The historical-performance movement has moved profitably into the 19th century, but the music of Carl Maria von Weber has so far mostly not benefited from such treatment. The present recording is not the very first historically informed performance of his masterwork, the opera Der Freischütz, but when this release appeared in 2021, there hadn't been one for at least 15 years. The title The Freischütz Project does not really mean anything; what listeners get here is a set of excerpts from the opera, linked to but recorded ...
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The historical-performance movement has moved profitably into the 19th century, but the music of Carl Maria von Weber has so far mostly not benefited from such treatment. The present recording is not the very first historically informed performance of his masterwork, the opera Der Freischütz, but when this release appeared in 2021, there hadn't been one for at least 15 years. The title The Freischütz Project does not really mean anything; what listeners get here is a set of excerpts from the opera, linked to but recorded independently of a 2019 Paris production and featuring the same performers. The physical album comes packaged with a DVD containing actual scenes from the production, but listeners may do well with the CD itself, for it is the instrumental sounds that are the chief attraction. The cast, led by powerhouse soprano Johanni van Oostrum as Agathe, is solid, but for the real revelations, listen above all to the "Wolf's Glen" scene in the second act. It is always the center of this opera, but...
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