Opera Scotland

Mastersingers of Nuremberg 1924Carl Rosa Opera Company

Read more about the opera Meistersinger von Nürnberg

This abbreviated cast of the Aberdeen performance is taken from a generally enthusiastic review in the Press and Journal of Saturday, 2 February:

'The revival of The Mastersingers is the feature of the present visit, and His Majesty's Theatre was crowded last night with an audience eager to make or renew their acquaintance with the great opera. It is an opera that may or may not be enjoyed at first hearing - enjoyment depends on so many things - but one thing is certain, it becomes fascinating and gradually more fascinating with repetition. It is a formidable task for any touring company, and provincial towns owe a debt of gratitude to the Carl Rosa in entering upon such a plucky venture and one involving so much preparation and expense. The production is on an adequate rather than a magnificent scale, but even so it is an ambitious undertaking for such a company.'

'Mr Charles Webber seems to have a thorough grasp of the intricacies of the score, and to his firm and steady conduct much of the success of the performance was due. The choral portions of the opera were as a rule competently sung. The tumultuous chorus work at the end of the second act was sketchy, and the general rough and tumble of the midnight row was sketched rather than realised., but there was some fine solid, rich-toned singing in the final scene - notably in the Homage to Sachs - and the music of the Apprentices was always bright and expressive. The great quintet in the third act - a gem of pure harmonies - was finely sung.'

'Mr Booth Hitchen's Hans Sachs was neither unduly serious or too sentimental. He has a becoming gravity, and clearly felt himself the dominant personage in the play......Mr Hitchen sang his music clearly and correctly.'

'Mr Ben Williams was happier in his singing than in his acting. His voice is not an ideal one for music so charged with true fervour as the Trial Songs and the Prize Song, but Mr Williams sang fluently and with a rich tone. Personally he lacked the courtliness which should rightly belong to such a distinguished personage, and there was little trace in his bearing and expression of the compelling passion which prove him a Mastersinger in record time.'

'Mr Clendon gave us all the comedy of Beckmesser without his malignity and envy. He was less of a caricature than he is sometimes made, this Beckmesser, and also a less formidable and dangerous person. He was out to make fun, and he was not too particular how he made it. Mr Clendon sang the music surprisingly well and his articulation was clear as usual.'