The Black Rider

In the organizer's words:

Director of the original production by Robert Wilson - music by Tom Waits - lyrics by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan - book by William S. Burroughs

The godfather of the beat generation William S. Burroughs, rock legend Tom Waits and director Robert Wilson created a dreamlike version of the Freischütz saga with "The Black Rider" in Hamburg in 1990. In it, seemingly contradictory worlds merge: the associative texts by William S. Burroughs, often written under the influence of drugs and determined by sound and rhythm, the raw, dissociative sound of Tom Waits and a well-known German folk tale.

The legend of the "Freischütz" has been around since the 15th century: a hunter who is able to hit any target thanks to a pact with the devil. In "The Black Rider", the clerk (and miserable shot) Wilhelm enters into such a pact with the devil. In order to be allowed to marry his beloved Käthe and take over her father's estate, Wilhelm has to prove himself with a test shot. But after the first "free bullets", the devil demands a shot for himself. "Six are yours, and hit the mark; one is mine and hits the dark."