This performance of Wozzeck, with
Herbert Kegel leading the Leipzig Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, is notable for the delicacy of the orchestral textures; the conductor emphasizes the chamber music qualities of the score and details emerge with clarity, but the orchestra provides plenty of power at the places where the music requires it. Overall, though,
Kegel's interpretation lacks the lyric sweep to make the inexorable wave of circumstances truly overwhelming.
Theo Adam is strong in the title role, but his progression from downtrodden passivity to uncontrollable passion and madness is somewhat underplayed. The other roles are effectively characterized, for the most part. What the singers may lack in sheer vocal beauty they make up for in dramatic conviction. That's true of Gisela Schröter as Marie; her voice is less than vibrant in her lower register, but she conveys Marie's despair and destitution convincingly, and her interaction with Margaret (Gisela Pohl) in the second scene is ferociously catty. Horst Heistermann and Konrad Rupf are standouts for their over-the-top portrayals of the Captain and the Doctor, and they make the strongest impressions of anyone in the cast. The sound of the live 1973 concert performance slightly favors the voices over the orchestra, but is generally clean.