The most immediately obvious attraction of this recording of Weber's Der Freischütz from historically-oriented conductor René Jacobs is that the tracklist includes some unfamiliar items. Librettist Friedrich Kind introduced the Hermit at the beginning of the opera, after the overture, where in most performances there is a familiar gunshot, but Weber's wife, a soprano, persuaded him to omit these numbers, and there has been some debate ever since as to whether she was right. Jacobs restores them, using musical material from ...
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The most immediately obvious attraction of this recording of Weber's Der Freischütz from historically-oriented conductor René Jacobs is that the tracklist includes some unfamiliar items. Librettist Friedrich Kind introduced the Hermit at the beginning of the opera, after the overture, where in most performances there is a familiar gunshot, but Weber's wife, a soprano, persuaded him to omit these numbers, and there has been some debate ever since as to whether she was right. Jacobs restores them, using musical material from elsewhere in the opera, and he fits out other omitted text with music from Schubert's youthful opera Des Teufels Lustschloss, D. 84. One can debate the effectiveness of this, although it is hard to argue that a 19th century stage director would not have done the same if circumstances dictated. The hefty booklet goes into detail, and it includes some wonderful period graphics. Another attraction is the sound from the Konzerthaus Freiburg, not from a live performance but set up for...
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