Oper

Woyzeck

Robert Wilson / Tom Waits / Kathleen Brennan

Play by Georg Büchner. Songs and lyrics by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan. Concept by Robert Wilson. Version of the text by Ann-Christin Rommen and Wolfgang Wiens

Premiere 7. June 2024

Performed in German and English

Info
  • Starting Time: 7 pm
  • One intermission

  • Venue: Semper Zwei

  • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

  • Free introductory talk
  • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
    Info
    • Starting Time: 2 pm
    • One intermission

    • Venue: Semper Zwei

    • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

    • Free introductory talk
    • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
      Info
      • Starting Time: 7 pm
      • One intermission

      • Venue: Semper Zwei

      • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

      • Free introductory talk
      • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
        Info
        • Starting Time: 7 pm
        • One intermission

        • Venue: Semper Zwei

        • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

        • Free introductory talk
        • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
          Info
          • Starting Time: 7 pm
          • One intermission

          • Venue: Semper Zwei

          • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

          • Free introductory talk
          • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
            Info
            • Starting Time: 7 pm
            • One intermission

            • Venue: Semper Zwei

            • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

            • Free introductory talk
            • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
              Info
              • Starting Time: 7 pm
              • One intermission

              • Venue: Semper Zwei

              • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

              • Free introductory talk
              • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
                Info
                • Starting Time: 6 pm
                • One intermission

                • Venue: Semper Zwei

                • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

                • Free introductory talk
                • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
                  Info
                  • Starting Time: 7 pm
                  • One intermission

                  • Venue: Semper Zwei

                  • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

                  • Free introductory talk
                  • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
                    Info
                    • Starting Time: 7 pm
                    • One intermission

                    • Venue: Semper Zwei

                    • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

                    • Free introductory talk
                    • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
                      Info
                      • Starting Time: 7 pm
                      • One intermission

                      • Venue: Semper Zwei

                      • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

                      • Free introductory talk
                      • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
                        Info
                        • Starting Time: 7 pm
                        • One intermission

                        • Venue: Semper Zwei

                        • Die Abendkasse in Semper Zwei öffnet 30 min vor Vorstellungsbeginn.

                        • Free introductory talk
                        • 25 minutes before the scheduled performance in the upper foyer of Semper Zwei
                            Sub / Packages

                          The piece is also part of

                            Sub / Packages

                          The piece is also part of

                          Piece-Info

                          A mentally disturbed man, a dehumanized society and a shattered relationship – two dead people and an orphan at the end. That is the material that Georg Büchner left behind 1837 in his fragmented play Woyzeck. The internationally renowned singer and composer Tom Waits, the songwriter Kathleen Brennan and the theatre artist Robert Wilson created in 2000 a gripping musical theatre out of Büchners scenes, filled with cynicism and a deep longing for happiness. Waits and Brennan wrote for these scenes touching and unsettling songs somewhere between ballad, chanson and moritat, which sometimes take on the character of a slow love duet, sometimes that of a merciless chase. Manfred Weiß brings this play to the stage of Semper Zwei for the first time.

                          Plot

                          The soldier Franz Woyzeck is shaving his captain, who criticizes him for his illegitimate child. Woyzeck suffers from persecutory delusions, hears noises, and feels continually harried. His mistress Marie, who takes care of their child, has become increasingly distanced from Woyzeck and welcomes the advances of a drum major. 

                          Woyzeck makes himself available to a doctor for medical experiments. Meanwhile, the drum major presents Marie with earrings that she cannot hide from Woyzeck. His condition is deteriorating, and in his jealousy he even becomes violent towards Marie. 

                          In the tavern garden Marie and the drum major dance with each other publicly. The mentally handicapped Karl smells blood in the air. The voices in Woyzeck's head which are telling him to stab Marie with a knife won’t leave him in peace. In vain, his friend Andres tries to calm him down. 

                          After the dance, Woyzeck visits Marie and invites her for a nighttime walk. At a pond, he reminds them of the time they were happy together before stabbing her. Woyzeck wants to sink the knife deep into the pond and wades into the water. While they are walking, the captain and doctor hear the sounds of a drowning man. 

                          The little child stays behind with Karl and Marie's neighbor Margreth.

                          Related events

                          Performance

                          5 pm 

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