Met Opera Held Second Revival of Schenk-Staged Meistersinger April 1998

Summary: Met Opera held second revival of the Schenk-staged Meistersinger April 1998, after a season's skip following the 1995-1996 season's first revival.

undated photograph of German-born Austrian scenic designer Günther Schneider-Siemssen, who designed the sets for Otto Schenk's new staging of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Alexander Schneider Siemssen, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Met Opera held the second revival of the Schenk-staged Meistersinger in April 1998, after skipping one season (1996-1997) subsequent to the new production's first revival in the 1995-1996 season.

The Metropolitan Opera House's debut of a new staging of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg ("The Master-Singer of Nuremburg") by Otto Schenk (born June 12, 1930) took place Thursday, Jan. 14, 1993. The Austrian opera and theater director had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Oct. 4, 1968, in the opera house's 490th performance of Tosca by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Met Opera's first revival of Schenk's new staging was distanced from the new production's debut by two seasons (1993-1994; 1994-1995) of absence from the opera house's performance roster. The first revival was staged, with five performances, in the 1995-1996 season.

After a skip of one season (1996-1997) subsequent to its first revival, Schenk's production of Wagner's Die Meistersinger received its second revival in the 1997-1998 season. The second revival featured four performances. The second revival opened Monday, April 6, 1998. The second revival's second and third performances were offered Saturday, April 11, and Wednesday, April 15. The second revival closed with its fourth performance, Saturday, April 18.

The second revival's first performance marked Met Opera's 392nd performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger. The master-singer-themed opera's United States premiere had taken place Monday, Jan. 4, 1886, at the Metropolitan Opera House.

James Johnson sang the title role of historical cobbler and meistersinger Hans Sachs in all four of the second revival's performances. The American operatic bass-baritone's appearance in the second revival's first performance marked his Met Opera debut. The second revival's fourth, closing performance, Saturday, April 18, 1998, marked James Johnson's last Met Opera performance.

Eva Johansson (born Feb. 25, 1958) appeared in all four of the second revival's performances as Eva Pogner, offered as wife to the meistersinger contest's winner. The Danish operatic soprano's appearance in the second revival's first performance marked her Met Opera debut.

Ben Heppner (born Jan. 14, 1956, as Thomas Bernard Heppner) reprised the role of Walther von Stolzing, whose love for Eva inspires his master-singing, for all four of the second revival's performances. He had sung the knightly role in the last two (seventh and eighth, closing) performances of new production's debut season and in all five of the first revival's performances. The Canadian dramatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Dec. 11, 1991, as in the title role in the opera house's 36th performance of Idomeneo by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Wendy White (born 1953) made her first reprisal of Magdalene, Eva's companion, since her role-sharing with Birgitta Svendén in the new production's debut season. The American mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Monday, Oct. 16, 1989, as Flora in the opera house's 731st performance of La Traviata by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Gert Henning-Jensen (born July 23, 1965) sang David, apprenticed to Hans Sachs, in the first three of the second revival's four performances. The Danish operatic tenor's appearance in the second revival's opening performance (Monday, April 6) marked his Met Opera debut.

Gert Henning-Jensen shared the role with Clemens Bieber (born Jan. 26, 1956), who sang David in the second revival's fourth, closing performance (Saturday, April 18). The German operatic tenor's appearance in the second revival's fourth, closing performance marked his Met Opera debut.

Hans-Joachim Ketelsen (born Feb. 17, 1945) sang master-singing town clerk Berkmesser in all four of the second revival's performances. The German operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Oct. 13, 1994, as Mandryka in the opera house's 39th performance of Arabella by German composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949).

John Del Carlo (Sept. 21, 1951-Oct. 29, 2016) made his second reprisal of master-singing baker Kothner via all four of the second revival's performances. The American operatic bass-baritone had made his Met Opera debut in the new production's opening performance, Thursday, Jan. 14, 1993.

Hans Sotin (born Sept. 10, 1939) sang Veit Pogner, Eva's master-singing goldsmith father, in all four of the second revival's performances. The German operatic bass had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Oct. 26, 1972, as Sarastro in the opera house's 189th performance of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

Hao Jiang Tian (born 1954) sang the Night Watchman in all four of the second revival's performances. The Chinese operatic bass had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Oct. 10, 1991, as Billy Jackrabbit in the opera house's 76th performance of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West.

James Levine reprised his conductorship for all four of the second revival's performances. He had conducted the new production's debut season and first revival. Met Opera's second Music Director had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, June 5, 1971, in the opera house's 539th performance of Puccini's Tosca.

Peter McClintock reprised his position as stage director from the new production's first revival. The American stage director had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Dec. 4, 1995, in the first revival's first performance, which numbered as the opera house's 387th performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger.

After the second revival's fourth, closing performance, the production was not rostered for performance for three seasons (1998-1999; 1999-2000; 2000-2001). The Schenk-staged production's third revival took place in the 2001-2002 season.

The takeaways for Met Opera's holding the second revival of Schenk-staged Die Meistersinger in April 1998 are that one season (1996-1997) elapsed between the production's first and second revival; that the second revival offered four performances; that Ben Heppner reprised his debut season and first revival role as knightly Walther; that James Levine and Peter McClintock returned as debut and first revival conductor and first revival stage director, respectively; and that James Johnson, who sang the second revival's title role, marked the second revival's fourth, closing performance with his last Met Opera performance.

American stage director Peter McClintock was positioned as stage director for the first through revivals of Otto Schenk's 1992-1993 staging of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Dionysis Grammenos, via Facebook June 10, 2019

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

undated photograph of German-born Austrian scenic designer Günther Schneider-Siemssen, who designed the sets for Otto Schenk's new staging of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Alexander Schneider Siemssen, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prof._Schneider-Siemssen_at_work.jpg

American stage director Peter McClintock was positioned as stage director for the first through revivals of Otto Schenk's 1992-1993 staging of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Dionysis Grammenos, via Facebook June 10, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/201741362138/posts/with-peter-mcclintock-director-for-30-years-at-the-the-metropolitan-opera-in-new/10157594293267139/

For further information:

"Debut: Ben Heppner." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 306780 Idomeneo {36} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/11/1991.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=306780

"Debut: Clemens Bieber." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 330630 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg {395} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/18/1998.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=330630

"Debut: Karita Mattila." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 299770 New Production Don Giovanni {388} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/22/1990.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=299770

"Debut: Otto Schenk." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 216180 New production Tosca {490} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/4/1968.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=216180

"Debut: Perry Ward, Kim Josephson, Hao Jiang Tian, Leonard Slatkin, Giancarlo Del Monaco, Michael Scott." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 306170 New Production La Fanciulla del West {76} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/10/1991.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=306170

"Debut: Peter McClintock." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 322630 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg {387} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/4/1995.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=322630

"Debuts: Hans Sotin, Steven Schachtel." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 231370 Die Zauberflöte {189} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/26/1972.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=231370

"Debuts: Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Charles Workman, Natalie Dessay, David Frye." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 318160 Arabella {39} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/13/1994.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=318160

"Debuts: James Johnson, Eva Johansson, Gert Henning-Jensen." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 330591 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg {392} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/6/1998.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=322630

"Debuts: John Del Carlo, Robert Brubaker, LeRoy Lehr." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 311140 New production Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg {379} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/14/1993.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=311140

"Debuts: Peter Glossop, James Levine.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 225710 > Tosca {539} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 06/05/1971.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=225710

Dionysis Grammenos. "With Peter McClintock, director for 30 years at the The Metropolitan Opera in New York, right after Eugene Onegin's Opening at the Canadian Opera Company. A true privilege and honour working together for a whole month on Tchaikovsky's masterpiece. #OneginThrowback #COC." Facebook. June 10, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/201741362138/posts/with-peter-mcclintock-director-for-30-years-at-the-the-metropolitan-opera-in-new/10157594293267139/

Marriner, Derdriu. "Die Meistersinger Is the Met's May 14, 2022, Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, May 9, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/05/die-meistersinger-is-mets-may-14-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Debuted Schenk's Staging of Die Meistersinger Jan. 14, 1993." Earth and Space News. Monday, June 20, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/06/met-opera-debuted-schenks-staging-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Held Die Meistersinger's U.S. Premiere Monday, Jan. 4, 1886." Earth and Space News. Monday, June 13, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/06/met-opera-held-die-meistersingers-us.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Held First Revival of Schenk-Staged Meistersinger December 1995." Earth and Space News. Monday, June 27, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/06/met-opera-held-first-revival-of-schenk.html

"New Production: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 311140 New production Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg {379} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/14/1993.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=311140

"United States Premiere: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 4530 United States Premiere Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/4/1886.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=4530