Editing Opera in German (section)

===Weber===
[[File:Der Freischütz um 1822.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|''Der Freischütz'' around 1822]]
The major breakthrough in the history of German Romantic opera was ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' by [[Carl Maria von Weber]], premiered in Berlin on 18 June 1821. Weber resented the Europe-wide dominance of the Italian operas of [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]] and wanted to establish a uniquely German style of opera. He turned to German folk songs and folklore for inspiration; ''Der Freischütz'' is based on a tale from the ''[[Gespensterbuch]]'' ("Book of Wraiths") of Apel and Laun concerning a marksman who makes a pact with the Devil. Weber's strong point was his striking ability to evoke atmosphere through orchestral colour. From the very first bars of the overture, it is obvious we are in the primeval forests of Germany. The highlight of the opera is the chilling Wolf's Glen Scene in which the hero Max makes his deal with the Devil. ''Der Freischütz'' was immensely popular, not only in Germany, but throughout Europe. Weber never really achieved his full potential as an opera composer due to his early death from tuberculosis and his poor choice of libretti. His major German opera after ''Der Freischütz'', ''[[Euryanthe]]'' (1823), suffers from a particularly weak text and is rarely staged nowadays. Yet ''Euryanthe'' marks another important stage in the development of serious German opera. Weber completely eliminated spoken dialogue, producing a "through-composed" work where the distinction between recitative and aria is becoming blurred. Its lessons would not be lost on future composers, including [[Richard Wagner]].<ref>Essay by [[John Warrack]] in the booklet to [[Carlos Kleiber]]'s recording of ''Der Freischütz'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 1973)</ref>{{sfn|Holden|1993|loc=Article on Weber}}{{sfn|Parker|1994|pp=209–210}}{{sfn|Grout|2003|loc="Romantic Opera in Germany", pp. 417–436}}