Nature in Berg’s Wozzeck

Abstract This article demonstrates the importance of Nature to both Georg Büchner, author of Woyzeck, and Alban Berg, who adapted the play into the text for his opera Wozzeck. The argument is that Nature in these works is not an indifferent, mechanical force—as it has previously been claimed to be—but an animate power, which interacts with and influences the actions of the protagonist. After outlining Büchner's view of Nature, which underlies the opera, the article analyses the three scenes in which Berg’s Wozzeck interacts with Nature: Act I scene 2, and Act III scenes 2 and 4. Finally, two productions of Wozzeck, both available on DVD, are considered for the effectiveness of their approaches to bringing out Wozzeck’s relationship with Nature.