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Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny at Dutch National Opera

Sep. 20, 2023

Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's <em>Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny</em> at Dutch National Opera

"The opera Mahagonny is so strong that you wonder: why is this not standard repertoire?” – de Volkskrant (Herien Wensink and Merlijn Kerkhof)

Following its pre-pandemic premiere in Aix and a stop in Antwerp at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Ivo van Hove’s production of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny has arrived in Amsterdam at Dutch National Opera with a fresh cast, an accomplished veteran on the podium, and rapturous reviews. Conductor Markus Stenz has been closely associated with Mahagonny from early in his career, dating from his musical leadership of the landmark 1992 Ruth Berghaus production in Stuttgart. His interpretation of the score here again is described in the press as worthy of “high praise,” with admiration for his crafting of “exactly the harrowing sound that Weill wanted.”Critics are exulting equally over the debut of Lauren Michelle in the lead role of Jenny. “Lauren Michelle is by far the best actor as Jenny,” writes De Volkskrant, emphasizing appreciation for her Jenny’s “expressive face, tenderness, and will to survive” in combination with a “rich voice, sublime timing and dynamics.” Michelle won First Prize in the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lenya Competition in 2015, foreshadowing the review in Place de l’Opera that recognizes her “good mix between two voice types, musical and opera.” That reviewer's conclusion? “Michelle turned out to be an ideal Jenny in every way.” 

Read here a collection of press excerpts.


Lauren Michelle sings the "Alabama Song" in Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's
Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny at the Dutch National Opera

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