Kurt Weill was born in Desau, Germany in 1900, the son of a synagogue cantor. He studied composition with Humperdink (of "Hansel
and Gretel" fame) and Busoni, and by 22, the Berlin Philharmonic had premiered two of his compositions.
Weill came of age at the end of World War I, in a Europe that was both spiritually exhausted, ghastly, frightening, desperate
-- and remarkably creative. The carnage of World War I had shattered the smug 19th-century illusion that Western societies
had achieved perfect, rational civilizations under wise, benign leaders. When the smoke cleared and the millions of bodies
were buried, every art form underwent radical change, from old styles of simplistic (and often schmaltzy) charm and harmony
to new, terrifying visions of fear, dread, satire, revolt and despair. Even the old recognizeable forms could not disguise
the war's hideous legacy; the era produced many compositions for brilliant young pianists returning home minus one of their
hands.
Weill's musical legacy is enormous, and all of it broke new musical and theatrical ground. His most famous and enduring works
were his Berlin cabaret and theater collaborations with the poet Bertolt Brecht, "The Threepenny Opera" and "The Rise and
Fall of the City Mahagonny." "Mack the Knife" is from the former; "The Whiskey Bar Song," made famous by Jim Morrison and
The Doors, is from the latter. Mahagonny is a very different place from the serene island of Youkali -- it's an Alabama city
catering to every human depravity, where the only crime is Not Paying the Bill:
Oh, show us the way to the next
little boy!
Oh, don't ask why! Oh, don't ask why!
For if we can't find the next little boy
I tell you we must die!
Brecht and Weill also wrote "Surabaya Johnny," a bone-chilling wail by a tormented woman hopelessly in love with a brutal
sailor:
You said lots of things, Johnny!
Not a word was true, Johnny --
You lied from the moment we met!
I hate you so, Johnny!
I hate how you stand there
laughing at me!
Take that pipe out of your mouth, you filthy dog!
---
" A milestone of 20th century musical theater, The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) rolls on unstoppably into the 21st.
In their opera "by and for beggars," composer Kurt Weill (1900-1950) and playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) transformed
saccharine, old-fashioned opera and operetta forms, incorporating a sharp political perspective and the sound of 1920s Berlin
dance bands and cabaret. Weill's acid harmonies and Brecht's biting texts created a revolutionary new musical theater that
inspired such subsequent hits as Cabaret, Chicago, and Urinetown. The show's opening number, "Mack the Knife," became one
of the top popular songs of the century."
" The opening night audience at Berlin's Theater am Schiffbauerdamm didn't quite know what to expect when the curtain rose
on The Threepenny Opera on August 31, 1928, but after the first few musical numbers they began to cheer and call for encores.
The show was a brilliant hit, and Threepenny-fever spread throughout Europe, generating forty-six stage productions of the
work in the first year after the Berlin premiere. In 1931, a film version directed by G.W. Pabst entitled Die 3-Groschenoper
opened, making an international star of Weill's wife, Lotte Lenya, who repeated her portrayal of Jenny Diver from the show's
first production. "
making of the opera:
" Early in 1928, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht were both regarded as “enfants terribles” in the world of Weimar
culture. They had one obscure collaboration under their belt, Weill’s setting of five of Brecht’s poems about
an imaginary city called Mahagonny, and they were already hard at work on the full-length Mahagonny opera, which would cause
a scandal and lead to Nazi riots in 1930. But Brecht was also toying with the famous Beggar’s Opera by John Gay, from
1728, which had been revived in London in 1920 and run for years. Elisabeth Hauptmann, Brecht’s assistant and collaborator,
introduced him to the piece and translated the English libretto into German. "
Anyway the point is that the social & political satire of Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht is still relevant given our present
condition & predicament. With an on-going questionable war in Iraq which is just a new form of Colonialism & an extension
of the Christian Crusade which has never really ended . As for political corruption this is self-evident as are the ways in
which the laws of our land are applied against the common man while the crimes of the rich & powerful & their Quisling's
go unpunished . Over & over the Neocons remind us that this elite class who are our 'betters' are superiour to the rest
of us & so the ordinary laws & rules cannot be applied to them.
And here is a video of William S. Burroughs reciting Kurt Weill piece " What Keeps Mankind Alive"
for more about Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht see the excellent THE THREE PENNY OPERA website: THREE PENNY OPERA
