Mastering the Art Of Conversation: The eloquence of Marek Janowski’s new ‘Meistersinger’ is compromised, finds David Breckbill

I much enjoyed my first hearing of this sleek, shiny new Meistersinger, the second instalment of PentaTone’s projected complete cycle of Wagner’s major operas. The aura it establishes stems largely from the recorded sound and the conducting of Marek Janowski, whose recipe contains equal parts lyricism and alertness. After that first listening I even wondered whether dissecting this performance would be appropriate, because it seemed self-evidently a well-organised, lively, intelligent, ultimately life-giving account of Wagner’s rich work. And indeed, as I feared, further exposure has refracted my general (and generally positive) impression into a series of components that do not always yield a corresponding amount of pleasure or satisfaction. I therefore offer the following assessment in full awareness that to some listeners, myself perhaps included, this performance may be greater than the sum of its parts.