Word: weill
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...Unknown Kurt Weill (Nonesuch, 1981). Acerbic rarities from the composer of The Threepenny Opera, sung by opera's sexiest soprano, Teresa Stratas...
...swallowed short one. Jocelyn Herbert's cumbersome set obstructs movement, draining energy. But emotion intensifies after a dozy first act. As a singer, Sting needs the help of a recording studio, although he summons at least a shadow of the requisite cavalier charm. The main virtue is Kurt Weill's indestructible score...
...parable itself, though, is rather silly. Brecht was a brilliant playwright and poet, but his ideas were pure Stalin-era blustering. As a viewer sits watching the hero Jimmy get executed for having been unable to pay his bar bill, he can only marvel at the gorgeous music Weill provided for this nonsense...
...much so in the lovely "cranes duet"). Gary Bachlund brings an appropriate touch of Nelson Eddy to the role of the doomed hero, though Anna Steiger (daughter of Rod) plays Jenny with a less happy touch of Jeanette MacDonald. As Lotte Lenya taught a whole generation of admirers, Weill's heroines should sound sexy, metallic and bitter...
Mahagonny marks the start of a big season for Weill, who would have been 90 next March. The Threepenny Opera, with Sting as Mack the Knife, began previews in Washington last week and moves to Broadway in October. Menahem Golan soon plans to release a freewheeling film adaptation starring Raul Julia and Julia Migenes. There will be Weill festivals in Cleveland, London and Dusseldorf, and lots of new recordings. The Los Angeles Mahagonny makes an interesting beginning...