On the Edge of the Precipice

'Man is an abyss – you feel giddy when you look into it.' So Wozzeck tells us in the second act of Berg's 1925 opera. The same could be said of the piece itself, for a performance of this opera should create an almost vertiginous power. While the current revival at the Royal Opera House doesn't quite live up to its previous outings, or indeed ENO's recent, brutal exploration of the work, there is still much to applaud, not least the central performances.

Simon Keenlyside has honed his interpretation of Berg's hapless soldier over a number of years, offering a shellshocked man, haunted by a paranoia, which Keith Warner's still-superb production viciously projects across Stefanos Laziridis's laboratory set. The Lieder-like quality of Keenlyside's voice has naturally coarsened over time, though he can still bring rapt beauty to Berg's lyrical lines and, as ever, he proves a brave stage animal.

Karita Mattila performs Marie as if it has always been in her repertoire, rather than a role debut. Vocal strains evident in other recent performances appear to have abated, once more revealing that lustrous tone which made her the star she is. Like Keenlyside, she uses her voice to terrific effect, not least within the bible reading scene in Act 3, where she brilliantly underlines the contrast between Sprechstimme and her full-throated appeals.

Keenlyside and Mattila are supported by a cast of sadistic but superbly drawn characters, with John Tomlinson's eerily wide-eyed Doctor chief among them. Endrik Wottrich brings faux-Heldentenor swagger to his performance as the Drum Major. Only Gerhard Siegel's Captain slightly disappoints, appearing a little muted alongside the rest of the play-to-the-hilt cast.

He wasn't helped in his first scene, however, by Mark Elder's oddly wayward approach to the score. Indeed throughout Act 1 his grip was not tight enough, somewhat stifling Berg's peppery counterpoint. The conspicuously beautiful passages of the score, on the other hand, felt oddly engineered. True there were stirring climaxes and feral playing from the woodwind, brass and percussion, but the string sound lacked the burnished intensity which Pappano and Harding had previously wrought. Some slack moments of ensemble, not least with the final scene, and fussy transitions served only to hamper what could and should have been an unbridled attack on the jugular. So while there was much to admire, Elder proved more barrier than conduit. Wozzeck continues at the Royal Opera House until 15 November.

Tweet