On the brink of getting hitched to the boss’s daughter, the top marksman in the royal Bohemian backwoods has been missing his shot, and this is a problem. Time for a deal with the devil. The current Zurich edition of the opera (direction and scenic design by Herbert Fritsch, costumes by Victoria Behr) lays on a garish Pop Art color scheme that could hardly clash more violently with the burnished Old Master patina of Weber’s score. With wigs from the salon of Edward Scissorhands, leg-of-mutton sleeves like hot-air balloons, and a Mel Brooks chorus line of hunters in Kelly green wagging their booties, the show is way over the top. Yet viewed another way, the off-the-wall visuals are right on the money, injecting diabolical verve into exactly the right folkloric traditions. —M.G.
The Arts Intel Report
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
Der Freischütz, by Carl Maria von Weber
When
Sept 29 – Oct 27, 2019