Melbourne Opera has announced a new multi-million-dollar production of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg to be staged at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton.

Running from 16 to 22 February, the 4.5-hour performance will immerse audiences in Wagner’s only comedic opera. Directed by Suzanne Chaundy, known for her acclaimed 2023 Ring Cycle Cultural Festival, and conducted by Wagner specialist Anthony Negus, this will be the first production of Die Meistersinger in Australia since Opera Australia presented director Kasper Holten’s staging in 2018. Australian director Barrie Kosky also presented the work at Bayreuth in 2019.

The all-Australian cast is led by bass-baritone Warwick Fyfe as Hans Sachs, one of Wagner’s most demanding and nuanced roles. Fyfe, acclaimed for his Wotan in the Ring Cycle, describes Meistersinger as “a miracle of complex engineering”.

Joining Fyfe in the front rank of singers are many of his Ring Cycle co-stars: James Egglestone, Christopher Hillier, Robert Macfarlane, Stephen Gallop, Lee Abrahmsen, and Deborah Humble.

In total, the production will employ around 200 performers, musicians, and creatives. The work will be sung in German with English...