Opera Scotland

Mastersingers of Nuremberg 1912Denhof Opera Company

Read more about the opera Meistersinger von Nürnberg

This was the third season of the Edinburgh-based Denhof company, and shows increasing ambition of repertoire and of touring dates. The season had opened in Hull before touring to Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh.  The Manchester week, commencing 4 March 1912, had the following programme: Mon Mastersingers; Tue Orpheus and Euridice; Wed Tristan and Isolde; Thu Elektra (local premiere); Fri Flying Dutchman; Sat mat Elektra; Sat eve Mastersingers.

Herr Denhof did not believe in doing things by halves. In order to provide appropriate aural and visual impact, the numbers in the massed choirs were boosted to 100 by the importation of members of the Leeds Choral Union. This must at least have provided enough volume of sound in the intimate Lyceum to compete with memories of the previous afternoon's Elektra (in which this Eva had sung the title role). The company also advertised an Orchestra of 65 and Ballet troupe of 24, though these last may only have appeared in the Gluck.

This cast was unusual in that the Eva and Walther were sung by a real husband-and-wife pairing, resident, for the time being at least, in Berlin.

For Glasgow, a recognised 'star', Robert Radford, arrived to sing Pogner.  Albert Chapman therefore slid down the ranks to sing Nachtigall, with Creegan, in turn, taking over Foltz.  Parsons will just have stood in the chorus for those nights.

Sources

The casts for Edinburgh are as shown in a programme in the Weir collection at the National Library of Scotland; for Manchester in a poster for the week in Manchester City Library; and for Glasgow a programme in the OperaScotland archive (illustrated).

The cast for the last night in Hull is from a programme in the Godfrey Hardman Collection at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.