Bert Brecht & Kurt Weill - The Threepenny Opera

The artistic co-operation of Brecht and Weill began in 1926 in Berlin, at a point in time when Brecht had already achieved a certain degree of fame through his poems and expressionist play "Trommen in der Nacht". The composer Weill and the lyricist Brecht harmonized excellently together, mainly due to their personal attitudes and the perfect mix of their talents.
The "Threepenny Opera" is regarded to be the most important work by this writing team. The premiere took place on the 28th August, 1928 at the "Theater am Schiffbauerdamm" in Berlin. The enthusiastic response of the audience during this first performance gave an idea of the success to come and that the "Threepenny Opera" was to become the greatest musical success of the twenties in Germany.
This piece of musical history, which is staged in the "Milieu", was based on an opera persiflage and period satire by the Englishmen Pepusch and Gay. Brecht transported the subject matter into the 20th century and turned it into an attack by the "proletarian world" on the "corrupt middle-class".
The recording on hand is one of the most famous productions of the opera in existence. Two of the highlights of this recording are most certanly the titles sung by Brecht himself: "The Ballad Of Mack The Knife (Moritat)" and "The Ballad Of Why Human Effort Is Always Futile".

The opera "The Rise And Fll Of The City Of Mahagonny", a cross-section of which can be found on this CD, enjoyed its premiere just one year after the "Threepenny Opera" and caused a theatre scandal on the grounds of its crooks-and-whores milieu and the broadcasting of hollow phrases. The National Socialists already had so much influence that they were able to put a ban on furhter performances whithin an short space of time.

Weill and Brecht emigrated in 1933.

Bert Brecht & Kurt Weill - The Threepenny Opera
(256 kbps, cover art included)