Wagner's six-hour epic comic opera live on the big screen

Johan Botha has sung the role of Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vienna State Opera and Cologne Opera, and at the Met in 2001, 2003 and 2007. He made his company debut in 1997 as Canio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and has sung six additional roles at the Met: the title characters in Verdi's Otello and Don Carlo and Wagner's Lohengrin, Radamès in Verdi's Aida, Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio, and Calàf in Puccini's Turandot.

Conducted by James Levine, Wagner's epic six-hour human comedy Die Meistersinger was filmed on 13 December for broadcast to cinemas worldwide.

Wagner was the complex, controversial creator of music-drama masterpieces that stand at the centre of today's operatic repertory. Born in Leipzig, Germany, he was an artistic revolutionary who reimagined every supposition about music and theatre. Wagner insisted that words and music were equals in his works. This approach led to the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or "total work of art", combining music, poetry, architecture, painting, and other disciplines, a notion that has had an impact on creative fields far beyond opera.

A sublime achievement

The score of Die Meistersinger is a sublime achievement, at once lyric, grand, and amazingly detailed. It shows Wagner's absolute command of his craft, from the orchestra (first shown in the stentorian and irresistible prelude) to vocal solos (the evolution of the tenor's song from his first solo in Act I to its two incarnations in Act III, and Hans Sachs's meditation on human folly, the famous Wahn Monologue in Act III) to ensembles (the transcendentally gorgeous quintet in Act III). The many choruses also demonstrate the scope of Wagner's genius, most notably the foursquare chorale that opens the work, the near anarchy of the complex riot scene in Act II, and the playful apprentices' songs in Act III.

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is Richard Wagner's only comic opera, a monumental yet intimate love story that is also a journey through the artistic process. The story revolves around the creation of a song, written by a brash, self-taught poet. The plot follows a very typical operatic formula: young love winning out over meddlesome old men. The referee of this entanglement is Hans Sachs, one of the most memorable characters in opera and a real-life shoemaker, composer-poet, and author of drama, fiction, and essays.

One of the longest operas in the repertory, Die Meistersinger makes enormous demands on soloists, the conductor, chorus, and orchestra. It has astounded musicians and critics since its successful premiere.

The symbolically important town of Nuremberg

The opera takes place in the symbolically important town of Nuremberg, in southern Germany, around the year 1560. Nuremberg stood for many things: it was a political centre of the Holy Roman Empire, an ill-defined state encompassing Germany and Austria whose name suggested international significance. Nuremberg was also known as a centre of business and excellent craftsmanship, a tradition we see represented in the opera. Here, Nuremberg becomes an idealised representation of everything good about German tradition-an egalitarian hotbed of art and thought, where a shoemaker really could be (and was) respected as an artist and a philosopher.

It features German baritone Michael Volle as Hans Sachs, with Johan Botha as Walther, German soprano Annette Dasch as Eva, German baritone Johannes Martin Kränzle in his Met debut as Beckmesser, German bass Hans-Peter König as Pogner, American tenor Paul Appleby as David, and Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill as Magdalene.

Soprano Renée Fleming hosts this Live in HD transmission, with English subtitles, which is part of the final revival of Otto Schenk's acclaimed 1993 Met production.

The Merry Widow next

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is the fifth of 10 live transmissions to be shown this season. The next production is Franz Lehár's enchanting operatta, The Merry Widow, directed and choreographed by Broadway's Susan Stroman and starring the great Renée Fleming in the title role, from Saturday, 21 February, 2015.

Each of The Met: Live in HD operas is a glorious production that will be screened exclusively at Cinema Nouveau and select Ster-Kinekor theatres countrywide, including: Gateway Nouveau, Durban; V&A Waterfront Nouveau and Ster-Kinekor Blue Route in Cape Town; Ster-Kinekor Garden Route in George; Rosebank Nouveau and Ster-Kinekor Bedford View in Joburg; and at Brooklyn Nouveau, Pretoria.

The Met: Live in HD, the Met's award-winning series of live transmissions to movie theatres around the world, has expanded its worldwide distribution to more than 2000 theatres in 69 countries this season, the largest global audience the initiative has ever reached. The series has sold more than 16 million tickets since its inception in 2006. Their release onto the big screen affords South African lovers of opera the unique opportunity to become an integral part of these 'near live' and breathtaking performances.

The running time of this production is approximately six hours, including two intermissions.

For booking information on The Met: Live in HD season, go to www.cinemanouveau.co.za or sterkinekor.mobi. You can also download the Ster-Kinekor App on any Nokia, Samsung Android, iPhone or Blackberry smart phone for updates, news and to make bookings. Follow on Twitter @nouveaubuzz and on Facebook at Cinema Nouveau. For queries, call Ticketline on 0861 Movies (668 437).

For more live opera and theatre on the big screen, go to www.writingstudio.co.za