tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17709835.post3271312656299729895..comments2024-01-17T00:20:07.761-08:00Comments on Not For Fun Only: Ensemble Parallèle's WozzeckAxel Feldheimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517904558156089265noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17709835.post-77384286223940752132010-02-03T11:07:14.631-08:002010-02-03T11:07:14.631-08:00Ensemble Parallele is a small group, & really ...Ensemble Parallele is a small group, & really like their ambition in tackling this opera. The reduced orchestration preserved the complexity of the score, & I did not feel like I was getting cheated out of any of the music. But of course we did not get those big orchestral extremes. This was a Wozzeck on a budget, after all! I missed the massed sound of a full orchestra most during the raise-the-roof crescendo on B & the interlude following Wozzeck's drowning. Recordings provided the off stage military band in Act I & the children's voices in the last scene. There was an on-stage pianist for the tavern scene, though.<br /><br />The smaller orchestra was a good fit for the moderately sized venue & there was always a good balance between the singers & the pit. It was musically a very fine performance & especially welcome during this period when there is otherwise no opera in SF.Axel Feldheimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12517904558156089265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17709835.post-9811852438638207502010-02-03T02:57:48.852-08:002010-02-03T02:57:48.852-08:00How was the reduced version? I think I would miss ...How was the reduced version? I think I would miss the brute force of Berg's orchestration and the differentiation between the main band and the chamber forces in the second act. Looks like a great production, though.Gavin Plumleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08367649538228383713noreply@blogger.com