Walther von Stolzing, a young knight, falls in love at first sight with Eva the beautiful daughter of Pogner, the goldsmith of Nüremberg, who has promised her to the winning singer in the coming Festival of the Mastersingers. Beckmesser, the old town clerk, counts on winning as he also loves Eva. As Walther does not belong to the music guild, he has to pass the examination. Beckmesser gives him so many bad marks for not keeping the committee’s rules that he is not admitted. But Hans Sachs, the greatest Meistersinger of all, the town cobbler, thought Walther a beautiful singer even though he broke musical laws and the very freedom and the new loveliness in his music charmed him. In the evening when Walther and Eva try to run away, Beckmesser decides to serenade Eva. Hans Sachs, cobbling shoes in his doorway interrupts Beckmesser’s ludicrous serenade with a jolly song, in which he marks all Beckmesser’s mistakes with his hammer, just as Beckmesser had marked Walther’s. The neighborhood is aroused, confusion follows, Beckmesser gets a beating and Hans Sachs slips Eva and Walther into his own house. Next day Walther sings a song to Hans which he has dreamed and Hans writes it down. Beckmesser comes in and finding the words steals them, sure he could win if he sang a song of Hans Sachs. Beckmesser fails miserably and Sachs calls on Walther to sing it. Here he sings Walther’s _Prize Song_, which wins the approval of the Meistersingers, and the prize—lovely Eva. Here we get a splendid idea of what Wagner felt about new music, for in the _Meistersinger_ he tried to picture the jealousies of composers, who condemned the beauty of his inspiration and new ideas and methods. Never was there an opera more delightful for young people, who love the melodies and charming pictures of medieval Nüremberg. BAYREUTH About this time the _Valkyrie_ and _Rhinegold_ had been given at the Court Theatre in Munich (1869–1870). The King gave up his plan to build a new theatre for these stupendous works, which needed special machinery because of the elaborate stage effects. Wagner insisted that scenery was as important as the words and music. So he started to build, by general subscription over all Europe, a theatre at Bayreuth. He succeeded so well that not only did Europe contribute but America, too, and groups of people banded together to collect money for it. Wagner was now the fashion and finally the new opera house opened August 13th, 1876, with _The Ring_, for he had finished _Die Götterdämmerung_ the year before. Artistically it was successful but not financially. If his pen had been dipped in honey and not in bitters, he would have won his public more easily, but he seemed unable to be diplomatic. So off he went to London and other places to conduct concerts to make money to pay the debts of his new theatre. Later he wrote the Festival March, for the Philadelphia Centennial (1876), which helped financially.