Wozzeck (German pronunciation: [ˈvɔtsɛk]) is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck, which was left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's play on 5 May 1914, and knew at once that he wanted to base an opera on it. From the fragments of unordered scenes left by Büchner, Berg selected fifteen to form a compact structure of three acts with five scenes each. He adapted the libretto himself, retaining "the essential character of the play, with its many short scenes, its abrupt and sometimes brutal language, and its stark, if haunted, realism..."
Librettist | (Alban Berg adapted the libretto himself, retaining "the essential character of the play, with its many short scenes, its abrupt and sometimes brutal language, and its stark, if haunted, realism...") |
Date of composition | 1922 (1914-1922) |
Premiered | 1925, December 14th (Berlin State Opera) in Berlin, Germany |
Type | Opera |
Tonality | Atonal |
Catalogue | Op. 7 |
Approx. duration | 90 minutes |
Instruments |
Voice (Baritone)
- Wozzeck
Voice (Soprano) - Marie, his common-law wife Voice (Treble) - Marie's son Voice (Tenor) - Buffo tenor ; Captain Voice (Tenor) - Buffo bass ; Doctor Voice (Tenor) - Heldentenor ; Drum Major Voice (Tenor) - Lyric tenor ; Andres, Wozzeck's friend Voice (Contralto) - Margret, Marie's neighbor Voice (Bass) - Low ; First Apprentice Voice (Baritone) - High ; Second Apprentice Voice (Tenor) - High ; Madman |
Autotranslations beta |
Alban Berg: Wozzeck, Op. 7 Alban Berg: Wozzeck, Op. 7 Alban Berg: Wozzeck, Op. 7 |