Zurich Opera House 6 July 2023 - Der Freischütz | GoComGo.com

Der Freischütz

Zurich Opera House, Zurich, Switzerland
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7 PM

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Starts at: 19:00
Acts: 3
Intervals: 1
Duration: 2h 50min
Sung in: German
Titles in: German,English

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Overview

This revival features some of today’s strongest singer-actors in the German repertoire. American Jacquelyn Wagner sings the demanding role of Agathe. Berlin baritone Markus Brück, whose success in Zurich includes the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth, returns as Kaspar, one of his signature roles. As in the most recent run of performances, Benjamin Bruns bows as a cowardly but vocally secure Max. Leading the performances musically is Axel Kober, a conductor who specializes in German Romantic repertoire, and who knows Freischütz’ c-minor devilry inside and out.

Carl Maria von Weber’s opera Der Freischütz is one of the musical touchstones of German Romanticism. It takes us from the Biedermeier forester and forest idyll of an upcoming wedding deep down into the legendary Wolfsschlucht, or Wolf’s Glen, one of the most infamous places in the history of opera, where wild boars race and magic bullets controlled by the devil are cast. Weber's boldly orchestrated Wolfsschlucht music captivated an entire generation of composers in the 19th century, and it still retains its grandiose, demonic effect today. That scene alone makes Freischütz an irreplaceable component in the repertoire of every opera house.

The Zurich production by German director Herbert Fritsch has achieved cult status, in part because it exposes the works’ sinister and farcical sides. With his colorfully artistic, exceptionally physical theatrical language, Fritsch succeeded in creating a captivatingly different take on an opera classic. Adorned in Victoria Behr’s spectacular, imaginatively overdrawn costumes, Fritsch has the characters in Freischütz dance around a dollhouse-like village church. They draw energy from the comically exalted interplay between chorus and soloists – with an infinitely nonsensical Samiel in the middle of it all.

History
Premiere of this production: 18 June 1821, Schauspielhaus Berlin

Der Freischütz (usually translated as The Marksman or The Freeshooter) is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin. It is considered the first important German Romantic opera, especially in its national identity and stark emotionality.

Venue Info

Zurich Opera House - Zurich
Location   Sechseläutenplatz 1

Zürich Opera House is a main opera house in Zürich and Switzerland. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zürich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to the Zürich Ballet. The Opera House also holds concerts by its Philharmonia orchestra, matinees, Lieder evenings and events for children. The Zürich Opera Ball is organised every year in March, and is usually attended by prominent names.

The first permanent theatre, the Aktientheater, was built in 1834 and it became the focus of Richard Wagner’s activities during his period of exile from Germany.

The Aktientheater burnt down in 1890. The new Stadttheater Zürich (municipal theatre) was built by the Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer, who changed their previous design for the theatre in Wiesbaden only slightly. It was opened in 1891. It was the city's main performance space for drama, opera, and musical events until 1925, when it was renamed Opernhaus Zürich and a separate theatre for plays was built: The Bernhard Theater opened in 1941, in May 1981 the Esplanada building was demolished, and the present adjoint building opened on 27/28 December 1984 after three years of transition in the Kaufhaus building nearby Schanzengraben.

By the 1970s, the opera house was badly in need of major renovations; when some considered it not worth restoring, a new theatre was proposed for the site. However, between 1982 and 1984, rebuilding took place but not without huge local opposition which was expressed in street riots. The rebuilt theatre was inaugurated with Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the world première of Rudolf Kelterborn’s Chekhov opera Der Kirschgarten.

As restored, the theatre is an ornate building with a neo-classical façade of white and grey stone adorned with busts of Weber, Wagner, and Mozart. Additionally, busts of Schiller, Shakespeare, and Goethe are to be found. The auditorium is built in the neo-rococo style and seats approximately 1200 people. During the refurbishment, the issue of sightlines was not adequately addressed. As a result, the theatre has a high number of seats with a limited view, or no view, of the stage. This is unusual in international comparison, where sightlines in historic opera houses have been typically enhanced over time.

Corporate archives and historical library collections are held at the music department of the Predigerkirche Zürich.

The Zürich Opera House is also home of the International Opera Studio (in German: Internationales Opernstudio IOS) which is a educational program for young singers and pianists. The studio was created in 1961 and has renowned artists currently teaching such as Brigitte Fassbaender, Hedwig Fassbender, Andreas Homocki, Rosemary Joshua, Adrian Kelly, Fabio Luisi, Jetske Mijnssen, Ann Murray, Eytan Pessen or Edith Wiens.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Starts at: 19:00
Acts: 3
Intervals: 1
Duration: 2h 50min
Sung in: German
Titles in: German,English
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