Alban Berg: Wozzeck (Opera in 3 Acts) - Franz Grundheber / Hildegard Behrens / Wiener Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado
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CD Details
Orchestra: Alban BergOrchestra: Claudio Abbado
Edition: Music CD
Format: Box set
CD Release Date: 1990-10-25
Music Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 1 Scene 1. Langsam, Wozzeck, langsam!
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 1 Scene 2. Du, der Platz ist verflucht!
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 1 Scene 3. Tschin Bum...! H?rst Bub? Da kommen sie!
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 1 Scene 4. Was erleb'ich, Wozzeck?
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 1 Scene 5. Geh einmal vor Dich hin...
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 2 Scene 1. Was die Steine gl?nzen!
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 2 Scene 2. Wohin so eilig, geehrtester Herr Sargnagel?
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 2 Scene 3. Guten Tag, Franz.
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 2 Scene 4. Ich hab' ein Hemdlein an, das ist nicht mein...
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 2 Scene 5. Oh! Oh! Andres! Ich kann nicht schlafen.
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 3 Scene 1. Und ist kein Betrug in seinem Munde erfunden worden...
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 3 Scene 1. Und kniete hin zu seinen F??en
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 3 Scene 2. Dort links geht's in die Stadt.
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 3 Scene 3. Tanzt Alle; tanzt nur zu...!
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 3 Scene 4. Das Messer? Wo ist das Messer?
- Wozzeck, opera, Op. 7: Act 3 Scene 5. Ringel, Ringel, Rosenkranz, Ringelreih'n
Music reviews of Alban Berg: Wozzeck (Opera in 3 Acts) - Franz Grundheber / Hildegard Behrens / Wiener Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado
Music Review: Outstanding recording!!! [This is based on samples + DVD of the Vienna State Opera production.]
Rating: 5 Stars
Why was the B?hm recording pulled for a while from the catalogue when this Abbado document was released? Often such things are done by recording companies to help boost new recordings done by different artists working for the same firms. While yours truly finds that practise hideous, the best older recordings will eventually come back - if the new ones prove themselves, they'll eventually co-exist with the older ones. So it has happened with the B?hm, which - while not far (if at all) inferior to the Abbado here being reviewed - is nevertheless NOT superior!! Indeed, this Abbado is so outstanding so as not to have needed such protection/boosting at the expense of the B?hm...
Abbado does a superb job with the Wiener Philharmoniker - some of the details Karl B?hm glosses over or ignores are brought out so beautifully here as to make this view of "Wozzeck" a revelation! While there are a few things I could like B?hm for in terms of individual instruments' expression (not that many, but they're there), there's no question that this recording beats it hands down - and the playing of the Vienna Philharmonic is stellar (although the Deutsche Oper for B?hm does him proud, the Viennese here prove why they're reckoned as amongst the world's top orchestras)!!! [Also, the balances by the same company, Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, are here better and more natural - e.g., the solo-viola obbligato of Act I, Scene 1, or the military-band in Act I Scene 3, redressing the deficits present with the B?hm recording.] Some of the low notes of the tuba, 4th trombone and contrabassoon, sometimes not that easy to reach, make their full case here for inclusion (as Berg wanted) compared to B?hm's cheating them for the sake of his voice-favouring, "lightish" accompaniment.
As to the singers, I dare say that 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" (he's absolutely a winner!!) 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 r?le (something Fischer-Dieskau gives us with B?hm); however, there's no question of Franz Grundheber being outstanding here!
Definitely I'm most favourably impressed by Frau Behrens!! I not only love her voice and musicianship (also a superb actress on the DVD - she's more than totally believable in her r?le!), 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 B?hm (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 {even if Lear's likely somewhat closer to Berg's intentions}!!!!). Bravissima, wirklich Pr?chtig!!! I detect no wobble or real strain on her - or anybody else's part in what's a fearsomely difficult opera (when performed properly). Whoever thinks otherwise, I'd like them to point out as much, ideally with score references (that's what the comments' feature for individual reviews are for!).
This is the version to get, no questions asked. QED.
Description of Alban Berg: Wozzeck (Opera in 3 Acts) - Franz Grundheber / Hildegard Behrens / Wiener Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado
This 1988 Vienna State Opera production of Wozzeck is, to my ears, vastly superior to the 1979 performance by Christoph von Dohn?nyi with the same orchestra. The entire emotional and dynamic range of the music is here, projected in striking relief. The anxieties of the tale are unflinchingly portrayed, but so, too, are the many moments of tenderness and rapturous beauty. The cast--Franz Grundheber plays the title role and Hildegard Behrens portrays Marie--are skilled dramatists as well as voices, even on record. The disc commemorates one of the rare instances when a company has done justice to the dazzling splendor of Berg's conception. --Joshua CodyGeneral CDs
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