Sir Andrew & Sir David Invite You to Experience Wozzeck

Alban Berg’s raw, powerful and devastatingly moving Wozzeck is returning to Lyric for the first time in 22 years. At the helm of the new production are conductor Sir Andrew Davis and director Sir David McVicar, each undertaking this opera for the first time. Lyric couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate director than Sir David, creator of many of today’s most insightful and vividly dramatic productions in major opera houses worldwide. Sir David’s profound feeling for not just the drama but also the music of Wozzeck will connect memorably with Sir Andrew’s involvement in the production. The conductor’s devotion to Berg’s music has been lifelong, and he’s coming to his first Wozzeck after having led every other major work of Berg with huge success internationally.

Davis and McVicar are both strongly attracted to Wozzeck’s music – the director regards it as both “intensely beautiful” and “supremely romantic.” This is an opera with an ordinary man at its center. Wozzeck is a very repressed figure, a soldier constantly demeaned by authority figures around him. “We feel empathy for him,” says Davis. “That’s why the piece is so extraordinarily affecting.” The opera’s 15 scenes create an opera “on an epic scale,” says McVicar, “and it tells the story of the society, as well as the story of one man. The scale of Lyric Opera allows us to explore Wozzeck in that way: to do it as a large-scale piece, which I feel it is, and in a way that correlates to the way I feel about the music.”

Ultimately, says Davis, “this opera makes you weep for humanity.” McVicar advises those new to Wozzeck to “let it wash over you, involve you, and take you on an incredible journey.

Don't miss the transformative power of this new Wozzeck, from Nov 1-21. You can learn more about this thrilling new production that marks Sir David McVicar’s triumphant return to Lyric and secure your tickets by clicking here or calling 312-827-5600.