From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the final opera in the house before its 28-month closure.

Wagner's life-asserting comedy is set in 16th-century Nuremberg on the eve and the day of the Mastersingers' singing contest. Graham Vick's much-praised production conducted by Covent Garden's music director Bernard Haitink has been one of the glories of the last regime. It returns with the original cast virtually intact.

Introduced by James Naughtie.

Royal Opera Chorus, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, conductor Bernard Haitink

Act 1

5.55 Music Matters
Ivan Hewett with the latest news and events in the musical world. This week, the symphony becomes heroic in the wake of Beethoven; composers write again for the virginals; a new book on English cathedral music; and a project in Birmingham to get young people singing.
(Repeated tomorrow 12.15pm)

6.30 Act 2

7.40 The Closing of the House
With the Royal Opera House development plans well underway, Christopher Cook talks to the architects and construction manager to discover what the archaeologists have discovered about the history of Saxon London during the excavations. And director of the Royal Opera, Nicholas Payne, talks about what will happen to the company during the closure.
(See also tomorrow 5.45pm)

8.00 Act 3