A godforsaken village in Germany shortly after the Thirty Years’ War: The young scrivener Max loves Agathe, daughter of the head forester Kuno. But to marry her, the inexperienced marksman Max must participate in an archaic tradition and score in a shooting trial – an unfulfillable challenge for him. The dubious war veteran Kaspar knows about this. He convinces the scrivener to meet him at Wolf’s Glen at midnight to forge “free bullets” that never miss their target. Max, who does not see any other way out of his unfortunate situation, sells his soul to the devil. Not knowing about the catch behind this deal: while six of the cursed bullets will hit the desired target, the seventh lies in the devil’s hands.
PREMIERE 17 July 2024 – 9.15 p.m. Seebühne
DURATION 2 hours (no intermission)
Romantic opera in three acts (1821)
Libretto by Friedrich Kind after August Apel's tale with the same title (1810); Dialogue version by Jan Dvořák based on a concept by Philipp Stölzl
