Weber's opera Der
Freischütz (whose title is
paraphrased as 'The marksman with
magic bullets') was first produced
in Berlin in 1821. The plot is rich
in supernatural melodrama, the sinister
and powerful Wolf's Glen Scene
in the second act forming the most celebrated
part of the work. It is no exaggeration
to suggest that no German opera has
matched the work's rapid and widespread
success, with no fewer than seventeen
performances being given within six
months of the premiere, always to capacity
audiences.
This DVD issue comes
from a live recording made in Stuttgart
in 1981. It is certainly a colourful
affair, and that at least seems true
to the opera’s nature. However, the
approach is so stylized that the problematic
nature of Weber’s supernatural visions
becomes more problematic still. Perhaps
the issues surrounding Der Freischütz
and producer Achim Freyer’s response
to the challenges it poses for its interpreters
lie at the heart of whether you will
enjoy or hate this production and performance.
Freyer decides upon a stylized approach,
whereas the alternative would be to
take the magical, fairy-tale, supernatural
world of German Romantic Opera at face
value and aim for the kind of stage
imageries you might find in the paintings
of Caspar David Friedrich.
Therefore this production
concentrates on the fairy-tale, and
a stylized fairy-tale at that. The producer
was his own designer too, so that the
concept could not be compromised by
misunderstandings of vision. Now Weber’s
music is every inch as subtle, expressive
and committed as you would expect, and
it is only with the utmost ‘suspension
of disbelief’ that this production can
be tolerated. Inevitably it is in the
famous Wolf’s Glen Scene, which opened
the door to so much of 19th
century music drama, that this mismatch
is at its most apparent. What should
be atmospheric and frightening looks
colourful, yes, but fails to register
highly as far as tension is concerned.
This is the biggest disappointment,
but then this is the best scene on the
opera.
Tolerate the stylistic
characteristics of the production, and
there will be rewards to discover. True,
the plot is as hard to justify as the
opera’s title is to translate, and the
narrative dialogue sections gain from
clearly articulated and presented subtitles,
though they do dominate the screen somewhat.
But Freyer plays fast and loose as producers
will, with Weber’s stage directions.
Since these are so often linked with
the inspiration behind the music, the
results are seldom compelling. In the
Wolf’s Glen the strange creatures certainly
do appear, but their strangeness is
not as strange as a less concept-ridden
style, or at least a more Gothic-Romantic
style, might have achieved. The rival
Arthaus DVD (100 106) from Hamburg,
directed by Peter Konwitschny, is both
more daring and more disturbing.
As for the musical
side of things, Dennis Russell Davies
conducts a well focused team of performers,
and there is an excellent control of
line and pacing. Perhaps the Wolf’s
Glen music could have been more carefully
phrased and projected musically, but
in the context of the stage presentation
would that have mattered much? The sound
quality is adequate but not particularly
sophisticated and atmospheric, with
little depth of perspective.
While the CD case has
space for a booklet this only contains
a catalogue of other recordings; there
is nothing whatever about Weber or Der
Freischütz.
Terry Barfoot
Chorus and Orchestra of the Würtembergische
Staatsoper, Stuttgart/Dennis Russell Davies
NVC
ARTS 5050467-3524-2-1 [146.00]