Wozzeck

Question 1

Which parts of Wozzeck did we study?

Answer 1

Act 3 scenes 4-5

Question 2

What is the story behind the creation of Wozzeck?

Answer 2

It was originally inspired by Georg Buchner’s play Woyzeck, which depicted human suffering in an unsympathetic world. Berg’s work on an opera was interrupted due to military service, but about 12 years later he finished the score. Three years after that the work first premiered (in 1925). It was considered groundbreaking musically, emotionally and dramatically. It brought Berg international acclaim.

Question 3

Genre

Answer 3

Expressionist opera

Question 4

Date of composition’s completion

Answer 4

1922

Question 5

language

Answer 5

German

Question 6

Source of plot

Answer 6

19th century lay Woyzeck by Georg Buchner

Question 7

Libretto

Answer 7

prepared by the composer himself

Question 8

Structure

Answer 8

3 acts with 5 scenes each

Question 9

Describe the principal 6 characters

Answer 9

Wozzeck - baritone (a weak-minded corporal)
Marie - soprano (Wozzeck’s common law wife)
The Boy - boy soprano (son of Wozzeck and Marie)
The Captain - tenor (Wozzeck’s superior)
The Doctor - bass
The Drum Major - tenor (a rival for Marie’s attention)

Question 10

Summarize act 1

Answer 10

Main characters and their relationships are introduced

The doctor experiments on him, and the Captain bullies him. He is tormented by thoughts of his wife’s infidelity

Question 11

Summarize act 2

Answer 11

Marie’s gold earrings serve as proof of her involvement with the drum major. He boasts of his conquests and roughs up Wozzeck, humiliating him.

Question 12

Summarize act 3

Answer 12

Wozzeck meets Marie by the pond and kills her. He accidentally drowns himself. Their boy is thus abandoned.

Question 13

Summarize Act 3 scene 4’s action

Answer 13

Wozzeck returns to the pond to search for the knife so he can hide it. Upon finding it he throws it into the pond. He doubts his actions and seeks to retrieve the knife to find a better hiding place, and while looking for it accidentally drowns due to madness. The captain and doctor pass by and hear what they think may be someone drowning, but coldly prefer not to get involved.

Question 14

Describe the vocal line of Act 3 scene 4.

Answer 14

It is frenetic, angular and covers an extremely wide range

Question 15

What instrument/effect is used notably in Act 3 scene 4?

Answer 15

The glissandi of a harp punctuates Wozzeck’s outcries of “murder, murder!”
An extended harp passage rises from the depths at mention of the “blood soaked moon”

Question 16

Describe the harmony in Act 3 scene 4.

Answer 16

Atonal harmonies that fequently use chord clusters

Question 17

What notable Expressionist techniques are used in Act 3 scene 4?

Answer 17

Spreechstimme is used effectively to underscore Wozzeck’s delirium and drowning

Question 18

Summarize the action of Act 3 scene 5

Answer 18

A child runs to interrupt the group of playing children to tell them the news of Marie’s death. Marie’s son does not really understand and continues playing while the other children run off to see.

Question 19

In Act 3 scene 4, how is music used during the dialogue of the Doctor and Captain?

Answer 19

the music depicts Wozzecks drowning by using dense six note chord formations in the low strings, which well up chromatically.

Question 20

Describe the orchestral interlude between Act 3 scene 4-5. What is the tempo and time signature? What key is it in? What purpose does it have in reflecting the action?

Answer 20

The interlude is in 3/4 adagio. In D minor. It allows the audience to meditate on the death of Wozzeck and has a very somber and dark mood. Leitmotifs rom earlier in the opera are recalled. The full orchestra employs a broad spectrum of dynamics from ppp to fff.

Question 21

In Act 3 scene 5, which nursery rhyme are the kids sinigng? Describe Berg’s version.

Answer 21

Ring around the rosie - (ringel ringel rozenkranz) in 12/8. A spirited melody sung in unison by a chorus of children.

Question 22

In Act 3 scene 5, describe how the instruments are used to create the desired atmosphere.

Answer 22

pizzicato strings, staccato woodwinds, celesta and a triangle evoke the bright morning sun (in sharp contrast to the nocturnal scene that preceded it).

Question 23

Describe the music in Act 3 scene 5 when Marie’s son is left alone on stage.

Answer 23

as he sings “hop hop” this is the only time in the whole opera we hear his voice. Undulating winds, harp and sustained strings bring the opera to an uncomfortable close.