| Hans Sachs | Betz. |
| Veit Pogner | Bausewein. |
| Kunz Vogelgesang | Heinrich. |
| Conrad Nachtigall | Sigl. |
| Sixtus Beckmesser | Hölzel |
| Fritz Kothner | Fischer. |
| Balthazar Zorn | Weixlstorfer. |
| Ulrich Eislinger | Hoppe. |
| Augustin Moser | Pöppl. |
| Hermann Ortel | Thoms. |
| Hans Schwartz | Graffer. |
| Hans Foltz | Hayn. |
| Walther von Stolzing | Nachbaur. |
| David | Schlosser. |
| Eva | Fräulein Mallinger. |
| Magdalene | Frau Diez. |
| Ein Nachtwächter | Lang. |
Weimar, Mannheim, Carlsruhe, Dresden, Dessau, 1869; Berlin, Hanover, Vienna, Leipsic, Stettin, Königsberg, 1870; Hamburg, Prague, Bremen, 1871; Riga, Copenhagen, 1872; Mayence, 1873; Cologne, Nuremberg, Breslau, 1874; Brunswick, 1876; Strassburg, Augsburg, 1877; Gratz, Düsseldorf, 1878; Wiesbaden, Rotterdam, Darmstadt, 1879; Schwerin, 1881; London, May 30, 1882.
First performed in America at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, Jan. 4, 1886.
Cast.
| Hans Sachs | Emil Fischer. |
| Veit Pogner | Joseph Staudigl. |
| Kunz Vogelgesang | Herr Dworsky. |
| Conrad Nachtigall | Emil Saenger. |
| Sixtus Beckmesser | Otto Kemlitz. |
| Fritz Kothner | Herr Lehmler. |
| Balthasar Zorn | Herr Hoppe. |
| Ulrich Eislinger | Herr Klaus. |
| Augustin Moser | Herr Langer. |
| Hermann Ortel | Herr Doerfler. |
| Hans Schwartz | Herr Eissbeck. |
| Hans Foltz | Herr Anlauf. |
| Walther von Stolzing | Albert Stritt. |
| David | Herr Krämer. |
| Eva | Auguste Krauss (Mrs. Seidl). |
| Magdalena | Marianne Brandt. |
| Nachtwächter | Carl Kauffmann. |
Conductor, Anton Seidl.
DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG
"Tannhäuser" was finished in April, 1844, and in the summer of that year, while at Marienbad, Wagner made the sketch of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg." He designed this comic opera as a pendant to the serious "Tannhäuser" (see [Chapter VI.] of the biographical part of this work), and no doubt the historical relations of the minnesingers, who figured in the tragedy, with the meistersingers, who provided him with the characters for his comedy, suggested the nature of the humorous opera and the general manner of the treatment of the subject. The first drafts of the comedy were made in the summer of 1844, but the poem was completed in Paris in the winter of 1861-62. The music was begun in 1862, but, as we have seen, was laid aside when the composer fled from his creditors, as narrated in [Chapter XI.] of the biography. The work was resumed after King Ludwig had become Wagner's protector, and the score was finished on Oct. 21, 1867.
Something of the character of the German minnesinger we have seen in our study of "Tannhäuser," where Wagner gives an idealised picture of one of their courtly contests in poetry and song. These minnesingers were the German companions and imitators of the French troubadours, from whom they took their origin. Their epoch dates from the reign of Conrad III., of the Hohenstauffen dynasty, who ascended the throne in 1138. In 1148, when he undertook a crusade in company with Louis VII. of France, the nobility of Germany were brought into habitual acquaintance with the nobility of France, who at that time were cultivating Provençal poetry and song in the "gay science" of the Troubadour. The German emperors now began the pursuit of the customs of chivalry. They and their nobles threw open their courts with a brilliant hospitality which rivalled that of France. The splendour of their tournaments, the glitter of their festivals, drew visitors in throngs from far and near. With them came the poet and the singer, and thus the German, who in the crusade had caught the infection of the chanson of Provence, found his first rude attempts brought face to face with the more polished productions of the visiting chanteurs and jongleurs.