Dates

3-25 June 2022

Location

Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Main Stage

Running time

2:55, incl. 1 intermission

Tickets

Not available

Der Freischütz

A risky deal with the devil

In a rehearsal room, a group of singers is working on Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz: an opera about an ambitious huntsman Max who must win a shooting contest in order to marry his beloved Agathe. Terrified that he will miss his shot, Max makes a pact with sinister forces. In this unique and unconventional production, director Kirill seeks parallels between Der Freischütz and the opera world, in which ambition, fear of failure and superstition feature just as prominently. 

A risky deal with the devil

Der Freischütz (1821) is Carl Maria von Weber’s most famous work. It combines romantic arias and beautiful songs and choruses with gripping, evocative music. With his blood-curdling Wolf’s Glen scene, Weber created a musical work of art that has elicited the admiration of some of the greatest composers who lived after him. 

In this production, theatre, film and opera director Kirill Serebrennikov has changed the opera’s context by creating new dialogues to replace the spoken texts. He has also done away with the German forest and has instead opted for a rehearsal studio full of artists. And Max is no longer a huntsman afraid of missing his target, rather he is a neurotic tenor who feels threatened. Finally, conductor Patrick Hahn personifies dark forces, masterminding and manipulating everything very precisely and fastidiously.

 

Kirill Serebrennikov

After being forced to direct remotely for several years due to his house arrest in Russia, Serebrennikov will now, for the first time, be able to direct an opera in person again.  He is a truly multitalented director: not only does he direct opera and theatre – his recent works include Parsifal at the Vienna State Opera and Der schwarze Mönch at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg – he also directs films (Leto, Petrov's Flu and Tchaikovsky's Wife), which regularly feature among the selections for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

For Der Freischütz, Serebrennikov will be working with an adventurous cast of high calibre.  German tenor Benjamin Bruns and South African soprano Johanni van Oostrum are perfectly cast as sweethearts Max and Agathe. And captivating soprano Ying Fang will return to Amsterdam as Ännchen, while Austrian bass Günther Groissböck will take on the role of the depraved Kaspar, after having sung several Wagner roles at Dutch National Opera. With the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the pit, this promises to be an exhilarating experience.

Performance information

Libretto 

Friedrich Kind, after Der Freischütz by August Apel

New (English) dialogues by Kirill Serebrennikov and Arseniy Fariatiev



Musical direction  Patrick Hahn

Direction and set design  Kirill Serebrennikov

Co-direction and choreography Evgeny Kulagin

Costume designers  Kirill Serebrennikov and Tanya Dolmatovskaya

Lighting design  Franck Evin

Music dramaturgy Daniil Orlov

Video design Alan Mandelshtam

Fürst Ottokar + Kilian  Michael Wilmering

Kuno  James Platt

Agathe  Johanni van Oostrum

Ännchen  Ying Fang

Kaspar + Ein Eremit  Günther Groissböck

Max  Benjamin Bruns, Jussi Myllys (7 & 9 June)

Samiel  Patrick Hahn

The Red One  Odin Lund Biron

Brautjungfern

Caroline Cartens*

Lisette Bolle*

Dana Ilia*

Tomoko Makuuchi*

* Chorus of Dutch National Opera

Orchestra  

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Members and alumni of the Nationaal Jeugd Jazz Orkest

Rehearsal Konrad Koselleck

Chorus  Chorus of Dutch National Opera

Chorus master  Lionel Sow

Opera in three acts (1821)

Sung in German, spoken texts in English

Music from The Black Rider by Tom Waits

Just The Right Bullets

Flash Pan Hunter

I'll Shoot The Moon

With special thanks to Tom Waits,

Kathleen Brennan and Roger Dorresteijn

in the media
Rave Reviews

Holland Festival kicks off with eerily good 'Freischütz', in which nothing is what it was."

"Commissioned by De Nationale Opera (DNO), Serebrennikov knocked the dust out of Der Freischütz and then turned the entire work inside out. ... The result was three hours of masterly theatre, which was no longer about hitting the mark with magic devil bullets, but about the intimidating opera business itself.

6 June

At Dutch National Opera, Weber's Der Freischütz is not a hunting fairy tale but a merciless insight into the machinations of the opera business. Irreverent and infectious

“Although the theatrical magic was systematically ironised and unmasked, the singers of course had to sing for real. And they did a fantastic job.

“Melodious at times, but also infectiously spirited and admirably inventive.

6 June

Laughing shamelessly at what is actually a serious opera is so liberating

6 June

Serebrennikov does with Der Freischütz what no one has dared before: successfully mutilates the play."

"The Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov has completely moulded the opera Der Freischütz to his liking. Partly due to the magnificent singers, this makes for an amusing evening.

4 June
Der Freischütz
Schelm, halt fest!
Rehearsals of der Freischütz

Der Freischütz - Podcast

By: Jasmijn van Wijnen en Laura Roling

Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
Der Freischütz
Scene from Der Freischütz | Photo: Bart Grietens
KCO

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Founded in 1888, the Concertgebouw Orchestra has consistently been rated among the world's best orchestras, and has always collaborated with the greatest composers, conductors and soloists. In addition to some eighty concerts performed at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, each year the orchestra gives concerts at other major concert halls throughout the world. The orchestra expands its reach through videos, streaming, radio and television broadcasts, and CD and DVD recordings on its own label. The Academy of the Concertgebouw Orchestra successfully moulds young, talented musicians into orchestral players. Every summer, Concertgebouworkest Young brings together hidden talent aged fourteen to seventeen from all over Europe. The Concertgebouw Orchestra fosters a long, highly treasured collaboration with Dutch National Opera. This season the orchestra will join us for Der Freischütz.

Photo: Simon van Boxtel

NJJO

Nationaal Jeugd Jazz Orkest

The Nationaal Jeugd Jazz Orkest (NJJO) is composed once every two years of Dutch top talent, and consists of twenty starting professionals of no more than 25 years old. The orchestra offers young jazz musicians the opportunity to acquire a wealth of practical and substantive knowledge in a short period of time, and to link this to special stage experiences and collaborative projects. Composer, band leader and saxophonist Maarten Hogenhuis is the orchestra's artistic director and conductor in 2021 and 2022.

Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak
Repetitie Der Freischütz | Foto: Milagro Elstak
Rehearsal Der Freischütz | Photo: Milagro Elstak

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