Wagner, R.: Meistersinger Von Nurnberg (Die), Act III (Nissen, E. Fuchs, T. Ralf, Bohm) (Staatskapelle Dresden Edition, Vol. 2)
1/1/2005, 14 Tracks, 1:51:10
Featuring
Hans Hermann Nissen
Eugen Fuchs
Torsten Ralf
Margarete Teschemacher
Helene Jung
Martin Kremer
Sven Nilsson
Arno Schellenberg
Rudolf Dittrich
Hanns Lange
Hermann Greiner
Serge Smirnoff
Rudolf Schmalnauer
Ludwig Eybisch
Robert Büssel
Klaus Hermanns
Karl Böhm
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden
Richard Wagner
Did you know?
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Cultural Impact
Richard Strauss, the renowned German composer, had a close friendship with the Staatskapelle Dresden for over 60 years, dedicating his "Alpine Symphony" to them and premiering nine of his operas in Dresden.
Recording & Production
The recording took place in the Semperoper in Dresden, an opera house "much acclaimed for its splendid acoustics," which was later destroyed in the war.
Recording & Production
Due to the limitations of 1938 recording technology, the 90-minute third act was divided into 30 sections across 15 double-sided shellac discs, each playing for about four and a half minutes per side.
Recording & Production
To ensure proper sound capture with the few available microphones, soloists, orchestra, and chorus were arranged on scaffolding in a steeply rising formation to achieve an even distance from the microphones.
Recording & Production
This 1938 recording of Wagner's "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" was a technical and financial challenge, as recording Wagner's music had previously posed insoluble problems for early sound engineers.
Performer Biography
The Staatskapelle Dresden, the orchestra on this recording, was founded in 1548 and is one of the world's oldest orchestras, having performed continuously for over 450 years.
Recording & Production
The complete third act of "Die Meistersinger" was recorded in 1938 because a full opera recording would have been too expensive for the average customer, costing over double the 90 Reichsmark price of the third act alone.
