Not long ago, Alban Berg’s 1925 opera—with its grotesque plot and astringent atonal music—was rarely performed. Now it is part of the repertory of virtually every international company. Adapted from a play by Georg Büchner, the libretto is based on an actual murder case in which a soldier killed his mistress, an incident that Berg transformed into a powerful music drama, portraying mental deterioration that inexorably led to tragedy. Krzysztof Warlikowski’s 2017 production for the Dutch National Opera has many musical strengths, not least the superb conducting by Marc Albrecht, and excellent vocalism from baritone Christopher Maltman as Wozzeck and Eva-Maria Westbroek as his mistress Marie. But Warlikowski’s apparent need to do something out of the ordinary leads him not only to jettison the army setting—Wozzeck is simply a barber—but also to expand the role of Marie’s little son (played here by Jacob Jutte) to an extraordinary degree. In a long added prologue, the boy is bullied at a dance class, and later recites a monologue from Büchner’s play about a child overcome by solitude—which points to the final scene in which he is suddenly orphaned (and for some reason shown taking plastic organs from a mockup of the human body and tossing them into an aquarium). Presumably this is intended to suggest disaster passed from generation to generation, with the boy as doomed as Wozzeck, but the point is elusive at best. Despite its musical strengths, the production is somewhat hampered by the eccentric staging. Presented in DTS 5.1 (DTS-HD 5.0 on the Blu-ray edition) and PCM stereo, this is a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
Wozzeck
(2017) 107 min. In German w/English subtitles. DVD or Blu-ray: $24.99. Naxos (avail. from most distributors). Volume 34, Issue 4
Wozzeck
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: