After a twenty-year absence, Alban Berg’s first opera makes its long-awaited return to Lyon under the musical direction of Daniele Rustioni. Set between the two World Wars, this dazzling adaptation of Georg Büchner’s play revolves around the cruel treatment inflicted upon 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 seeps through the music’s remarkably compelling architecture and unique expressiveness. Director Richard Brunel and set designer Étienne Pluss highlight how the work remains strikingly relevant: Wozzeck runs through the corridors of a mental maze symbolising our society, in a world dominated by surveillance and manipulation.
This raw and powerful drama of the human condition features two outstanding soloists, including Canadian soprano Ambur Braid, whose acclaimed performance in The Woman Without a Shadow at the Opéra de Lyon in 2023 won over both critics and audiences.
Cast
Wozzeck: Stéphane Degout
Marie: Ambur Braid
The Drum Major: Robert Watson
The Captain: Thomas Ebenstein
The Doctor: Thomas Faulkner
Andrès: Robert Lewis
Margret: Jenny Anne Flory
Frist Worker: Hugo Santos
Second Worker: Alexander de Jong
The Fool: Filipp Varik
A Man: Didier Roussel
Marie’s Child: Ivan Declinand and Jeanne Bouchonnet
