Weber Pans “Der Freischutz”

I

Reviewers have long been vilified for being rough on performers. But this letter from Carl Maria von Weber shows that sometimes the harshest critics are composers. Weber wrote to his wife from Vienna on February 20th, 1822:

“Finally, in the evening, was the performance of my Freischutz. What can I say about it? Where can I begin? There were not two passages in the opera that were played at the correct tempo.

“Everything was either rushed or dragged out. The conductor had rehearsed it without the slightest artistic insight or expression. I sat there in a fever. The house was very full.

“Otherwise all went well. The choruses were excellent. The scenery very pretty although most of it was irrelevant. The most basic elements of stagecraft were ignored. The stage wasn’t even darkened at the end of Act I. And so on. The Overture–taken too fast. The Introduction was good! The ensemble number went excellently and was stirringly sung by the chorus.

“Forti did well. He has a different approach to the character but it’s a consistent one, and his singing is excellent. Schroder was charming. She has a lovely voice and acts in character. Her intonation is pure but she is by no means a completely developed singer yet. As for Mademoiselle Vio, she is completely spiritless, and the duet dragged terribly.

“The great aria, the prayer, was rushed but not without expression. The trio went head-over-heels. The Wolves’ Glen scene was just sort of glued together, but with a lot of scenic touches. Agatha’s cavatina was the only thing that was quite good. The finale was all helter-skelter.

“On top of all that, for the sake of policy I had to put the best face on things and pretend to find it all just beautiful. [I can’t understand how people could have liked that opera. At the same time, though, I have to give everyone credit for doing their best, and their enthusiasm was unbounded.”]

Carl Maria von Weber writing to his wife about a performance of his opera Der Freischutz in Vienna on February 20th, 1822.