Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Der Freischütz (1821)
Max – Richard Holm (tenor)
Kaspar – Kurt Böhme (bass)
Agathe – Irmgard Seefried (soprano)
Ännchen – Rita Streich (soprano)
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/Eugen Jochum
rec. 1959, Herkules Saal, Munich
Deutsche Grammophon 4775611 [2 CDs: 119]
This 1959 recording of Weber’s Der Freischütz was made in Munich. When one really thinks about it, who has more right to play this music than an orchestra and chorus of Bavarians? They have the music in their blood, and the woodland folktales that inspired this opera are from their own region of Germany.
It is an almost complete account of the opera. Some of the dialogue has been trimmed, and of the music, only the orchestral Entr’acte for the third act has been cut. The scene for the bridesmaids has been trimmed from four bridesmaids down to two.
Eugen Jochum leads the Bavarian forces with a very sure hand. It is obvious as one listens that he loves every bar of Weber’s music, because he animates each line with focus and intensity. From the opening minor chords of the overture, he immerses himself in the mysterious element that pervades the opera. The orchestra responds to him with some very sanguine playing; the brass section has bite, and the strings register sumptuously. Even the pauses (such as the ones that occur just before the final reappearance of Agathe’s theme in the overture) are pregnant with tension. Jochum keeps this level of dynamism going during the rest of the opera, particularly in the remarkable Wolf’s Glenn scene. Here he cooks up a carefully seasoned atmosphere and builds the music to an immensely powerful conclusion.
Richard Holm makes a pretty fair stab at Max, a role that is ultimately too heavy for this singer. He is excellent in the lighter, more romantic music. His mellifluous tenor would be more suited to singing Prince Tamino than Max, because when the music becomes more heavily dramatic he just isn’t able to fill the phrases as one might wish, and he sounds a little over-parted. He does his bit in terms of vocal acting and he is excellent (as are all of the singers here) at acting the dialogue convincingly.
Irmgard Seefried is a touching Agathe. The innate warmth of her mid and lower vocal registers really pays off in this role. The unique, shortened sound of her high register makes this Agathe sound even more worried than most other singers do. She sounds engagingly fresh throughout, although “Und ob die wolke” doesn’t sit entirely comfortably for her voice, she nonetheless carries it off. Her singing may not be note-perfect but listening to her scenes is an immensely pleasurable experience notwithstanding.
Kurt Böhme is a powerful, resonant Kaspar. This is one of the roles (like Beethoven’s Don Pizzaro, and Wagner’s Hagen) which requires the singer to bellow a lot of the time. His vocal line is thrillingly confident, and his tone is solidly produced; even his death scene is quite overwhelming.
In other roles, Rita Streich is a silver-toned, radiant Ännchen; her delicious, perfectly poised singing makes her irresistible in her two arias. The young Eberhard Waechter is starry casting as Prince Ottokar. The role is a difficult one for any baritone because it regularly climbs into the tenor register. Waechter makes child’s-play of it. The speaking part of Samiel registers well, thanks to the especially creepy-sounding Ernst Ginsberg.
This old set still holds up relatively well thanks to the reliable recording team that had DG at the time, headed by Wolfgang Lohse. There are a few attempts at sound staging, including several startling gunshots throughout.
Mike Parr
Help us financially by purchasing from
Other cast
Samiel – Ernst Ginsberg (speaker)
Ottokar – Eberhard Waechter (baritone)
Kuno – Albrecht Peter (bass)
Hermit – Walter Kreppel (bass)
Kilian – Paul Kuen (baritone)
1st Bridesmaid – Margo Laminet
2nd Bridesmaid – Gisela Ohrt
