Beyond Dreams: Katherine Syer values an approach to ‘Meistersinger’ that engages with the creative process as well as the stage history of the work

The Vienna State Opera stacked the deck when it engaged Keith Warner to direct its first new production of Die Meistersinger in nearly half a century, and Michael Volle for the title role. Otto Schenk’s 1975 production, emblematic of a naturalistic, traditionalist approach, was last seen there in 2012. It also served as the basis of the production which premiered in 1993 at the Met in New York, where it remains in repertoire (Peter Gelb’s efforts to import Stefan Herheim’s Salzburg staging having broken down). Many self-reflective, revisionist approaches have sprung to life elsewhere in the interim. Now, after a decade of Vienna without a Meistersinger, Keith Warner’s staging has debuted as a savvy negotiation with evolving production practices.