vissidamore t1_j6zyo10 wrote on February 3, 2023 at 2:03 AM

Reply to comment by redditsonodddays in I'm Yves Abel, Principal Conductor of the San Diego Opera. I’ve conducted all over the globe, and even got to work with the great Leonard Bernstein while in training. AMA! by sandiegoopera

LOL I’ve never seen someone recommend Wozzeck as a first opera for someone to see. That’s wild. Everyone usually says La Boheme or Magic Flute. You’re coming in hot with the deep cuts!

redditsonodddays t1_j71y28m wrote on February 3, 2023 at 2:23 PM

Lol I guess so, I just think it’s easy to grasp the story and could be engaging for a newbie who like everyone else is already aware of the romantic opera tropes and was never moved to listen to them. Wozzeck is very cerebral and reminds me of some of the thriller shows that have been popular in television.

The score is also a marvel. A beautifully orchestrated diatonic piece can be unnoticed in our world of music production, but there’s no avoiding the great amount of work that goes into a constantly churning and unsettled orchestra like Berg’s.

vissidamore t1_j721gvb wrote on February 3, 2023 at 2:47 PM

Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Wozzeck and I think for the right person it would be a really interesting introduction to the art form. Heck I wish it was performed more, but smaller theaters don’t usually put it on where I’m located. They stick to the standard crowd pleasing rep to make sure they can sell enough tickets. But there’s only so many times one can see Carmen or Merry Widow, good lord.