A romantic horror story on the Bregenz lake stage

In 1821, Italian opera faced serious competition: Carl Maria von Weber's opera "Der Freischütz" was premiered. From then on, people not only sang in a Singspiel in German, but also in an opera with typical romantic elements: Forest, hunters, nature.

"I wanted to perform this opera here when I first came to Bregenz," says Philipp Stölzl. The Munich native, who returned to Lake Constance after his acclaimed "Rigoletto" (2019/2021), is not only directing "Der Freischütz", he is also responsible for the lighting design and stage.

In recent months, Stölzl has increasingly transformed the Bregenz lake stage into the eerie village at the end of the Thirty Years' War in which Carl Maria von Weber's opera is set. Several crooked huts, an old mill and a half-sunken church stand in the winter landscape.

Very close to the swamp

In "Der Freischütz", the play is not only performed and sung above, but also on and in the water. Only a swamp separates the stage and the audience. A wide pool of water has been created between the village and the auditorium. The lagoon is flooded with half a million liters of Lake Constance water for the performances. "The place we have created here, very close to the audience, is a poetic and magical world," says Stölzl.

"Der Freischütz" is essentially a dark Faust story. The young clerk Max sells his soul for earthly happiness and pays bitterly for it. "Essential conflicts are fought out in the draughty huts, there are tough battles," explains the film fan. He has condensed, rewritten and dusted off a lot of the old-fashioned opera, which is almost half spoken theater, with narrative tricks.

Shivering despite the summer heat

The director wants the audience to shiver - despite the summer heat. The modern sound effects should also contribute to this: wolves howl, the wind blows, the ice cracks and there is thunder and gunfire. A horror story à la "Sleepy Hollow" by Tim Burton, well told, with a plot that is designed to hook the audience emotionally.

The story: Max loves Agathe, the daughter of the hereditary forester Kuno. But in order for Max to marry her, the inexperienced marksman has to submit to a custom and take a test shot. The play takes us from the Biedermeier forester's idyll of an impending wedding deep into the legendary Wolf Gorge.

Following the success of Giuseppe Verdi's "Rigoletto", Philipp Stölzl is once again working with Enrique Mazzola. The Italian conductor has been "Conductor in Residence" at the Bregenz Festival since 2022.