Der Freischütz

When Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz premiered in Berlin in 1821, it lit a fire under 19th-century German opera. While the ghostly dénouement of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and the dramatic impetus of Beethoven’s rescue opera Fidelio were obvious models, Weber embraced the supernatural world with unprecedented intensity in his tale of amorous rivalry, devil dealing and the casting of magic bullets for a shooting competition. The iconic Wolf’s Glen scene in Act II was particularly influential, its scything string tremolandos, snorting trombones and spectral choral writing providing a potent template for the development of German Romantic opera. Wagner was among those listening closely, and his powerful evocation of the natural world in the four operas of Der Ring des Nibelungen owes much to Weber’s example. The character of Max, a young forester torn between good and evil in his battle for the hand of Agathe, is also central to Der Freischütz’s enduring appeal and historical importance. His anguished set-piece aria “Durch die Wälder, durch die Auen” (“Through the forests, through the meadows”) defines in rivetingly affecting music the plight of the rootless Romantic hero, unfulfilled in love and alone in what he fears to be a godless universe.