DER FREISCHÜTZ at Theater an der Wien

Max the young huntsman may only win the hand of his love Agathe, and with it the job of assistant forester, if he wins the shooting contest to be held in the presence of the prince the following day. His adversary Caspar, who has entered into a pact with dark forces, offers his help and promises certain victory for Max. In reality, he is plotting his rival’s downfall and an escape from the hold of the Black Huntsman Samiel, which he can only achieve if he offers another soul in his stead for eternal damnation. He takes Max to Samiel, with whose help they cast magic bullets, six of which will surely reach their target .The seventh will only obey the Evil One. Despite ominous signs appearing in the night, Max sticks to his plan and appears at the shooting trial the next day with his gun loaded with the magic bullets. After some practice shots, only a single shot remains in his weapon, the bewitched rifle bullet controlled by Samiel, which may cause the young man to fail and his beloved to perish…