There was much to enjoy in Der Freischütz because the staging by Carlos Wagner was the most impressive I have seen of the piece. Max and Agathe were portrayed as outsiders yearning to break free from the expectations of their hunting-loving community. They sought release by communicating with the world of spirits and magic, thus with the frighteningly dark, sub-conscious side of their own personalities. The interpretation was completed visually by the superb designs of Christophe Ouvrard. The supernatural Wolf’s Glen scene was genuinely bloodcurdling as narrow shafts of light pierced a black, murky background to reveal Max coughing up the magic bullets.