Classical Works: Der Freischütz, opera, J. 277 (Op. 77)
Review
Ten years after Weber composed the highly successful Abu Hassan, he found a libretto he felt he could use effectively. He had always been attracted to the common Central European tale of the "free-shooter." It concerns the man who makes a pact with the devil in order to obtain magic bullets or arrows that will always find their target. No one is safe from them, not even the evil one from whom they came. The free-shooter is a damned soul, avoided by his fellows, unhappy, and his end is always violent. There were many versions of the Freischütz story, most based on the historical account of Georg Schmidt, a clerk who in 1710 was tried and convicted of trying to obtain magic bullets by bargaining with the devil. Johann Apel and Friedrich Laun had turned the story into the opening tale of their Gespensterbuch of 1810. The librettist for Weber's opera was Johann Friedrich Kind. From Apel and Laun he borrowed many innovations to the historical story. A love motive was added for the misguided hero, who wishes to earn the hand of his beloved Agathe, a virtuous and pious woman, by becoming the most skilled huntsman in the area. Also in Kind's cast are Samiel and Caspar, two representatives of Satan; Aennchen, an innocent girl and comic element, derived from the French opera-comique; and Ottokar, the benevolent Prince, standard Romantic opera fare. Hunters, villagers, and bridesmaids make up the choruses that bring to life the surrounding countryside. Kind was also invented of the Wolf's Glen scene, famous for bringing to life, through nature, all the evil forces of the universe and in the psychology of man.
Weber himself saw this opera as a battle between the forces of good and evil and planned the structure around a downward curve into darkness, which is suddenly brought back up into the light. He writes in his notes that many of the scenes take place in the evening or at night, including Agathe's big scena that takes place in the moonlight. He planned his orchestrations around two elements: the forces of evil and the huntsmen's music. The forces of evil he orchestrated in the lowest registers of the various instruments, bringing out qualities and timbres never before known in the history of the orchestra.
Berlioz ,
Beethoven , and others admired his handling of the orchestra. The two main threads that form the background for Weber's opera are the German singspiel and French opera. It was common in German singspiel to use folk elements and melodies, but Weber takes this tendency one step further. Many of his melodies are derived from actual folk melodies, and others imitate folk melodies to such a degree that they became popular folk tunes after the opera became well known. The entr'acte was introduced from French opera. In addition, from French compositional practices Weber developed the "reminiscence motive," which reuses material to emphasize a mood or character. This eventually developed into the German leitmotiv.
~ All Music Guide
Albums with Complete Performances of the Work
Albums with Excerpt Performances of the Work
Birgit Nilsson 2001 Swedish Brass Quartet 1998 Autumn 1997 The Peoples Guide to Opera 2 2000 A Portrait of Hanne-Lore Kuhse 2005 Hilde Konetzni Helge Roswaenge: The Dane with the High D 2002 Opera for Pleasure: Opera Choruses 1997 Romantic Opera Arias Lebendige Vergangenheit: Germaine Lubin Die Sänger der Wiener Staatsoper zur Wiedereröffnung des Hauses am Ring 1955 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Spectacular-Classical, Opera & Ballet Opera Fantasies 1993 Audio Archive Classics: Lotte Lehmann Marcel Journet Career Highlights 1998 Große Sänger der Vergangenheit: Tiana Lemnitz 2006 Alexander Kipnis: Opera, Lieder 1997 Classics for Relaxation 2006 Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Box Set) 2001 Singers Of Imperial Russia, Vol. 5 The Great Michael Bohnen The Record of Singing, Vol. 4 1991 Famous Opera Choruses 1997 Opera Arias 1994 Ultimate Classics: The Most Beloved Music from the Most Popular Composers 2005 Pure Opera: Highlights from Beautiful Operas 2000 Favourite Opera Choruses Rudolf Schock Choeurs de l'Armée Rouge Intégrale Sounds and Sweet Airs 2000 Great Classical Overtures 1994 The Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Box Set) 1991 Weber: Freischütz excerpts Opera Obsession! Act III 2006 The Top 10 of Classical Music, 1811-1841 2001 Incontri memorabili: Ebe Stignani and Nicola Rossi-Lemeni Jagdmusik (Hunting Music) 1989 Harold Wayne Collection, Vol.35 Karl Böhm conducts Mozart, Wagner, Weber, Verdi Great Opera Tenors: Nicolai Gedda 1999 Helge Rosvaenge, Vol.2 Von der Königlichen Hofoper zur Staatsoper Unter den Linden German Opera & Operetta 1998 Four Famous Sopranos of the Past Albert Coates conducts Wagner, Weber, and Mendelssohn 1993 Wagner, Weber, Strauss and others 1997 Das Philharmonia Hornquartett Wien 1997 Opera's SuperVillains 2002 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Michael Bohnen Orchestral Excerpts for Clarinet 1994 Teatro alla Scala The German Repertoire (1928-1942) Leontyne Price in Concert A Tribute to Eugen Jochum 1997 Favorite Opera Choruses Opera's Greatest Songs 1995 Hans Knappertsbusch Conducts, 1936-43 1994 500 Classic Masterpieces 1992 Wilhelm Furtwängler conducts Romantic Music (Polydor Recordings 1) Unforgettable Recitals: Mario Lanza, Frances Yeend Opera Heroes: Rudolf Schock 1998 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Nazzareno De Angelis Weber: Overtures 2002 Meta Seinemeyer Helge Roswaenge: Telefunken Solo Recordings; Hilde Konetzni: Operatic Arias 1999 Song to the Moon 1995 Elisabeth Schumann: Complete Edison & Polydor Recordings (1915-23) 1997 Masters of Classical Music, Vol. 4 Classical Overtures 1998 Warsaw Opera Stars (1902-1927) The Viennese Nightingale 2003 Laudate Dominum 1999 Furtwängler: Early Recordings 1926-37 1991 Lotte Lehmann: Her Early Records, 1914-1917 Incontri memorabili, Vol. 11 Lotte Lehmann-Opera Arias Music of the World-Danube Dreams Famous Opera Choruses Four German Sopranos Of The Past Lebendige Vergangenheit: Michael Bohnen 2 The Royal Treasury of Classical Music [Box Set] Helge Rosvaenge: The German Repertoire 1996 Germaine Lubin: Opera Arias & Songs Best Loved Operas 2006 Four Famous Sopranos of the Past Best of Tenors 1995 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Friedrich Schorr II Best of German Opera 1995 Great Operatic Arias: John Tomlinson, Vol. 2 2002 Great Opera Heroes 1996 History of Classical Music 1999 The German Repertoire The Three Sopranos 2007 Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg 2002 Grand Opera Choruses 1998 Public Performances, 1951 - 1954 Sir Thomas Beecham Conducts Favourite Overtures, Volume II 1994 Elisabeth Rethberg: The Complete Brunswick Recordings (1924-29) 1994 The Ultimate Wedding Album 2005 Richard Tauber, Vol. 2 Janacek: Jenufa 1997 Torsten Kerl 2003 Berühmte Ouvertüren (Famous Overtures), Vol. 1 Vom Hamburger Stadttheater zur Hamburgischen Staatsoper 2003 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Adamo Didur Lebendige Vergangenheit: August Seider Best of Opera Tenors 1995 Arias 2003 A Night at the Opera 1996 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Kurt Böhme Wiener Staatsoper Live, Vol.3 1994 W. Furtwangler Recordings from 1926 to 1945 A Portrait of Ernst Gruber 2005 Invitation To The Opera Ben Heppner: German Romantic Opera 1998 Four Famous Sopranos of the Past The Most Famous Operatic Choirs, Vol. 1 Opera's Greatest Heroines 2002 Sie sangen im Prinzregententheater: Eine Dokumentation zum 100 Jahr-Jubiläum Helge Rosvaenge: The Italian & German Repertoire (1928-1943) The Age of Bel Canto 1996 Dramatic Tenor Arius Peter Anders: Operatic Portrait 2001 Omaggio ad Alexander Kipnis Lebendige Vergangenheit: Tiana Lemnitz Lebendige Vergangenheit: Richard Tauber Richard Tauber rarities (1929-1939) Ludwig Weber:Opera Arias 1999 The Royal Treasury of Classical Music, Vol. 9 1998 Michael Bohnen at the Metropolitan Opera Jacques Urlus, Heroic Tenor 2001 Birgit Nilsson: Opera Arias 2000 Opera & Leder Gala Opera Concert Sigrid Arnoldson, 1861-1943 2005 Emmy Destin The Young Lotte Lehmann The Very Best of Kiri Te Kanawa 2003 The Royal Treasury of Classical Music [Box Set] 2005 Bacchus Trank Auch: Lieder vom Südhang des Lebens ENCORE / Various 1997 German Operatic Choruses 1996 Leontyne Price (The Prima Donna Collection) 1992 Four Famous German Sopranos 1997 Classics for Relaxation [Collector's Tin] 2006 The Complete Destinn: Arias and Songs, 1910-1921 The Complete Destinn: Arias and Songs, 1901-1909 1994 Weber: Der Freischütz (Highlights) 1993 Richard Strauss: Elektra 2002 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Richard Mayr Nabucco and other Great Opera Choruses Popular Arias and Songs [Includes DVD: Rare Performance of Kiri on Film] 2004 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Margarete Teschemacher The Record of Singing, Vol. 4: From 1939 to the End of the 78 Era 1991 Hilde Güden: Die frühen Aufnahmen 1942 - 1951 (The Early Recordings) Grosse Sänger der Semperoper Dresden 1991 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Hilde Konetzni Unvergessene Stimmen der Wiener Staatsoper 1994 A to Z of Opera 2000 The Ultimate Highlights from the Opera 2001 Ópera de la A a la Z 2000 Anton Dermota Sings Opera Arias Opera Spectacular 1 & 2 Opera Spectacular II Four Austrian Sopranos of the Past 1997 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Ludwig Weber Schubert: Symphonies 1-4; Rosamunde ballet music Hermann Jadlowker 2001 Puccini: La Rondine (in German) 2000 Salzburg Festival Rarities, Vol. 1 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Alexander Kipnis Weber: Meine Lieder, meine Sänge 2002 The Yellow Guide: Opera 1997 Major Vocal Rarities 2006 Songs and Dances: Nationalism in Music 1999 Opera Divas 1995 Zubin Mehta: A Seventieth Birthday Tribute 2006 Famous Opera Arias Opera Arias 1998 Waldoper Zoppot: Das Bayreuthe des Norden und seine Sänger Tiana Lemnitz: Sopran 1994 The Best of the Royal Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestras [Box Set] 1998 100 Jahre Bayreuth auf Schallplatte: The Early Festival Singers, 1887-1906 2004 Am fernen Horizonte: Männerchöre der Liedertafel 2003 Beautiful Wedding Melodies The 4-Minute Cylinder, Part 2 1999 Bel Canto 1993 Puccini Arias 2006 Unvergessene Tenöre 2006 Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music, Vol. 2 1996 Dokumente einer Sängerkarriere: Peter Anders Peter Anders Lebendige Vergangenheit: Emanuel List The Art of Ljuba Welitsch Lehamann in Opera Lebendige Vergangenheit: Set Svanholm, Vol. 2 Set Svanholm-Stockholm Recordins 1943-1958 1994 If Hunting Had to Be Told 1995 The Berlin Philharmonic Horn Quartet, Live In Tokyo Marcel Journet 1998 A Treasury of Operatic Heroines, 1948-1967 1999 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Ludwig Suthaus Franz Volker Rare Recordings 1927-41 Pure Opera Moods 2004 Legendary Richard Tauber 1997 Great Recordings of the Century: Ljuba Welitsch 1987 Legendary Voices of the Salzburg Festival The Ultimate Classics: Opera Highlights 2004 Classic Recitals: McCracken on Stage 2004 Great Moments of Opera 1995 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Maria Jeritza 1993 Aus Münchens Operngeschichte 1999 Weber: Overtures; Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphoses on the Themes of Carl Maria von Weber 1989 The Pied Piper of the Opera 2000 Lucia Popp The Second World War Years : 1939-1945 Weber: Der Freischütz (Highlights) 1998 Lebendige Vergangenheit: Josef Herrmann Weber: Der Freischütz Gundula Janowitz 2001 Great Voices of the Early Years (Box Set) Weber: Der Freischütz "Harmoniemusik" Lebendige Vergangenheit: Rudolf Laubenthal The Best of German Opera 2005 Masters of the Opera, 1642-1843, Vol. 1-5 (Box Set) The World of Singing, Vol.7 The Complete Destinn (Box Set) Four Famous Mezzos of the Past Lebendige Vergangenheit: Paul Knüpfer Wilhelm Furtwängler: Le incisioni effettuate dal 1930 al 1937 Masters of the Opera, Vol. 4, 1820-1831 Verdi, Mozart, Dvorak and others The Great Opera Composers 1988 Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame 2006 Sena Jurinac Artist Portrait: Matti Salminen 2003 Prima Donna in Vienna 2005 Famous Basses of the Past Elisabeth Grümmer: Recital Clarinet Arias 1999 Ljuba Welitsch: Her Historical Live Performances (The Radio Years) A Night At The Opera Great Moments of Opera, Vol. 3 1993 The Very Best of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf 2003 Arturo Toscanini - The Salzburg Experience 1935-1937 The Kelvingrove Organ 2003 German Romantic Arias 2002 Set Svanholm: Stockholm Recordings 1943-1958 The Art of Meta Seinemeyer 1996 The Art of Maria Müller The Symposium Opera Collection, Vol. 6: Emmy Destinn 2001 Mekanische Musikinstrumente 1997 Famous Opera Arias 1982 Brass Music by Opera Composers The Top 100 Masterpieces Of Classical Music (Box Set) 1991 Emmy Destin Sings Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini Lebendige Vergangenheit: Lilly Hafgren Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Collectors Edition) (Box Set) 2002 Masters of the Voice: Tenor 2004 Masters of the Opera, 1642-1926 (Box Set) Helge Roswaenge
