Customer Reviews

Alban Berg - Wozzeck - Claudio Abbado [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For once, here is a film of a live performance (in the Wiener Staatsoper - Vienna State Opera) where the stage-director has truly submitted himself to Berg's demands and needs. Herr Dreser manages it all without needing in the least to change time-periods (or costumes) or impose his ideas upon Berg's grisly yet appropriate (at times even beautiful! - try the lullaby section of Act I Scene 3, or Scenes 1 and 2 of Act 3 for proof thereof!!) score for this awful tale. This production truly brings out the whole truth in each one of the characters (truly, the Captain, "Doctor" and Drum-Major richly come across as the slime they are!!!) such that one can't but sympathise with the poor loser of an anti-hero that Franz Wozzeck is (all his circumstances are so totally against him and Marie even as they try to be good! - those inescapable realities combined with their intrinsic weaknesses as characters - Marie's lust, Wozzeck's insanity - finally overwhelm them both). It only could be improved upon (aside from some stage-movements and sequences related thereto) by an actual studio Hollywood-style film (under the directorship of a Franco Zeffirelli or Cecil B. DeMilne, perhaps Mel Gibson {not knowing this last-mentioned's work at this time} in terms of cine-video/photography); otherwise it's excellently done - and those of us interested in the orchestral workings get to benefit seeing this beautiful ensemble (the parent-ensemble of the Vienna Philharmonic!) and Abbado's work in the critical interludes.

In an era where directors are encouraged to trample all over composers' directions (even in the most ludicrous ways imaginable!), this film is a salutary shot in the arm and a joy to see for those more traditionally minded like myself!! Only one set I could criticise as being somewhat too stark (Act I Scene 2 could have been a bit more elaborate with its background depiction of the town...); also, there are a few cases where the composers' directions could have been followed even more stringently - however, although it's not perfect, it's very good indeed!!!

While I could wish for a few things likewise to be different with the conducting (personal taste - also, am I right in my growing suspicion that, somehow, DVD audio isn't quite completely as good as that of a real CD?!??), I think everybody does a superb job!! Top kudos for me go to Hildegard Behrens as Marie as well as to both Aage Haugland as the quack "Doktor" and Heinz Zednik (in spite of a few wrong notes that want to go tonal...) as the Captain, though nobody is a slouch here in the least. Perhaps one could have wished for a little more poetry in the title rôle (something Fischer-Dieskau gives us with Böhm); however, Grundheber does a fine job, nothing to complain about. Most certainly I'm most favourably impressed by Frau Behrens!! I not only love her voice and musicianship (also a superb actress - she's more than totally believable in her rôle!), also most appealing is the way she handles the Sprechstimme portions in Act III Scene 1 - better in my opinion than Evelyn Lear for Karl Böhm (it's better to err on the side of singing when handling that ferociously-difficult kind of declamation than on the side of speaking, and Behrens' feeling for it is so classy!!!!). Bravissima, wirklich Prächtig!!!

Spiritual descendant of Gustav Mahler, Berg's expressionist materpiece is a watershed work and prime example of the 2nd Viennese's school's 'more palatable' side. The drama, like the music, appeals to the subconscious and 'free-form' while remaining ferociously complex in structure and execution. Berg casts the music in various established late Romantic idioms, such as the Theme and Variations or Symphony form, such that the drama almost seems to be a 'second layer' growing on top of the music--even so, the two mate perfectly. Anyone with an interest in the documented dissolution of tonality (an experiment that did indeed culminate in 12-tone serialism, but not for a decade--and an experiment that would not last past 1970) should investigate this work, best experienced in a staged format. A couple of the singers' intonation and clarity of diction leave a bit to be desired, but on the whole Cluadio Abaddo does a masterly job of guiding orchestra and singers alike through a complex maze of notes. Recommended to die-hard Wozzeck fans, those who enjoy contemporary music, music scholars, fans of opera, and those wishing to extend their musical palate.

--Justin Laird Weaver <uweavj02@umail.ucsb.edu>

Great performance, vocally and orchestrally. The acting is good as well. Staging is appropriate throughout, and visually at times quite lovely, as in the drowing scene.

One minor caveat, already noted by another reviewer: the images on the box have nothing to do with what's inside! They look like they were taken from a Disney version!

I own a VHS of this.

Yes Hildegard Behrens is wonderful, and Grundheber is more than adequate in the title role, but the ones to watch closely are "Hauptmann" Heinz Zednik and "Doktor" Aage Haugland. I don't think any of us will ever see those roles done this well again.

For once, here is a film of a live performance (in the Wiener Staatsoper - Vienna State Opera) where the stage-director has truly submitted himself to Berg's demands and needs. Herr Dreser manages it all without needing in the least to change time-periods (or costumes) or impose his ideas upon Berg's grisly yet appropriate (at times even beautiful! - try the lullaby section of Act I Scene 3, or Scenes 1 and 2 of Act 3 for proof thereof!!) score for this awful tale. This production truly brings out the whole truth in each one of the characters (truly, the Captain, "Doctor" and Drum-Major richly come across as the slime they are!!!) such that one can't but sympathise with the poor loser of an anti-hero that Franz Wozzeck is (all his circumstances are so totally against him and Marie even as they try to be good! - those inescapable realities combined with their intrinsic weaknesses as characters - Marie's lust, Wozzeck's insanity - finally overwhelm them both). It only could be improved upon (aside from some stage-movements and sequences related thereto) by an actual studio Hollywood-style film (under the directorship of a Franco Zeffirelli or Cecil B. DeMilne, perhaps Mel Gibson {not knowing this last-mentioned's work at this time} in terms of cine-video/photography); otherwise it's excellently done - and those of us interested in the orchestral workings get to benefit seeing this beautiful ensemble (the parent-ensemble of the Vienna Philharmonic!) and Abbado's work in the critical interludes.

In an era where directors are encouraged to trample all over composers' directions (even in the most ludicrous ways imaginable!), this film is a salutary shot in the arm and a joy to see for those more traditionally minded like myself!! Only one set I could criticise as being somewhat too stark (Act I Scene 2 could have been a bit more elaborate with its background depiction of the town...); also, there are a few cases where the composers' directions could have been followed even more stringently - however, although it's not perfect, it's very good indeed!!!

While I could wish for a few things likewise to be different with the conducting (personal taste - also, am I right in my growing suspicion that, somehow, DVD audio isn't quite completely as good as that of a real CD?!??), I think everybody does a superb job!! Top kudos for me go to Hildegard Behrens as Marie as well as to both Aage Haugland as the quack "Doktor" and Heinz Zednik (in spite of a few wrong notes that want to go tonal...) as the Captain, though nobody is a slouch here in the least. Perhaps one could have wished for a little more poetry in the title rôle (something Fischer-Dieskau gives us with Böhm); however, Grundheber does a fine job, nothing to complain about. Most certainly I'm most favourably impressed by Frau Behrens!! I not only love her voice and musicianship (also a superb actress - she's more than totally believable in her rôle!), also most appealing is the way she handles the Sprechstimme portions in Act III Scene 1 - better in my opinion than Evelyn Lear for Karl Böhm (it's better to err on the side of singing when handling that ferociously-difficult kind of declamation than on the side of speaking, and Behrens' feeling for it is so classy!!!!). Bravissima, wirklich Prächtig!!!

I most strongly hope that the equivalent DVD version will be reissued ASAP (Disney-style box-picture or not - and it actually shows Wozzeck, with Andres in the far background, each carrying a bundle of firewood from Act I Scene 2, shot with an outrageously-strong yellow camera filter). When it comes out, GET IT!!!!

WARNING! This is NOT composed in "12-tone atonality," as reviewed above. This is arguably the greatest opera of the twentieth century, and, consistent with Berg's other expressionistic works, embodies a wide range of styles, including some fairly standard late-romantic harmony. Franz Grundheber's Wozzeck is bone-chillingly gripping.

Regardless of which production of Wozzeck is your favorite, I think it would be dishonest for anyone to not have this in their library. This production is as true to the directions of Berg as a production can get, something that many of the other productions that you can buy can't readily say. The staging is magnificent, and everyone is almost perfect for their role. That being said, I have heard many of the roles executed better by other people. Within this cast, the doctor is by far the most amazingly appropriate casting to me. In many other productions, the doctor doesn't really sound as looming and menacing as I had imagined him. In this production, we have by far the most intimidating voice coupled with the fact that it is coming out of this giant man, and you have something quite special and remarkable. Get this production. I watch others, but this is the one I always come back to.

This DVD contains an excellent production of Berg's famous opera, but it's perhaps not the definitive one, nor does there seem to be such a version since both the orchestral and the vocal scores as well as the actual roles are so difficult as to make it almost impossible to put on a "perfect" production. To my ears, the best cast is still available on the classic 1960s recording on DG conducted by Karl Bohm, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the title role, Evelyn Lear as Marie, Gerhard Stolze as the best hauptman I've yet heard, and Fritz Wunderlich as a great Andres, among others. The current MET/Levine production ( April 2011) is also very fine, and if it's released on DVD, it'll probably shoot to the top of the pack, but Bohm's cast is still better, as far as I could hear from the MET broadcast. What I mean is that while many conductors, such as Boulez, Abbado, and Levine have given us productions of this opera in which the orchestra score is better delineated than Bohm does, still, the cast of the old DGG recording by Bohm tends to hold its own against all comers.

Abbado is certainly quite successful in his performance from the orchertral side of things, but Franz Grundheber is not quite as convincing as Wozzeck as he might be. He seems better in the Barenboim production on Teldec, more unhinged. It seems that the music is still so difficult to sing that it's doubly difficult to present such an ambiguous, strange character as Wozzeck. Take the scene with Andres, for example. Wozzeck here certainly seems to have strange obsessive ideas bodering on psychosis, but you can also see him as fairly logical in the previous scene with the captain, so how does one present this role? Grundheber doesn't quite rise to the challange. It's just a question of comparing him to others who have done the part as well to compare him to himself in his later performance for Barenboim and then decide who seems to be the most convincing as a character in this drama. Of course, there's the question of taste, as well as the fact that some may be merely supporting the DVD they spent money one and had hoped would be good. It's hard to be objective in those situations. I know.

In summary, you can purchase this DVD in the knowledge that this is one of the best productions of this great opera--the small stage and sets and costumes certainly give us Berg's work as it was probably first seen in the 20s. It's just that there is probably no definitive "Wozzeck" either on cd or dvd, and there may never be. So, get this one and the Bohm (or Boulez) on cd, and wait for the new Levine.

Let's not be fooled, folks: the VHS reviews, which appear under the DVD listing, refer to an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT version. This is SUPPOSED to be a different staging, as you can tell from the cover of the DVD. It looked like it was done by the same people who did Yellow Submarine, or maybe by Julie Taymor (who did Oedipus Rex for the Tokyo Met, and Titus with Anthony Hopkins).

But here's the kicker: it ISN'T! The video case for the DVD SHOWS a different staging, but the actual video is of exactly the same staging featured on the VHS version, and recorded (in a slightly better performance) on the double-CD set released by Deutche Grammophon.

This is REALLY irritating. I was expecting a different staging, since i've already heard this one, and seen it as well. The whole point was to see a DIFFERENT one, and that's what the packaging implies is recorded on the enclosed DVD.

I don't know why they took the poorly-taped 1987 performance, and put it on a DVD with all these photos from an entirely different production (with even different actors, it appears) but that would be called fraud in almost any context. Having just watched this DVD production, i'm going to contact the company and demand an explanation.

You've been warned.

This is a must buy for the discriminating Berg fan. I particularly like the live audience which only added to the realism so obviously heard in the music but sometimes missed in staged videos. The doctor and the Captain's street walk is particularly effective.