Opera to Gospel

The Austrian composer Alban Berg was 40 when his first — and only completed — opera, “Wozzeck,” was performed in 1925. Despite being a work of daunting complexity, using the atonal 12-tone style developed by his teacher, Arnold Schönberg, and its dark subject matter about a mentally disintegrating, homicidal soldier, “Wozzeck” was almost instantly recognized as a standard-bearer of 20th-century music, and it remains so today. Tragically, Berg died only 10 years later, from an infection resulting from an insect bite, it is said, before completing his other masterful opera, “Lulu.” At a performance of “Wozzeck” at the Met last week, I was reminded that even music as seemingly unapproachable as this rewards the listener with careful and engaged listening. In fact, the score and orchestration of “Wozzeck” are stunningly lush and beautiful, and the action is taut and disturbing. It was also a rare chance to hear and appreciate the great, but ailing, conductor James Levine, who earlier this year stepped down from his post at the Boston Symphony. He has made Berg a specialty, and elicited superb playing from the Met Orchestra. The pleasure of seeing Met performances is not limited to those who want to spend on a ticket and an outing to the Big Apple (although a seat in the Family Circle is not all that pricey). A growing number of our area theaters, including the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, the Warner in Torrington, and the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, are bringing live HD performances of the opera to their screens. Next weekend, April 23, at 1 pm, Richard Strauss’s delightful opera Capriccio will be shown at the Bardavon (www.bardavon.org). Closer to home, the Hotchkiss and Salisbury Gospel Choirs will be joined by the Westover Gospel Choir and others on April 17, at 3 p.m. at The Hotchkiss School’s Elfers Hall for what has become an annual spring tradition — Gospelfest 2011. Now in its 10th year, Gospelfest offers a soul-stirring, foot-tapping, hand-clapping experience for the audience and performers alike. Members of the Gospel Choir include students, faculty and staff from the Hotchkiss School and Salisbury schools, as well as friends from Lakeville and the surrounding community. The choir is directed by Salisbury resident and faculty member Michael Whitney Brown. The group performs regularly in the area.