Logic suggests that DVD works best for stagings of operas, CD for studio recordings. Glyndebourne has therefore taken a risk in following the Opus Arte DVDs of the company’s production of Die Meistersinger (12/12) with this own-label audio version. Some might relish the invitation to compare DVDs (from July 2011) with CDs (May and June 2011). Space and time preclude that here; but it’s immediately obvious that, while there was a learning curve for those, like conductor Vladimir Jurowski, who were tackling this formidable score for the first time, the earlier performances represented on the audio discs already have much to commend them.

Drawbacks? First and foremost, stage noise: the stampings and shoutings as the Masters assemble in the final scene overwhelm the music. On the other hand, the way the onstage cheering at the end modulates into that of the audience underlines the triumphalist quality of the ending, reinforced here by Gerald Finley’s commendable refusal to play down the assertive force of his final oration, superbly delivered with none of the signs of tiredness or loss of concentration that afflict quite a few other live performances. Finley is very fine throughout, but his reserves of stamina rather underline the paradox of Jurowski’s relatively brisk tempo for this closing monologue when so much else is so broadly paced. Essential momentum is never – quite – lost, though the closing phrases of the Act 3 Prelude risk sinking into sentimental bathos.

The sense of natural ebb and flow that distinguishes the very best versions, like the still peerless Karajan, might have emerged more consistently if this production could have been regularly revived and recorded in later years. That it’s as enjoyable as it is says much for the commitment of the ensemble – orchestra, chorus, and a cast that is uniformly impressive. Apart from Finley, I particularly liked Marco Jentzsch’s Walther – it seems right that the prize song should have a touch of aggressive bravado about it – and Johannes Martin Kränzle finds an unusually wide range of textual nuances in the tricky verbosity of Beckmesser’s part. Anna Gabler’s Eva sounds attractively youthful, and although the recording sometimes places the leading singers too far forward within the overall balance, there is no serious loss of detail in the drama’s more complex episodes. If you follow the libretto provided you should be aware that a few lines are missing from the exchanges between Walther and Sachs on page 170.