Special offer. Weber: Der Freischütz
Maximilian Schmitt (Max), Jessica Muirhead (Agathe), Heiko Trinsinger (Kaspar), Tamara Banješević (Ännchen), Martijn Cornet (Ottokar)
Essener Philharmoniker, Tomáš Netopil
Der Freischütz requires a conductor who relishes the composer’s particular instrumentation; and Tomáš Netopil lets horns and strings and clarinet sing their own songs from the very start of...
Special offer. Weber: Der Freischütz
Maximilian Schmitt (Max), Jessica Muirhead (Agathe), Heiko Trinsinger (Kaspar), Tamara Banješević (Ännchen), Martijn Cornet (Ottokar)
Essener Philharmoniker, Tomáš Netopil
Purchase product
Der Freischütz requires a conductor who relishes the composer’s particular instrumentation; and Tomáš Netopil lets horns and strings and clarinet sing their own songs from the very start of...
About
Der Freischütz represents a milestone in the history of German opera. Written in 1821 against the backcloth of the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon, this so-called national opera expresses the Germans desire for cultural identity. The librettist Johann Friedrich Kind places the action around the time of the Thirty Years War (161848), a time when society was shaped by religious power struggles, war and outdated rituals, leading to a blurring of reality and the illusion of a perfect world. According to ancient custom, the huntsman Max is allowed to take his beloved Agathe as his wife and become a hereditary forester only if his shot in a shooting contest hits its mark. But Kaspar tries to lure Max into a pact with the devil that ensures seven free bullets for Max that will not miss their target in the Wolfschlucht The recording took place on 8 December 2018 with the Essen Philharmonic under Tomá Netopil in the Aalto Theater Essen. The production will be revived in April 2020.
Contents and tracklist
- Maximilian Schmitt, Albrecht Kludszuweit, Karel Martin Ludvik, Heiko Trinsinger
- Chor und Extrachor des Aalto-Theaters
- Jessica Muirhead, Tijl Faveyts, Tamara Banješević, Martijn Cornet, Helga Wachter Uta Schwarzkopf
- Chor des Aalto-Theaters
Awards and reviews
July 2020
Der Freischütz requires a conductor who relishes the composer’s particular instrumentation; and Tomáš Netopil lets horns and strings and clarinet sing their own songs from the very start of the overture. There’s a workmanlike cast of soloists. Maximilian Schmitt is a useful Romantic tenor as Max, though stretched in the upper register, and Jessica Muirhead is a touchingly anxious Agathe. Heiko Trinsinger’s Kaspar is dark in voice and deed and Tamara Banjesvic is suitably pert as Äennchen.
July 2020
Arguably the stars here are Netopil and the orchestra...their conductor’s always dancelike pointing of the score and careful delivery of Weber’s ever-precise dynamics (especially when things get loud or spooky) make this a treasurable performance to return to. It also sounds well gauged to the capabilities of the cast, which includes a lighter than once usual Caspar and a heavier than usual Aennchen. Both romantic leads, Muirhead and Schmitt, are intense but refreshingly not over-weighty.
September 2020
From the darkly menacing opening of the overture, Tomáš Netopil has good measure of the spirit of the score, directing throughout with a well-balanced alternation between dramatic flair and sensitivity, while drawing good, if not perfectly finished, playing from the Essener Philharmoniker. Maximilian Schmitt’s Max is ardent but lacks true focus…[Muirhead's is] a voice not only of vernal freshness, but one in which musicianship is interwoven to colour the voice and convey an innate understanding of line and phrasing.
