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2001 production photo from Wozzeck

Wozzeck 2001

July 28 - August 16, 2001

Jealousy and a blood-red moon…

…lead to madness and murder. Bold, intense, gripping-and utterly unforgettable. A true 20th century masterpiece.

Music and Libretto By
Alban Berg

Synopsis

Act I

Wozzeck, a lowly soldier, astounds his Captain with a Biblical defense of his common-law marriage to Marie and of their illegitimate young son. Mentally unstable, Wozzeck hallucinates about the menace of a setting sun. To help support his family, he allows himself to be the guinea pig in a doctor’s unorthodox experiments. Marie meanwhile has been flirting with a dashing Drum Major whom she invites to seduce her.

Act II

Wozzeck gives Marie his wages, which makes her feel guilty about having accepted earrings from the Drum Major. The Captain and the Doctor taunt Wozzeck about Marie’s infidelity. When Wozzeck starts to strike Marie, she says she would rather have a knife in her breast than his hand upon her. Later he is further enraged when he spies Marie and the Drum Major passionately embracing in a lurid waltz. In the barracks, Wozzeck prays for deliverance from temptation. The Drum Major comes in boasting of his conquest of Marie. Wozzeck tries to attack him but is soundly beaten.

Act III

Marie reads to her child from the Bible and prays for mercy. At dusk Wozzeck leads Marie along a forest path near a pond. The sight of the moon rising blood-red goads him into stabbing Marie. Later Wozzeck searches the pond for the bloody knife and he drowns. In front of Marie’s house, her son rides a hobbyhorse. Other children run in with news that his mother is dead.

Artists

Håkan Hagegård headshot

Håkan Hagegård

Baritone

Wozzeck

Anne Schwanewilms headshot

Anne Schwanewilms

Soprano

Marie

Ragnar Ulfung headshot

Ragnar Ulfung

Tenor

The Captain

Judith Christin headshot

Judith Christin

Mezzo-soprano

Margret

Eric Halfvarson headshot

Eric Halfvarson

Bass-baritone

The Doctor

Jay Hunter Morris headshot

Jay Hunter Morris

Tenor

The Drum Major

Anthony Laciura headshot

Anthony Laciura

Tenor

The Fool

Michael Smallwood headshot

Michael Smallwood

Tenor

Andres

James Lynn headshot

James Lynn

Bass

First Apprentice

Jan Kvistborg headshot

Jan Kvistborg

Tenor

Second Apprentice

Sean Fallen headshot

Sean Fallen

Tenor

A Soldier

Vladimir Jurowski headshot

Vladimir Jurowski

Conductor

Daniel Slater headshot

Daniel Slater

Director

robert innes hopkins headshot

Robert Innes Hopkins

Scenic and Costume Designer

Rick Fisher headshot

Rick Fisher

Lighting Designer

Sara Rudner headshot

Sara Rudner

Choreographer

Robert Wood headshot

Robert Wood

Chorus Master