A movie version of Carl Maria von Weber's opera Der Freischütz has recently become available on DVD in the U.S., sung in German with English subtitles. The movie, directed by Jens Neubert and filmed in Germany in 2010, is called Die Jägersbraut (or Hunter's Bride) after an earlier version of the opera by that name.
Sadly, Der Freischütz is not performed very often in the U.S. But its overture is played frequently in American concert halls, and its stirring hunting choruses are known to orchestral horn players, at least. Freischütz is considered one of the first German romantic operas, the forerunner of more famous operas by Wagner and Strauss.
For all these reasons, I really wanted to see this opera, even if only on DVD.
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