Stars: Hildegard Behrens, Franz Grundheber, Philip Langridge, Walter Raffeiner, Heinz Zednik, Aage Haugland, Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Claudio Abbado

Director: Adolf Dresen

Summary: Alan Berg's opera, based on the 1914 play by Georg Buchner which follows the story of a private soldier who father's a child by his mistress. Believing her to be unfaithful he stabs her to death.

Berg's opera WOZZECK is an Expressionist foray into the mind of a First World War soldier, tormented by his peers. Claudio Abbado conducts the Vienna State Opera in this Adolf Dresen production, starring Franz Grunheber and Hildegard Behrens.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

The bleakness of Berg's operatic masterpiece Wozzeckis relatively easy to bring off: the plot, after all, tells of a man who is bullied, cuckolded and mocked by the society around him. What are harder to realise are the gallows humour and pitch-black comedy--and it's those qualities, along with the brilliant acting and edge-of-seat orchestral playing, that make this 1987 Vienna Staatsoper staging a stunning televisual operatic production.

Everything works: the simple yet evocative sets translate effortlessly to the small screen, the pacing of the 15 short scenes is worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster and the singing is beautifully focussed. Baritone Franz Grundheber is vocally and dramatically outstanding as Wozzeck, cringing and shuffling around the stage in a bewildered hang-dog manner and yet never losing sight of the character's humanity. Hildegard Behrens (Marie) has rarely sounded better, and switches between Straussian lushness and spiky sluttishness with ease. The direction is also full of wonderful touches, such as Wozzeck squeezing the Captain's nose while he's shaving him (and making his voice sound like a kazoo), and the musicians of the on-stage band being fully integrated into the tavern scene. Ironic, emotionally rich, musically faultless--this one's got it all.

On the DVD:the production works beautifully on DVD, and bar one or two moments in the second tavern scene (Act 3, Scene 3) the voices rarely move out of microphone range. There are subtitles in English, German, French and Spanish and four trailers for other Arthaus DVD operas, but no other special features. --Warwick Thomson

Aspect Ratio:	4:3
Main Language:	German
Region:	Region 2
Subtitles:	English, French, German, Spanish
Release Date:	December 27, 2001
Runtime:	103 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	100 256
Keywords:	Music, Opera, State, Works, Stage, Berg, Classical, Abbado, Wozzeck, Performing, Operetta, Arts, Vienne
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts