Berg: Wozzeck (Opera in 3 Acts) ~ Grundheber / Behrens / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Claudio Abbado

This 1988 Vienna State Opera production of Wozzeck is, to my ears, vastly superior to the 1979 performance by Christoph von Dohnányi with the same orchestra. The entire emotional and dynamic range of the music is here, projected in striking relief. The anxieties of the tale are unflinchingly portrayed, but so, too, are the many moments of tenderness and rapturous beauty. The cast--Franz Grundheber plays the title role and Hildegard Behrens portrays Marie--are skilled dramatists as well as voices, even on record. The disc commemorates one of the rare instances when a company has done justice to the dazzling splendor of Berg's conception. --Joshua Cody