Organization

Singer

Soprano

Elza van den Heever

Agathe

Mojca Erdmann

Ännchen

Bass

Falk Struckmann

Caspar

Selcuk Cara

Tenor

Simon O'Neill

Martin Snell

Kuno

Baritone

Dominik Köninger

Kilian

Artur Korn

A Hermit

Henk Neven

Ottokar

Spoken

Karl Markovics

Samiel

Conductor

Bertrand de Billy

Stage director

Stefan Ruzowitzky

Set designer

Renate Martin

Andreas Donhauser

Costume designer

Nicole Fischnaller

Dramaturge

Anton Maria Aigner

Lighting designer

Peter van Praet

Video designer

Fritz Fitzke

Petra Baráthová

Four bridesmaids

Judith Halász

Jaroslava Pepper

Alice Rath

MusikTheater an der Wien

Orchestra

ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

German

Der Freischütz, op. 77 -  (The Marksman)

Vienna

Austria

Theater an der Wien

The Marksman

Approved

DER FREISCHÜTZ von Carl Maria von Weber

“ Der Freischütz hit the mark,” wrote Carl Maria von Weber to his lyricist Johann Friedrich Kind in 1821, impressed by the glamorous Berlin premiere. He was right, because the Freischütz soon developed into a serial success, which after further performances degenerated into a kind of acoustic conflagration. Created immediately after the Napoleonic wars, this romantic opera about fear of failure, fragile conventions and forest spooks powerfully releases a fantasy world whose array of ghostly phenomena is simply impressive.

Max loves Agathe, the daughter of the forester Kuno. In order to marry her, he must first pass a difficult trial shot. But Max seems to have been abandoned by luck for some time, he no longer meets and is already exposed to general ridicule. In his desperation he turns to his supposed friend Kaspar, who lures him into the gloomy Wolfsschlucht to pour free balls at night: six balls will infallibly hit the desired target; the seventh, however, is for an innocent victim. Unsuspecting, Max trusts the accuracy of the seventh bullet during a test shot in front of the assembled community. He shoots and Agathe falls. As if by a miracle she is saved and Kaspar dies in her place. Max confesses to the fraud. Although he is not expelled from the community, but put another year to the test. Only then can he marry Agathe, even without a trial shot.

"Do not overlook how I benefit from the fact that half the opera is set in the dark with the dark main character," said Weber, who describes the victory over the dark forces in the Freischütz with a lot of melodic ingenuity, a roaring orchestra and motivic references.

English

The Marksman by Von Weber, From (2010/2010), Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky,, Conductor Bertrand de Billy, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Videos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues