Alban Berg: Wozzeck – Sebastian Weigle

Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, which premiered at Lindenoper/ Berlin in 1925, is regarded as one of the key music compositions of the 20th century and an essential work in any connoisseur’s collection. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck, which was left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner’s play on May 5, 1914, and knew at once that he wanted to base an opera on it. From the fragments of unordered scenes left by Büchner, Berg selected fifteen to form a compact structure of three acts with five scenes each. He adapted the libretto himself. On this release, the Frankfurt Opera, under the baton of Sebastian Weigle, delivers a razor-sharp and exciting interpretation. With Audun Iversen and Claudia Mahnke in the main roles the recording shows an ideal cast.

Everyone on stage puts the words first – often by speaking, shouting and shrieking as much as singing. The claustrophobia which boxed in previous issues of Wagner and Strauss from the same source works here to advantage…Iversen sings the title-role in the manner of Gerhaher more than Goerne…Mahnke invests Marie with powerful erotic allure and pride. — Gramophone Magazine, November 2018