Above: baritone Thomas Hampson
Monday March 17th, 2014 - When the Metropolitan Opera announced that Thomas Hampson and Deborah Voigt - as refugees from a forsaken revival of PARSIFAL - would be heading the cast of this season's performances of Alban Berg's WOZZECK, alarms went off throughout the operatic world. The vast majority of opera buffs seemed to think this was the most blatant case of double miscasting imaginable. Someone went as far as to send an open letter to Sarah Billinghurst, currently in her final season at The Met, asking her to remove Voigt from the cast so opera fans everywhere could breathe easier. The notion of Gelb paying off a high-fee singer like Voigt and then hiring someone to replace her was laughable, especially given the current state of The Met's finances...and the fact that WOZZECK is not really a box-office draw no matter who sings.
While I agreed from the start that Voigt was a very unlikely candidate for Marie, after some initial thought I decided Hampson's Wozzeck would not be such a bad thing after all. In the event, Hampson missed the first two performances due to illness; he was replaced at the prima by Matthias Goerne (a lucky catch for The Met), and at the second performance by Daniel Sutin. Tonight was Hampson's second performance in the role, and he firmly dispelled any doubts about his capabilities in the role. He was, in fact, thoroughly impressive both as singer and actor.
As Wozzeck, Hampson's imposing physique is beset by stiffness of stance and gait; he is a man worn down by the callouness of those with whom he comes in daily contact and his vacant stare and hesitant gestures reveal the depths of his inner emptiness. Marie is the one solace in his life - how poetically Hampson spoke her name in the scene where the doctor is prodding him (both physically and mentally) and how expressive that passage where Wozzeck gives Marie his earnings. Jealousy of the Drum Major and Wozzeck's shame at having been beaten by his rival send the hapless soldier over the edge. The entire third act was vividly declaimed and acted by Hampson. A trace of roughness on a couple of notes may have been an after-effect of his recent bout with bronchitis; otherwise the voice sounded firm and secure. James Levine sometimes gets carried away with his orchestra and unleashes great torrents of sound; Hampson wisely didn't try to outshout the music. Overall Hampson's Wozzeck was a fine addition to his gallery of roles, and his performance adds to a long list of evenings in which he has impressed me both vocally and in his sense of commitment. In a long career, he has stayed at the top of his game.
Above: Thomas Hampson as Wozzeck and Deborah Voigt as Marie; a Met Opera photo
Overall, tonight's performance was thrilling. Much credit goes to Maestro James Levine who draws out the cosmic beauty of this music in all its brutality and warped lyricism. The orchestra is simply magnificent, and the opera - down to the one-line character parts - was most impressively cast.
As Marie, Deborah Voigt pulled out all the stops tonight, giving a blazing vocal performance and digging deeper into the character than she had at the prima. Blistering top notes - not pretty by any means, but jaw-droppingly intense - rang out into the house, and she seemed far more at home in the lower range/parlando passages. Freed from the demands of a 4-hour Wagner role, Voigt spent the voice freely while embracing the character's lust, guilt and maternal tenderness in a convincingly acted performance.
There were performances of surpassing excellence from Peter Hoare (Captain) and Clive Bayley (Doctor) who have both somehow upped the level of their already-fabulous interpretations during the run. Every word and note counted for these two masterful singing-actors. Simon O'Neill's Drum Major was another tour de force, and Russell Thomas (Andres) and Richard Bernstein (First Apprentice) were superb. Beauty of tone is not a pre-requisite in this music, but Tamara Mumford's opulent singing (and her vivid portrayal) as Margret were a special element in this evening's presentation: we should hear her more often at The Met, and in larger roles.
This is opera - as good as it gets.
Metropolitan Opera House
March 17, 2014
WOZZECK
Alban Berg
Wozzeck.................Thomas Hampson
Marie...................Deborah Voigt
Captain.................Peter Hoare
Drum Major..............Simon O'Neill
Doctor..................Clive Bayley
Andres..................Russell Thomas
Margret.................Tamara Mumford
Apprentice..............Richard Bernstein
Apprentice..............Mark Schowalter
Fool....................Philippe Castagner
Soldier.................Daniel Clark Smith
Townsman................Raymond Aparentado
Child...................Anthony Reznikovsky
Piano Solo..............Bradley Moore
Conductor...............James Levine