His thoughts on the relative contributions of music and drama in opera were to change again, and he reintroduced some traditional forms into his last few stage works, including Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg).
Con todo, as súas ideas sobre a relación entre a música e o teatro mudaron de novo e reintroduciu algunhas formas operísticas tradicionais nas obras da súa última etapa, como en Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.