Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) was not the first composer to base his operas on texts written in German, but his “Freischütz” was instrumental in shaping and establishing the genre of German-language opera.
Von Weber began work on “Freischütz” in 1817, and the libretto was penned by Friedrich Kind, with whom von Weber also maintained a friendly relationship. Von Weber not only conducted the premiere at the Königliches Schauspielhaus Berlin in the summer of 1821, but was also responsible for the stage design and lighting.
For the young marksman Max, nothing less than the future is at stake: if he succeeds in the required shot the next day, he will not only be allowed to marry his love, Agathe, but also to take over the hereditary forester’s estate. But after Max has lost today’s prize shooting, he lets himself be persuaded by the sinister marksman Kaspar to use free bullets, which always hit the desired target - admittedly without knowing that Kaspar had cunningly cursed his last bullet...