Berg: Wozzeck - Act I (Abaddo; Grundheber, Behrens, et al.) [English Subtitles]

Berg: Wozzeck - Act I

Wozzeck: Franz Grundheber
Marie: Hildegard Behrens
Der Tambourmajor: Walter Raffeiner
Andres: Philip Langridge
Der Hauptmann: Heinz Zednik
Der Doktor: Aage Haugland
Marguerete: Anna Gonda

Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera
Conducted by Claudio Abbado

Sung in German
Presented with English subtitles

Stage Director: Adolf Dresen
Chorus Master: Helmuth Froschauer
Costume Designer: Helmuth Kappelmüller
Video Director: Briane Large

Recorded in 1987 at the Vienna State Opera

Synopsis of Act I:

Scene 1. (The Captain's room.) The soldier Wozzeck is shaving the Captain. The officer urges him to work more slowly, then tells him that he is a good man but lacks morality because he has an illegitimate child. Wozzeck replies that virtue is a luxury not meant for the poor.

Scene 2. (An open field.) Wozzeck and a fellow soldier, Andres, are cutting firewood in the fields. Wozzeck is frightened by visions: he hears noises and imagines the sinking sun as a fire setting the earth aflame. Then suddenly all is quiet.

Scene 3. (Marie's room.) Marie, the mother of Wozzeck's child, and her neighbor Margret watch a military band pass by outside their window. Marie admires the handsome Drum Major and Margret mocks her. Alone with her young son, Marie sings him a lullaby. Wozzeck arrives and tells her about his visions, which he sees as an omen of evil things to come. Marie tries to comfort him, but he rushes off to the barracks without looking at his son. Overwhelmed by her own fears, Marie runs out of the room, leaving the child.

Scene 4. (The Doctor's study.) Wozzeck visits the Doctor, who pays him for use in his medical research. Full of self-delusion about making a grand scientific discovery, the Doctor asks Wozzeck about his diet. Wozzeck again brings up his visions, which the doctor dismisses as mere imagination.

Scene 5. (Street before Marie's door.) On the street before her door, the Drum Major makes advances toward Marie. She resists at first, then gives in to him.

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