Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

PERFORMERS:
Hans Sachs: Gevorg Grigoryan
Eva: Gelena Gaskarova
Walther von Stolzing: Roman Arndt
David: Andrei Zorin
Sixtus Beckmesser: Yaroslav Petryanik
Magdalena: Natalia Yevstafieva
Veit Pogner: Miroslav Molchanov
Fritz Kotner: Gleb Peryazev

The Mariinsky Chorus and Orchestra
Conductor: Valery Gergiev

PROGRAMME:
Richard Wagner
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (III act, concert performance)

Musical Preparation: Marina Mishuk
Chorus Master: Nikita Gribanov

Act III
On the festive morning David seeks forgiveness for his involvement in the night's brawl and wishes his teacher, Sachs, a happy birthday. Alone, Sachs reflects on the prevailing madness in the world. Walther, who spent the night at Sachs's home, recounts a wondrous dream he had. Sachs suggests turning this dream into a song and encourages the knight, helping him arrange the verses and transcribing the text. When Walther leaves to dress in his festive attire, Beckmesser arrives to collect his shoes. Spotting the freshly written song and assuming Sachs to be the author, Beckmesser attempts to steal it. Sachs catches him and, claiming not to be competing, generously hands over the song but warns Beckmesser of its complexity. Shortly after, Eva arrives to have her shoes repaired. Witnessing his beloved, an inspired Walther sings his song anew, now even more refined. Torn between her feelings for Walther and her affection for Sachs, Eva ultimately sees Sachs gracefully concede to the younger knight and bless his performance. Sachs informs David that he is now a journeyman, eligible to marry Magdalene.
The festival takes place on the banks of the Pegnitz River, attended by all the craft guilds. Sachs's arrival sparks universal admiration. Beckmesser sings first but bungles the song mixing up the words comically, earning only ridicule. He accuses Sachs of deliberately giving him a flawed text and storms off in anger. Sachs then invites the audience to hear Walther. The knight's hymn in praise of love unanimously wins him the contest and the mastersingers are ready to welcome him into their guild. Walther initially refuses, content with winning Eva's heart. However, Sachs convinces him to accept the accolade and uphold the duty of a master to preserve the grand German art and spirit. The crowd once again lauds Sachs as Nuremberg's treasure.

The concert has no interval