My husband went to the penultimate night of the Proms. It’s no longer invariably Beethoven 9; this time it was a semi-staged performance of Der Freischütz in the adaptation by Berlioz, which sets recitatives to music and uses Invitation to the Dance as a ballet. Plus we think some re-orchestration of other bits. It was performed by Monteverdi Choir forces, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and John Eliot Gardiner.
This was as close to being staged as you could get in a concert performance, with only sets missing. In fact, strictly concert performances of operas, with singers ranged across the front of the stage in a line and not interacting with one another, are rather rare now. The most effective use of the Royal Albert Hall’s space was in the Wolf’s Glen scene, when chorus members were distributed round the hall. The principals were all satisfactory, though there was some slightly wooden acting; for some reason it is usually tenors who have this problem. Sophie Karthäuser (Agathe) was definitely on the exhibitionist side. The French text and the setting of usually-spoken dialogue to music gave this old friend new clothes, but ones which fitted.
Here’s a review from the Guardian.