOPHE R HATC H ^ VEN critics who do not warm to Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Niirnberg J2J praise the craftsmanship with which Wagner's only comic opera is put together. Joseph Kerman has commented: "From the point of view of dra- maturgy, the virtuoso exercise of well-madeness is Die Meistersinger"; and Eduard Hanslick, in reviewing an early production, said: "Every note in the score speaks of intentions fully realized. Nothing is left to chance, but neither is there anything of those intriguing coincidences which lend an ultimate charm to the creations of fantasy and nature."1 Both writers spotted an air of neatness and contrivance pervading the work. One may ask what qualities in the drama and in the music led these discerning writers to assign to Die Meistersinger such comparatively low-level merits. Or, to reverse the question, what lacks or imbal- ances may deny to the opera the very highest rank? The Libretto Die Meistersinger... can lay strong claim to being the greatest libretto ever written. — Patrick J. Smith, The Tenth Muse The complexity of Wagner's libretto is hard to overestimate. Its poetic compo- nent weaves a network of extensive http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Opera Quarterly Oxford University Press

Dramatic and Musical Intricacies in Wagner's Die Meistersinger

HATCH, CHRISTOPHER
The Opera Quarterly , Volume 17 (2) – Jan 1, 2001
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Oxford University Press
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© Published by Oxford University Press.
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0736-0053
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1476-2870
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Abstract

Dramatic and Musical Intricacies in Wagner's Die Meistersinger CHRISTOPHE R HATC H ^ VEN critics who do not warm to Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Niirnberg J2J praise the craftsmanship with which Wagner's only comic opera is put together. Joseph Kerman has commented: "From the point of view of dra- maturgy, the virtuoso exercise of well-madeness is Die Meistersinger"; and Eduard Hanslick, in reviewing an early production, said: "Every note in the score speaks of intentions fully realized. Nothing is left to chance, but neither is there anything of those intriguing coincidences which lend an ultimate charm to the creations of fantasy and nature."1 Both writers spotted an air of neatness and contrivance pervading the work. One may ask what qualities in the drama and in the music led these discerning writers to assign to Die Meistersinger such comparatively low-level merits. Or, to reverse the question, what lacks or imbal- ances may deny to the opera the very highest rank? The Libretto Die Meistersinger... can lay strong claim to being the greatest libretto ever written. — Patrick J. Smith, The Tenth Muse The complexity of Wagner's libretto is hard to overestimate. Its poetic compo- nent weaves a network of extensive

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The Opera Quarterly – Oxford University Press

Published: Jan 1, 2001

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