About the work
“The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets” is a music-theatre piece developed jointly by the director Robert Wilson, the musician Tom Waits and the writer William S. Burroughs. Wilson was responsible for the direction and design of the premiere, Burroughs wrote the text, and Waits composed the music and wrote most of the lyrics, partly together with Kathleen Brennan; the dramaturg was Wolfgang Wiens. The project began around 1988, and the piece premiered on 31 March 1990 at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, with Stefan Kurt as Wilhelm and Dominique Horwitz as Pegleg among the cast.
Plot
The clerk Wilhelm loves Käthchen, daughter of the hereditary forester Bertram, but her parents would rather have the huntsman Robert as their son-in-law. To be allowed to marry her and take over the forestry, the clumsy Wilhelm must pass a trial shot. He accepts magic bullets from the devil Pegleg that hit any target – except one, whose target Pegleg reserves for himself. On the wedding day this last bullet kills Käthchen, and Wilhelm descends into madness.
Cultural significance
The story follows the Freischütz legend that also underlies Carl Maria von Weber’s opera, in particular Johann August Apel’s tale; Burroughs, who had killed his wife in a shooting game in 1951, brought his own experience to it, which is why the piece is also read as a parable of addiction. Waits released the songs in 1993 on the album “The Black Rider”. Wilson staged a new English-language version at London’s Barbican in 2004; with well over a hundred licensed productions, mostly in German-speaking countries and Scandinavia, the work has become a repertoire staple.