Berg: Wozzeck

Franz Grundheber, Waltraud Meier, Mark Baker, Andrik Wottrich, Graham Clark, Dalia Schaechter, Gunter von Kannen, Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim

This is an excellent performance of a great modern classic. The live production is from 1994, with Daniel Barenboim conducting and Franz Grundheber as Wozzeck and Waltraud Meier as Marie. It generally surpasses Claudio Abbado's 1988 live version with the Vienna Philharmonic and with Franz Grundheber as Wozzeck since the singers are all very good and the sound is better, allowing the singing to hold its own with the orchestra in the loud spots.