Name: Der Freischütz, op. 77
Start: 2023-09-09
End: 2023-09-09
Location: National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts

Organization

Singer

Bass

Wen-I Tseng

Kuno

Soprano

Yun-hsuan Tsai

Ännchen

Ying-min Lin

I-sheng Huang

A Hermit

Conductor

Wen-Pin Chien

Stage director

Johannes Reitmeier

Set designer

Thomas Dörfler

Costume designer

Michael D Zimmermann

Tenor

Roman Payer

Li Keng

Agathe

Jeannie Chiang

Martin Ng

Caspar

Spoken

Chang Yao-jen

Samiel

Baritone

Rios Li

Kilian

Ottokar

Fang-Hao Chao

Fernando Wang

Others

Kaohsiung Chamber Choir

Orchestra

Taipei Symphony Orchestra

National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

Der Freischütz, op. 77 -  (The Marksman)

Kaohsiung City

Taiwan

National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts

Public

The Marksman

Approved

Der Freischütz, op. 77 Weber

If it weren't for his premature death, Carl Maria von WEBER would have surely become a household name by now. Utterly unforgettable for pianists, WEBER was a virtuoso whose ethereal performances and captivating ornamentation were even praised by Claude DEBUSSY himself. WEBER's Invitation to the Dance, the first-ever concert waltz, depicts ballroom scenarios with its popular melodies included in Alexandre DUMAS fils' novel, The Lady of the Camellias. WEBER was no less famous for his operas and orchestras, with Der Freischütz alone enough to earn him eternal glory as its overture remains a concert favorite even to this day.


Der Freischütz is reminiscent of early Romantic era that merely superseded instead of opposing the Classical period with clear distinction, which was more refreshing and fuller of possibilities than the time-worn and worldly-wise late Romantic era. As a cornerstone in German Romantic operas, Der Freischütz, along with other works of its time, were perfectly encapsulated in this line written by García MÁRQUEZ in his One Hundred Years of Solitude, "the world was so recent that many things lacked names, and in order to indicate them it was necessary to point" To this day, we can still feel the novelty of this opera as WEBER's instrumentation is usually magnificent, carefree, and full of the flow, humor, and showpieces unique to the Classical period—standing in stark contrast to Der Freischütz, which combines a fairy tale with folklore with bold and astonishing dark aesthetics. In a horrifying scene where the devil starts casting magical bullets after sealing the deal, the gloomy atmosphere at the Wolf's Glen is created with chromatic scales and augmented/diminished intervals. Many of his innovative compositional techniques including themes and leitmotifs were to later inspire Richard WAGNER, which cemented Der Freischütz as a milestone in the history of music with quality sound and visuals as well as an iconic classic for all music lovers.


Many viewpoints and perspectives exist for classic works. Weiwuying's take on Der Freischütz produced by Tiroler Landestheater und Symphonieorchester Innsbruck explores how Romanticism "adds strangeness to beauty" with a focus on supernatural powers and mysteries, which diverts from conventional Germanic pastoral scenes. Is the human nature inherently good or evil? Would you give your soul in exchange for the devil's infinite powers? How should a delicate and sensitive soul deal with the norms and perfunctory motions of a conservative society? The director designs these questions in response to the realities of the 21st century and initiates discussions on the status quo in Taiwan. The vocal features of this production is further enhanced by replacing the spoken dialogues with French master composer Hector BERLIOZ's recitatives to further highlights.

English

七顆百發百中的魔彈，卻是魔鬼交易。當最後一顆子彈射往愛人心臟，那是後悔還是絕望？

韋伯《魔彈射手》旋律動聽、情節精采，衛武營邀來奧地利當代製作，為您揭開森林傳說！

 

奧地利茵斯布魯克劇院 X 衛武營國家藝術文化中心 X 臺北市立交響樂團 跨國攜手
韋伯一舉成名影響後世甚鉅經典之作，浪漫派歌劇經典代表。
融合童話故事與民間傳說，卻有大膽驚奇的魅暗美學，創造狼谷獨特陰森氣氛。
導演探索浪漫主義「美加上怪」的特色，運用劇場語言呈現超自然力量與神祕離奇。
 

若非英年早逝，今日聽眾絕對會更熟悉韋伯的大名。至少，鋼琴學子忘不了他。他曾是技巧最精湛、演奏最迷人的鋼琴聖手，在鍵盤上施展各種花招，德布西都不得不稱讚他的魅力。他的《邀舞》是第一首音樂會圓舞曲，將舞會情景化成音樂，旋律家喻戶曉，還被小仲馬寫進《茶花女》。論及歌劇與管絃樂，韋伯同樣赫赫有名。就算僅以《魔彈射手》聞名，此劇也足以使他永垂不朽，序曲更是音樂會寵兒。

這是具有早期浪漫派特色的歌劇。古典和浪漫時期之間，其實並無明確分隔，兩者延續遠大於對立。也因如此，相較於飽經風霜、老於世故的後期浪漫，早期浪漫可說天地清朗，充滿無限可能。「世界太新，很多事物還沒有名字，必須伸手去指。」馬奎斯在《百年孤寂》的名句，正可描述這時期的創作，特別是足稱建立德語「浪漫歌劇」里程碑的《魔彈射手》。時至今日，我們仍能真切感受它的新穎。韋伯的器樂多半華麗暢快，滿是古典風的流利、幽默與炫技，融合童話故事與民間傳說而成的《魔彈射手》，卻有大膽驚奇的魅暗美學。令人毛骨悚然、與魔鬼交易的鑄造魔彈場景，韋伯就大幅運用半音階和增減音程，創造出前所未見的陰森「狼谷」氣氛。其諸多創新手法，包括主題與動機使用，更成為日後華格納的靈感，讓《魔彈射手》不只好聽好看，還是樂史關鍵里程碑，愛樂人不可不知的經典。

面對經典，當然有各種觀點與視角。相較於傳統著重日耳曼田園風景的設計，此次衛武營請來奧地利茵斯布魯克歌劇院的傑出製作，導演更探索浪漫主義「美加上怪」的特色，偏重超自然力量與神祕離奇。都說善惡對立，但人心究竟向惡還是向善？若能擁有魔鬼的無窮法力，你是否願用靈魂交換？纖細敏感的心靈，在因循苟且的保守社會，又該如何自處？導演的提問與設計，在在呼應21世紀的現實，也能與當下臺灣對話。原作德語對白在此改用此劇崇拜者，作曲大師白遼士寫的演唱版，也讓此製作更具歌唱特色。

中文

The Marksman by Von Weber, Sat 09 Sep 2023, From (2023/2023), Directed by Johannes Reitmeier,, Conductor Wen-Pin Chien, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

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Ensemble

Programme, About & Synopsis

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