Wozzeck Flashcards
Which parts of Wozzeck did we study?
Act 3 scenes 4-5
What is the story behind the creation of Wozzeck?
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.
Genre
Expressionist opera
Date of composition’s completion
1922
language
German
Source of plot
19th century lay Woyzeck by Georg Buchner
Libretto
prepared by the composer himself
Structure
3 acts with 5 scenes each
Describe the principal 6 characters
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)
Summarize act 1
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
Summarize act 2
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.
Summarize act 3
Wozzeck meets Marie by the pond and kills her. He accidentally drowns himself. Their boy is thus abandoned.
Summarize Act 3 scene 4’s action
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.
Describe the vocal line of Act 3 scene 4.
It is frenetic, angular and covers an extremely wide range
What instrument/effect is used notably in Act 3 scene 4?
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”
Describe the harmony in Act 3 scene 4.
Atonal harmonies that fequently use chord clusters
What notable Expressionist techniques are used in Act 3 scene 4?
Spreechstimme is used effectively to underscore Wozzeck’s delirium and drowning
Summarize the action of Act 3 scene 5
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.
In Act 3 scene 4, how is music used during the dialogue of the Doctor and Captain?
the music depicts Wozzecks drowning by using dense six note chord formations in the low strings, which well up chromatically.
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?
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.
In Act 3 scene 5, which nursery rhyme are the kids sinigng? Describe Berg’s version.
Ring around the rosie - (ringel ringel rozenkranz) in 12/8. A spirited melody sung in unison by a chorus of children.
In Act 3 scene 5, describe how the instruments are used to create the desired atmosphere.
pizzicato strings, staccato woodwinds, celesta and a triangle evoke the bright morning sun (in sharp contrast to the nocturnal scene that preceded it).
Describe the music in Act 3 scene 5 when Marie’s son is left alone on stage.
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.
