After a 20-year absence, Alban Berg’s first opera is making its Lyon comeback with Daniele Rustioni as musical director. Set between the two World Wars, this dazzling adaptation of Georg Büchner’s play revolves around the cruel treatment inflicted to Wozzeck, the local scapegoat. “To some, the Earth is hot as Hell… Man is an abyss, and I turn giddy when I look down into it.”
The harshness of the world transpires through the music’s amazingly compelling architecture and unique expressiveness.
Richard Brunel and set designer Étienne Pluss’ work highlights the way the piece remains relevant: Wozzeck runs through the corridors of a mental maze representing our society, in a world of acute surveillance and manipulation. This wild-eyed drama on human condition features two strong and powerful soloists, including Canadian soprano Ambur Braid, whose performance in The Woman Without a Shadow at the Lyon Opera in 2023 was already met with acclaim.