Charles Castronovo in La bohème at the Metropolitan Opera / Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera
The American Symphony Orchestra under Leon Botstein brings Berlioz’s adaptation of Weber en français– Le Freyschütz — to Carnegie Hall next week. And though one encounters it more frequently in Germany, Der Freischütz has not been heard in any format in New York City since 2019’s Heartbeat Opera production and the Met hasn’t touched it since 1972.
In anticipation of the rare opportunity to hear this important score Stateside, Parterre Box features American tenor Charles Castronovo singing Max’s aria from Weber’s version of his own opera in a performance recorded last spring in Berlin. While Castronovo primarily makes his career in Europe now — just a few days ago he was the Gustavo to Anna Netrebko’s Amelia in Berlin — he was seen in New York in 2023 in Un ballo in maschera about which Parterre Box critic Eli Jacobson remarked, “He didn’t drop the ball but he wasn’t the glittering belle of the ball either. He was just kind of there – a guest at his own party.”
Weber: Der Freischütz, “Nein, länger trag’ ich nicht die Qualen… Durch die Wälder, durch die Auen”
Charles Castronovo
Conductor: Antonello Manacorda
RIAS Kammerchor Berlin
Kammerakademie Potsdam
Philharmonie Berlin
5 May 2025
Broadcast
