It’s hard to imagine a more human Hans Sachs than the one brought to life by Hans Hotter. One of the hallmarks of any great performer is the ability to make a performance feel like a natural, spontaneous creation—something being conjured up in the moment—and Hotter achieves this effortlessly. Even in his final monologue, as he advises Walther to protect German art, you can hear the smile in his voice and sense the warmth and genuine affection he feels for the young knight.

As Walther, Wolfgang Windgassen takes the opportunity to showcase his more lyrical side, which he handles with skill and elegance, while Gré Brouwenstijn offers an ethereal and radiant Eva. The cast also boasts standout performances from Josef Greindl as a noble Veit Pogner and, in a true luxury, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Fritz Kothner.

André Cluytens deserves to be counted among the great Wagner conductors of his era. He shapes the opera’s massive ensembles with the kind of care and nuance usually reserved for chamber music.

, though there is occasional static.