Der Freischütz - Die Filmoper

The Opera Comes to the Movies! The film version of "Der Freischütz" is intended to prove to the more discerning audience, who tend to congregate in opera houses and theatres and rarely venture into cinemas, that quality entertainment can also be enjoyed with popcorn and soft drinks. Whether the experiment succeeded, however, may be doubted.

The opera by Carl Maria von Weber (with a libretto by Friedrich Kind) tells the story of the hunter Max (Michael König), who, in order to be allowed to marry his lover Agathe (Juliane Banse), must prove to her father, the hereditary forester Kuno (Benno Schollum), that he is worthy of his daughter with a test shot. But unfortunately Max seems to have lost all his abilities at this time of all times. And so the only option left to him is to pass the difficult test with the help of black magic and dark forces. But the "free balls" that are supposed to guarantee him Agathe's hand do not come without a price...

Vocally, the opera film can definitely convince. After all, director Jens Neubert wanted to offer his viewers not only a very special treat for the eye, but also for the ears. The top-class ensemble of singers is supported by the legendary London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Daniel Harding and the Rundfunkchor Berlin. Filming took place on original locations in Saxony, guaranteeing a particularly engaging atmosphere.

It is also commendable that this film was directed entirely without funding, which is an absolute rarity for German-language film. For this reason alone, "Der Freischütz" should actually be supported by a visit to the cinema in any case. But the film version of the opera, which premiered in Berlin in 1821, has a very big problem, which cannot be denied despite all the good aspects and commendable ambitions of the makers: there is actually no real target audience for this film.

Because such viewers, who love opera visits, will lack the certain live feeling here. Because even if the singers are excellent and convincing, the whole thing just seems somehow "sung after" and the acting skills, which may still work on stage, show clear deficits on screen. For those moviegoers, on the other hand, who so far have little experience with operas and who might just want to get a taste of this world here, the whole thing is simply too little film and too much opera. As hard as the makers have tried, it becomes clear again and again that the play in an opera cannot simply be transferred to the cinema.

"Der Freischütz" is certainly one of the most popular German operas ever. Even the wonderful Loriot has successfully staged the work. And it is also this high level of popularity that will attract some curious opera fans to the cinemas. As a somewhat different opera visit, this film version is then a not really negative and even recommendable experience. But as an attempt to unite two different artistic worlds, this experiment must unfortunately be considered a failure

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp