Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Mackerras, Doese, McIntyre, Opera Australia - Region 1 DVD

This is, among other things, an opera about the nature of music, and it gives the composer opportunities, which he uses brilliantly, to show off his technical mastery. Conductor Charles Mackerras and a well-chosen cast, including Helen Doese, Donald McIntyre, Paul Frey, and John Pringle, meet the music's challenges effectively, though there are some signs of vocal fatigue in the last act. --Joe McLellan