Introduction to the lecture Alban Berg: “Wozzeck” (1922) in Robert Greenberg's new series from The Great Courses, “Music As A Mirror of History”
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In assessing Berg’s operatic masterwork, investigate the aftermath of World War I in Germany and its imprint on the opera-a psychological climate of rage, disillusion, and alienation in the wake of the war’s barbarity and hypocrisy. Observe how Berg’s own wartime experience linked him with the life of Franz Wozzeck, the opera’s protagonist. In excerpts from the opera’s first and third acts, hear how Berg achieves a searing musical portrayal of Wozzeck’s disordered mind.