I will admit that Wozzeck is more an opera I appreciate rather than love. For expressionistic music and (more) contemporary opera it is an important opera, and while Berg's music is great and full of complexity it is not necessarily the type of music I'd listen to everyday. This production is remarkable, often powerful and moving with great performances and a sense of atmosphere. The settings are sparse, but I found this appropriate considering the complexity of the score and the tone of the story. The expressionistic lighting is especially superb.
The orchestration is full of passion and power which the orchestra seamlessly convey and James Levine once again shows that he has a clear love for his voice. The singing and acting are every bit as effective, with Falk Struckmann a heartbreaking and vocally dark yet attractive Wozzeck and Katrina Dalayman a sympathetic and surprisingly healthy(considering the risks of singing Expressionistic opera) Marie. Wolfgang Neumann has an unpleasant character in the Drum Major and his voice is somewhat controversial, but I still found it a splendidly-characterised performance, and Graham Clark, always the fine actor-singer, excelling as the Captain. Best of the support cast was Michael Devlin, whose Doctor gave me the chills.
All in all, a powerful and moving Wozzeck. 10/10 Bethany Cox