Richard Wagner was inspired to take up the subject of the medieval 'Mastersingers' by his reading of Georg Gottfried Gervinus's 'History of the German National Poets'. By any purely artistic assessment Die Meistersinger is afinely crafted drama rich with dramatic and musical textures that showcase Wagner's creative gifts at their best. This edition of the Libretto is in the original German with an English translation by John Gutman.
