Opernhaus Zürich: Alban Berg - Wozzeck

Zurich Opera House, 2015 The soldier Wozzeck flits through a world that he is unable to decipher. The doctor torments him with absurd medical experiments; the captain humiliates and ridicules him. And Wozzeck’s lover, Marie, with whom he has a child, cuckolds him with the drum major. Wozzeck becomes a murderer, stabbing Marie to death. Georg Büchner’s drama fragment, on which Alban Berg based his first opera, is an unflinching case study of social injustice and human suffering. But it is also a grotesque piece that thrives on exaggeration – and in which only a fine line separates the unfathomable from the ridiculous. Accordingly, director Andreas Homoki forgoes all realism. His nightmarishly radical production is inspired by puppet theatre. Christian Gerhaher’s role début as Wozzeck can only be described as sensational: his capacity for vocal and dramatic subtlety is simply breath-taking. At the rostrum of the Philharmonia Zurich, Fabio Luisi explores both the expressionistic and the more intimate aspects, reminiscent of chamber music, in Berg’s seminal score. Subscribe to Accentus Music:    / @accentusmusic   Opera in three acts (15 scenes) after Georg Büchner‘s «Woyzeck» Music composed by Alban Berg Fabio Luisi - Musical direction Andreas Homoki - Staging Michael Levine - Stage and costume design Franck Evin - Light design Jürg Hämmerli - Chorus master Kathrin Brunne - Dramaturgy Christian Gerhaher - Wozzeck Brandon Jovanovich - Drum Major Mauro Peter - Andres Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke - Captain Lars Wold - Doctor Martin Zysset - The Fool Gun-Brit Barkmin - Marie Irène Friedl - Margret Philharmonia Zürich Chor der Oper Zürich Statistenverein am Opernhaus Zürich © 2015, Accentus Music