Fantastic choruses and a gripping plot in this supernatural opera thriller.
Romantic opera in three acts
Libretto by Friedrich Kind with dialogues by Werner Hintze
Performed in German with German and English supertitles
Premiere
1. May 2015
Dates & Cast
- Conductor Axel Kober (21. September 2023), Christoph Gedschold (23., 30. September, 03. October 2023), Georg Fritzsch (15., 19., 21., 28. February 2025)
- Staging Axel Köhler
- Set Design Arne Walther
- Costume Design Katharina Weissenborn
- Lighting Design Fabio Antoci
- Choreography Katrin Wolfram
- Bühnenkampf Klaus Figge
- Choir Jonathan Becker (21., 23., 30. September, 03. October 2023), Jan Hoffmann (15., 19., 21., 28. February 2025)
- Dramaturgy Werner Hintze
- Conductor Georg Fritzsch
- Staging Axel Köhler
- Set Design Arne Walther
- Costume Design Katharina Weissenborn
- Lighting Design Fabio Antoci
- Choreography Katrin Wolfram
- Bühnenkampf Klaus Figge
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Werner Hintze
Project Partner:
Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Sachsen
Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden
Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen
LBBW
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
- Ottokar Markus Butter
- Kuno Tilmann Rönnebeck
- Agathe Golda Schultz
- Ännchen Mirjam Mesak
- Kaspar Ante Jerkunica
- Max Maximilian Schmitt
- Ein Eremit Alexandros Stavrakakis
- Kilian Anton Beliaev
- Erste Brautjungfer Gabriele Berke, Maria Eberth
- Zweite Brautjungfer Rahel Haar, Christiane Neumann
- Dritte Brautjungfer Jana Hohlfeld, Ute Siegmund
- Vierte Brautjungfer Cornelia Butz, Heike Liebmann
- Conductor Georg Fritzsch
- Staging Axel Köhler
- Set Design Arne Walther
- Costume Design Katharina Weissenborn
- Lighting Design Fabio Antoci
- Choreography Katrin Wolfram
- Bühnenkampf Klaus Figge
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Werner Hintze
Project Partner:
Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Sachsen
Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden
Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen
LBBW
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
- Ottokar Markus Butter
- Kuno Tilmann Rönnebeck
- Agathe Golda Schultz
- Ännchen Mirjam Mesak
- Kaspar Ante Jerkunica
- Max Maximilian Schmitt
- Ein Eremit Alexandros Stavrakakis
- Kilian Anton Beliaev
- Erste Brautjungfer Gabriele Berke, Maria Eberth
- Zweite Brautjungfer Rahel Haar, Christiane Neumann
- Dritte Brautjungfer Jana Hohlfeld, Ute Siegmund
- Vierte Brautjungfer Cornelia Butz, Heike Liebmann
- Conductor Georg Fritzsch
- Staging Axel Köhler
- Set Design Arne Walther
- Costume Design Katharina Weissenborn
- Lighting Design Fabio Antoci
- Choreography Katrin Wolfram
- Bühnenkampf Klaus Figge
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Werner Hintze
Project Partner:
Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Sachsen
Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden
Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen
LBBW
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
- Ottokar Markus Butter
- Kuno Tilmann Rönnebeck
- Agathe Golda Schultz
- Ännchen Mirjam Mesak
- Kaspar Ante Jerkunica
- Max Maximilian Schmitt
- Ein Eremit Alexandros Stavrakakis
- Kilian Anton Beliaev
- Erste Brautjungfer Gabriele Berke, Maria Eberth
- Zweite Brautjungfer Rahel Haar, Christiane Neumann
- Dritte Brautjungfer Jana Hohlfeld, Ute Siegmund
- Vierte Brautjungfer Cornelia Butz, Heike Liebmann
- Conductor Georg Fritzsch
- Staging Axel Köhler
- Set Design Arne Walther
- Costume Design Katharina Weissenborn
- Lighting Design Fabio Antoci
- Choreography Katrin Wolfram
- Bühnenkampf Klaus Figge
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Werner Hintze
Project Partner:
Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Sachsen
Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden
Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen
LBBW
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
- Ottokar Markus Butter
- Kuno Tilmann Rönnebeck
- Agathe Golda Schultz
- Ännchen Mirjam Mesak
- Kaspar Ante Jerkunica
- Max Maximilian Schmitt
- Ein Eremit Alexandros Stavrakakis
- Kilian Anton Beliaev
- Erste Brautjungfer Gabriele Berke, Maria Eberth
- Zweite Brautjungfer Rahel Haar, Christiane Neumann
- Dritte Brautjungfer Jana Hohlfeld, Ute Siegmund
- Vierte Brautjungfer Cornelia Butz, Heike Liebmann
In brief
Once the best marksman in the world, Max is on a losing streak. A single shot will determine his betrothal to Agathe – a much too important matter to leave to chance. At midnight in the Wolf’s Glen, Max, aided by the evil Casper, casts seven magic bullets which never miss their target, thus sealing a pact with the devil. Following the work’s premiere in 1821, Carl Maria von Weber proclaimed: »I’ve hit the hit the bullseye«. Soon »Der Freischütz« became regarded as the romantic German opera par excellence. Weber’s music reproduces the beauty of the German forest as well as its nighttime eeriness to create an atmosphere of uncertainty, doubt and fear. In his production, director Axel Köhler not only describes the fate of a young man driven to extremes by a fear of failure, but also paints the image of a society which, having lost its bearings, seeks stability in ritual and hierarchy.
