[a good Meistersinger] should show teamwork among the soloists and a good balance between the conversational style of much of the singing and the grandeur of the orchestral accompaniment. On that basis, this recording...is the most successful ever made. It is a phenomenal achievement of Marek Janowski to have welded his immense forces into such a virtually flawless unity, and to imbue it with incessant vitality and energy.

[Janowski] never imposes any superfluous heaviness on the score; his Meistersinger breathes naturally, brimming with compelling drama and homogenous humour...Dohmen exudes commanding authority tempered with avuncular softness, his gloriously rich and mellifluous voice never strained. Edith Haller's relatively light, creamy Eva is delightful...a winning Meistersinger that more than holds its own with any in the catalogue.

a swift, light, comic reading of the score, more Lortzing than Tristan...Albert Dohmen sounded at home across the whole spectrum of Sachs's poetry, wistfulness and wit....Henschel essays a Beckmesser who can be all of pompous, weird, a credible vocalist in both serenade and prize song to Eva - and funny....Janowski's achievement is to have recreated a genuine comic feel for the piece.

Die Meistersinger is essentially an ensemble piece, and Janowski never lets you forget this...Occasionally, in Sachs's big phrases, Dohmen has to push his voice, but, overall, his Sachs is one of the successes of the set...Another big success is Peter Sonn's youthful and verbally agile David...As Pogner, Georg Zeppenfeld sports one of the finest German basses of his generation and the most beautiful male voice on the set.