First, the claim: David Cairns, in his liner notes to the new Der Freischütz with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, one of the final recordings by the late Sir Colin Davis, writes, “[Carl Maria von Weber’s] Der Freischütz music-drama is so vivid that the vision of the German forest world in the time following the horrors of the Thirty Years War — its customs and enjoyments, its daily habits, its superstitions, its hopes and fears, its terrors, its belief in the supernatural and in the power of evil and the possibility of good — becomes totally real.”
Then, the reality check: Der Freischütz tells a decidedly old-fashioned tale whose romantic charms can wear thin. It takes a superb cast and orchestra, along with consistently vibrant conducting, to pull it off. In this case, as beautifully as the LSO may play, and as convincing as Davis’ conducting in the overture and Wolf Glen scene may be, this concert version of the opera, recorded live before an amazingly silent audience at London’s Barbican, virtually a year before Sir Colin’s death this past April, at age 85, cannot compete with many of its recorded predecessors.
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Let’s start with the cast. Simon O’Neill (Max) may be considered one of our leading heldentenors, but his somewhat hectoring, bleating, and pointed voice is an acquired taste. Although he sings with feeling, especially in his memorable aria, “Durch die Wälder, durch die Auen” (Through the woods, through the meadows), I’d much rather listen to Joseph Keilberth’s Rudolf Schock or, on recordings I haven’t auditioned, Nicolai Gedda, Peter Schreier, or Rene Kollo, to name but a few.
Soprano Christine Brewer (Agathe), 56 at the time of the recording, sounds thick of voice. Instead of the flow of limpid, consistently beautiful sound she produced not many years ago, she here comes across as careful, edgy, and far more concerned with vocal production than nuance. Her singing lacks youthful ecstasy and sense of promise in her great aria, “Wie nahte mir der Schlummer … Leise, leise, fromme Weise! (As I approach sleep … Softly, softly, pious song!), and seems far too mature throughout. She cannot compare to Elisabeth Grümmer (with Keilberth) or, to go back to historic aria recordings from an earlier era, Tiana Lemnitz or Lotte Lehmann.
Nor does soprano Sally Matthews pass muster. Instead of the youthful soubrette we’ve come to expect, and that Keilberth’s Lisa Otto and Jochum’s Rita Streich deliver in spades, she sounds stodgy and far too grown up. While she blends well with Brewer, on her own, she disappoints. For example, Matthews hardly sounds coy or flirtatious in the arietta, “Kommt ein schlanker Bursch gegangen” (When a slender boy comes along); then again, Davis is also far too plodding here and in some other crucial scenes.
Bass-baritone Lars Woldt is suitably country-rough as Kaspar, albeit not the equal of some of his predecessors, and bass-baritone Stephen Loge is especially strong when speaking the part of the evil Zamiel. But despite beautiful singing from the chorus, great sound effects in the Wolf Glen scene, and a natural reproduction of voices that benefits from high-resolution, optional multi-channel SACD technology, the overall performance lacks spark. Without most of the spoken dialogue, the conclusion seems abrupt and even more implausible than usual. Note, as well, that the type in the brochure is so small for aging eyes that the LSO must think there’s a new, young audience just dying for a recording of this old-fashioned opera. If there is, you’d best point them, and yourself, to one of the many older recordings sung and conducted by some of the greats of earlier decades.