Der Freischütz by Weber

Saxon Switzerland

Composer Carl Maria von Weber was born in northwestern Germany not far from the Danish border. He spent the last ten years of his short life in southeastern Germany not far from the Czech border, as the Music Director of the Court Opera in Dresden. He lived in a house on the Elbe a bit upstream from the city, and is known to have enjoyed hiking in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains a little further up. These mountains, long ago dubbed the "Saxon Switzerland," are full of dramatic high cliffs with deep gorges. While composing his most famous opera, Der Freischütz, Weber found inspiration here for the Wolf's Glen scene during which the two characters cast the magic bullets at midnight, accompanied by all the horrors of hell. (See my May 23 posting for two of the ingredients for the magic bullets--the eyes!)

Backdrop to the Felsenbühne.

In the middle of this area, a natural bowl was turned into an open-air theater in the 1930s, called the "Felsenbühne," approximately Cliff Stage. I'm sure the primary inspiration for opening such a theater was the Wolf's Glen scene from Freischütz. It was made for that. And indeed, the opera is one of the most often-performed pieces at the Felsenbühne.

View toward upstage, where the bullets were cast (under the frame).

So last Sunday, I went. It was truly a spectacular experience. The production was quite true to the intentions of the composer and librettist--unlike most European opera productions these days. But here, how could you do otherwise? The biggest directorial conceit was to use picture frames of all sizes throughout the production. A picture falling from the wall figures in the plot of the opera. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I had to make due with the lousy camera on my cell phone with its grimy lens.

The State Theaters of Saxony, which have productions across the state, run the Felsenbühne. Their orchestra plays, and the singers and production workers are employed by the State Theaters as well. Quite competently done, excellent wind playing in the orchestra, and the soloists were very good (but not great). It's certainly a tough venue to play. It threatened rain the whole time, and I learned that if it starts to rain, they stop the production for a few minutes (I guess to put on raincoats, etc.), and then continue. It didn't start.

The tuba is smokin'!

The state government of Saxony recently decided to save money by dissolving the orchestra of the State Theaters and folding it in with another orchestra (which is already the result of other dissolutions). In May, there was a big demonstration in front of the Parliament building downtown, and I was there. Lots of music, and speeches of course. The last I heard, the final decision was made to dissolve. But for some reason, there is hope for finding another solution. In any case, a lot of musicians' jobs are on the line, as not all can be saved by joining with another orchestra.

Back to the Felsenbühne. The show was a total thrill, seeing it performed right there where it happened.