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Weill and Brecht's Mahagonny debuts at Vienna Staatsoper

Jan. 12, 2012

Weill and Brecht's <em>Mahagonny</em> debuts at Vienna Staatsoper

On January 24 the Vienna Staatsoper premieres its first majorproduction of a work by Kurt Weillwith Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, directed by Jérôme Deschamps and conducted by Ingo Metzmacher. Mahagonny runs January 24 – February 5 with a cast that features Angelika Kirchschlager (Jenny Hill), Christopher Ventris (Jim Mahoney), Elisabeth Kulman (Leokadja Begbick), and Tomasz Konieczny (Trinity Moses). Kirchschlager, who has appeared in Mahagonny Songspiel and The Seven Deadly Sins and sings Weill songs regularly, said, “I’ve been a Weill fan for a long time…. I love this music—whether I’m performing it or in the audience…. I think it’s great that Mahagonny has finally reached the Vienna Staatsoper—the Met has been performing it since 1979.”

The powerful Weill-Brecht critique of capitalism and greed is resonating strongly around the world these days, as four more Mahagonny’s appear this spring:  Israeli Opera presents Mahagonny January 12–29; Megaron in Athens presents the Teatro Real/La Fura dels Baus production March 13-18; Oper Leipzig unveils a new production in the city of the work’s 1930 premiere April 28 – May 19; and Komische Oper Berlin revives its most recent production June 2-30.

For more on the life and music of Kurt Weill, visit www.kwf.org.

Kurt Weill
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1927/29)
opera in three acts
text (Ger) by Bertolt Brecht
English translation by Michael Feingold
S, Mz, 3T, 2Bar, B; chorus and orchestra
2(2pic)1.1.ssax.asax.tsax.2(cbsn)-2321-perc.timp-pno.harm ad lib.banjo. bass gtr.bandoneon-str
Stage orchestra: 2(2pic)2.3sax(ssax, asax, tsax)2- 2221-perc-pno.zither or xyl.banjo.bandoneon-3 vn
full evening

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