Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

ACT I
The knight Walther von Stolzing is new to town—and has fallen head over heels in love with Eva, the daughter of Master Veit Pogner. After the service in church, he intercepts her and her friend Magdalene and confesses his love to Eva—which she returns. Eva tells him that Pogner has already promised her hand to the winner of tomorrow’s singing contest on St. John’s Day. Walther is determined to do whatever it takes to win Eva’s heart. David, an apprentice to the cobbler and poet Hans Sachs and himself still a student at the singing school, explains to Walther the complex rules of the art of master singing. Meanwhile, the apprentices are making preparations for the “Freiung”—their initiation into the master craftsmen’s guild.
The masters gather, and Pogner introduces Walther to them as a candidate for the title of master singer. But first, the knight must undergo an audition before the strict master’s tribunal. Walther baffles the staid master craftsmen with his masterful song, which is, however, completely at odds with the rules. The town scribe Sixtus Beckmesser, who harbors hopes of winning Eva’s hand, acts as the judge during the performance, marking every infraction, and ultimately convinces the masters to reject Walther. Only Sachs recognizes the young man’s true artistic genius.

ACT II
The apprentices mock David for his affair with Magdalene. She learns from him that Walther failed the audition and tells the horrified Eva. Meanwhile, Pogner urges the increasingly desperate Eva to prepare for the next day.
Hans Sachs sits alone in his cobbler’s workshop, still deeply moved by Walther’s song. Eva interrupts his thoughts and tries to learn more details from him about the events surrounding the failed courtship. But Sachs advises her not to pin her hopes on the knight. In this hopeless situation, Eva and Walther decide to flee together.
Just then, Beckmesser appears beneath Eva’s window to sing his ballad for her for the next day. As previously agreed, however, Magdalene steps up to the window in Eva’s place. Singing loudly and hammering away, Sachs—who is working next door—keeps interrupting the evening singer. When David appears and spots Magdalene at the window, he, driven by jealousy, lunges at Beckmesser and beats him up. A massive brawl breaks out involving neighbors and apprentices, which only ends when the night watchman’s warning song brings it to a halt.

ACT III
The riots of the previous night have left their mark on everyone. Hans Sachs reflects on the events and the folly of human nature. When Walther awakens after a wonderful sleep, the cobbler convinces him to capture his morning dream in verse and melody, which Sachs eventually writes down.
Beckmesser, still badly battered from the brawl, finds the sheet of paper with Walther’s “Master’s Song” on Sachs’s table. He suspects that Sachs intends to use it to court Eva himself. To prove his innocence, Sachs gives him the sheet and promises not to reveal to anyone that Beckmesser did not write it himself. Beckmesser is overjoyed and, with the song in hand, already imagines himself the winner of the upcoming competition.
The unhappy Eva seeks out Sachs under the pretext that her shoes are pinching her feet. Her gloom, however, vanishes immediately when she sees Walther with him. At the sight of her, Walther then finds the third stanza of his prize song that had been missing. When David and Magdalene join them, Sachs performs the “baptism” of the new master’s song according to an old custom.
At the St. John’s Festival, the masters gather for the competition. Sachs is greeted with cheers by the crowd. First, Beckmesser attempts to sing Walther’s prize song, but distorts it so badly that he is met with nothing but laughter. Sachs praises the beauty of the song—provided it is performed by the right singer: Walther now sings his prize song himself and is declared the winner amid general applause. To everyone’s dismay, however, he declines the title of master. Hans Sachs then steps in and, with powerful words, reminds everyone of the importance of the master’s craft for German art.