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PH_"Freischu?tz"_Umschlag:ph05_umschlag_mit_7mm 1.9.2010 13:33 Uhr Seite 1

THE MARKSMANThe opera is set in the forests of Bohemia shortly after the end of the Thirty Years’ War

Act One

Max, the Second Gamekeeper, is in love with Agathe, daughter and only child of the Head

Ranger Kuno. With the consent of the Bohemian Prince Ottokar, Max will acquire the right to

Kuno’s hereditary post if he marries Agathe. Beforehand, however, an old custom must be

observed: Max must pass a test of skill in marksmanship. He has been unlucky at hunting for

weeks, and the day before the shooting trials even the peasant Kilian succeeds in defeating him

to win the marksman’s prize. Kaspar, First Gamekeeper and a warhorse with considerable

experience gained during the Thirty Years’ War, persuades the desperate Max that his weapon

is under a spell that only a magic bullet can break. In the end, Kaspar convinces the reluctant

Max that he will be able to shoot down a bird of prey hovering at an unattainable height.

Max agrees to be at the Wolf’s Glen at midnight to cast the bullets.

Act Two

At the same time that Max shoots down the bird of prey, a picture of Agathe’s ancestor Kuno

falls off the wall, injuring Agathe. Ännchen, a young relative, attempts to cheer up the worried

bride. At last Max returns home, but Agathe’s joyful sense of release is short-lived. Her fear of

the feathers of the bird of prey, the hunting trophy brought home by Max, turns to horror when

Max hurries on to the Wolf’s Glen, allegedly to bring home a stag slain there.

CHANGE OF SCENE. The Wolf’s Glen at midnight. Kaspar has entered into a pact with the

dark hunter Zamiel, to whom he must bring a human soul. The period of grace is to expire the

following day. Kaspar promises Zamiel three victims for the next three years: Agathe, Max and

Kuno. Zamiel grants him permission to cast seven magic bullets. Six will strike according to the

marksman’s wishes; Zamiel can direct the seventh as he pleases. Max climbs down into the

Wolf’s Glen. The ghost of his dead mother attempts to deter him, but the vision of Agathe

drowning herself in despair seals his decision. The casting of each bullet is accompanied by

ghostly apparitions. While the seventh is being cast, the Wild Hunt rages across the skies.

When the bell rings once and Max makes a sign of the cross, the spook disappears.

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Act Three

Max, who has been given four of the diabolical bullets, has gained the admiration of the

Prince and his hunting party with three accurate shots. He keeps the fourth bullet for the

shooting trial. To enable Zamiel to determine its trajectory, Kaspar shoots away his three

bullets.

CHANGE OF SCENE. Agathe interprets her bad dreams of the previous night as an ill omen.

While she finds solace in her faith in God, Ännchen attempts to cheer and encourage her

with a humorous horror story. When Ännchen announces that the picture has fallen off the

wall again and it transpires – in front of all the bridesmaids – that the box she has brought

contains a funeral rather than a bridal wreath, Agathe’s misgivings increase.

Ännchen is at a loss. Agathe twines her bridal wreath using the white roses given to her by

the pious hermit.

CHANGE OF SCENE. At the marksmanship trials, Prince Ottokar gives Max an easy exercise

– to shoot a white dove. After the bullet has been shot, Agathe falls into a faint, but Zamiel

has not been able to direct the bullet at her, since she is protected by the roses.

Fatally wounded, Kaspar falls and dies cursing heaven and Zamiel. In order to explain the

mysterious incident, Max also has to confess to casting the magic bullets. The Prince

banishes him from the country. The hermit intervenes, recommending that the custom of

the marksmanship trials be abolished and that Max’s banishment be reduced to a year of

probation. If he passes this test, he will be granted Agathe’s hand.

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