BWW Reviews: Carnegie Hall's Audience Votes for WOZZECK from Vienna State Opera

Was baritone Thomas Hampson looking for some last-minute pointers at last night's concert performance of Alban Berg's WOZZECK with the Vienna State Opera/Vienna Philharmonic under music director Franz Welser-Most at Carnegie Hall? If he did--his role debut at the Met is Thursday--he came to the right place, for Matthias Goerne was spellbinding as the title character descending into madness in this challenging, yet rewarding, piece. From his first scene, shaving the Captain, to his drowning as an accidental by-product of the murder of his mistress, Goerne was haunted and haunting.

Woyzeck/Wozzeck

The opera--performed as part of Carnegie Hall's "Vienna: City of Dreams" festival-- is based on a similarly named play, WOYZECK, by Georg Buchner, which was, as they say, "based on a true story." It told of an ex-soldier who had murdered his unfaithful mistress and, after a trial that debated his sanity, was executed. The play was unpublished at Buchner's death, at age 23, and remained so for 40 years, when Karl Emil Franzus prepared a performing edition and it became a classic of German theatre, as the first tragedy of the common man. Berg first saw it in Vienna on the eve of World War I and decided it should be the subject of his first opera, though he took some liberties with the story, including Wozzeck's death.

The first atonal opera

WOZZECK is a three-act work, performed without intermission and lasts a scant hour and 40 minutes--but I dare say that no one has ever left it wishing it were longer. It holds the distinction of being the first atonal opera--Berg's LULU would be the first 12-tone work--but you'd hardly know it from the descriptions of the music in the program, which tells of the traditional dance forms used structuring the work.

For example, Act I consists of five character pieces in the forms of a Baroque suite, a military march and lullaby, a passacaglia on a 12-note theme and a rondo, while Act II is a symphony in five movements and Act III, six inventions (though it would be hard for a newcomer to the opera to pick them out). There are also many orchestral interludes, played between the scenes, with the final music before the final scene especially gorgeous. The music is stunning, both for its variety and impact on the listener.

Concert opera--plusses and minuses

Surprisingly, presenting this particular work in concert form has its plusses and minuses. On the plus side, there are no distractions from stage business, or possible lapses as scenes are changed. All ears are on the music. Then there's the distinct luxury of having the score played by the Vienna Philharmonic (the "house band" of the State Opera), which gave the opera the depth and breadth of understanding it deserved, from its prime position on stage; the singers seemed almost secondary (though they are obviously key to the performance), placed on risers at the sides of the stage.

Franz Welser-Most, who stepped in for conductor Daniele Gatti, obviously knows his way around the orchestra, since he is its music director; whether he was as knowledgeable about the score and its challenges--could anyone ever stop learning about this challenging work?--raises some questions about the depth of his connection to it. Still, he brought out a rich performance of a work that is close to the heart of the Viennese.

Formal dress sometimes a distraction

On the minus side, more than other works I've heard in concert, I found the formal dress on at least one of the singers to be at odds with her character. Somehow, Goerne got past it and was completely immersed in the world of the title role; but soprano Herlitzius as Marie in particular did not. Her gown looked wrong and she did nothing to persuade us otherwise. Her voice gave us the harsh world of the character but physically she did not--unlike mezzo Monika Boinec, who sang Marie's neighbor and friend, Marget, and seemed just right--and to my mind it was more than a small problem. (Considering the size of their voices, it was amazing that the orchestra overpowered them in their first scene.)

The rest of the opera was well cast and somehow the formal wear seemed right for their puffed up characters . Tenor Herwig Pecoraro as the Captain and baritone Wolfgang Bankl as the Doctor were formidable tormenters, particularly in their scene teasing Wozzeck about Marie's possible infidelity, while tenor Herbert Lippert somehow managed to strut without moving very much, as the Drum Major. Tenor Thomas Ebenstein did well as Andres, the airheaded friend of Wozzeck. The well-schooled Vienna State Opera Chorus, as the opera's snoring soldiers. were joined by the members of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, who helped animate the sad, final scene.

"We poor folk (Wir arme leut)" may be the major theme of the opera--but despite any misgivings, the audience at Carnegie felt very fortunate indeed to hear what these great Austrian institutions have to say about one of Vienna's favorite sons.

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Photo: Herwig Pecoraro as the Captain, Evelyn Herlitzius and Matthias Goerne as Marie and Wozzeck (center), Herbert Lippert as the Drum Major, Vienna State Opera / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Carnegie Hall 2/28/14.

Photo by Steve J. Sherman