By Andrew Clark [Financial Times, 20 June 2010]

There are two moments in Wagner’s midsummer comedy where Welsh voices should score - the Bach-like chorale at the start and the show-stopping exclamation “Wach’ auf!” at the end. Welsh National Opera does not disappoint. In Saturday’s Meistersinger, the first for the company, the chorus had heft, bloom, balance, poise and precision, reinforcing this opera’s reputation as the most magical of Wagner’s works.