Weber: Der Freischütz

The Freischütz counts as a milestone in the history of German opera. Created in 1821 under the impression of the liberation wars against Napoleons, the so-called National Opera expresses the Germans’ desire for cultural identity. The librettist Johann Friedrich Kind temporally places the plot in the vicinity of the Thirty Years’ War. Here people in a society are shaped by religious power struggles, war and outdated rituals. This shows the blurring of reality and an apparently perfect world. According to old custom, the huntsman Max is allowed to take his beloved Agathe as his wife and inherit a hereditary forester if his only test shot succeeds. But Kaspar tries to get Max into a pact with the devil. There should be seven free bullets for Max, who will not miss their goal in the Wolfschlucht … The premiere took place on December 8th, 2018 with the Essen Philharmonic under Tomaš Netopil in the Aalto Theater Essen. There will be another performance in April 2020.