20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
A night with the Melbourne opera
A raised stage, orchestra pit and tiered seating bank were built into the Royal Exhibition Building, which has been a part of Melbourne's culture for 140 years.
Costumes, designed by Karine Larché, are hung up backstage.
Audiences experience a 4.5-hour production of Wagner's epic comedy, with multiple intervals across the afternoon and evening and themed catering.
Internationally acclaimed Wagner mastreo, Anthony Negus, mid performance.
A member of the chorus getting ready backstage.
Melbourne Opera describes Die Meistersinger as 'central to understanding Wagner's ideas on the role of music in society'.
The performance space was specifically designed to showcase the intricate paint and plasterwork of the recently restored Royal Exhibition Building.
James Egglestone, performing as the young knight Walther von Stolzing, alongside Lee Abrahmsen as Eva Pogner.
Lee Abrahmsen, as Eva, looks on from the wings.
Conductor Anthony Negus takes in the room during a quiet moment before the show.
Negus conducting the orchestra, with past collaborator Suzanne Chaundy as director.
The orchestra warms up and tunes before the performance. Melbourne Opera has regularly presented works by Richard Wagner including Ring Cycle in Bendigo (2023), Rheingold (2021) and Die Valkyrie (2022).
The opera is set in 16th-century Nuremberg and revolves around a guild of amateur poets and musicians called the Mastersingers.
James Egglestone brings Von Stolzing to life. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is unique among Wagner's work as the only comedy in his mature operas.
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is the only mature Wagner opera based on an entirely original story, and in which no supernatural or magical powers or events feature. The set for the Melbourne spectacle was designed by Andrew Bailey.
The chorus waiting backstage for the final performance.
The chorus entering the stage for the final performance. Four performances of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg take place at the Royal Exhibition Building between 16 and 22 February.
