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New Fifteen-Player Version of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's Seven Deadly Sins Has Carnegie Hall Premiere

Apr. 11, 2024

On Friday, April 12 at Carnegie Hall, an all-star lineup presents the New York premiere of a new fifteen-player version of Kurt Weill’s Die sieben Todsünden (The Seven Deadly Sins). Composer-conductor HK Gruber continues his long and fruitful association with Germany’s acclaimed Ensemble Modern, with mezzo soprano Wallis Giunta in the solo role of Anna, backed by male quartet amarcord as The Family.

For more than three decades Gruber has sung, conducted, arranged, and recorded much of Weill’s European repertoire, including by his own count more than thirty-five performances of Die sieben Todsünden. Giunta is likewise a passionate champion of Weill’s music, having performed the Sins on numerous occasions, including the UK premiere of the new version, produced by Opera North and livestreamed globally on OperaVision. Other performances include with the Toronto Symphony, the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, the Oregon Music Festival, and at Lincoln Center, Toronto’s Glenn Gould Studio, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, and Dacamera Houston.

The fifteen-player version was prepared by Gruber, along with his colleague Christian Muthspiel, with an aim to retain Weill’s harmonies, orchestral colors, and dramatic power, even with smaller forces. The orchestra for the new version employs less than half the number of players than does the original. Facilitated by the Kurt Weill Foundation, the new scoring is designed to encourage staged performances by smaller companies, whether dance, theater, or opera. Its world premiere took place in September 2019 at Beethovenfest Bonn, with Gruber leading Ensemble Modern and with Sarah Maria Sun as Anna and the male quartet amarcord as the Family.


An excerpt from the UK premiere of The Seven Deadly Sins produced by Opera North in 2020 and featuring Wallis Giunta and dancer Shelley Eva Haden as the two Annas. Named by Arts Desk as one of the “Best of 2020,” the production was directed and choreographed by Gary Clarke and conducted by James Holmes.

Kurt Weill
The Seven Deadly Sins (1933/2019)
ballet chanté
Text by Bertolt Brecht
English translation by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman
Version for 15 players by HK Gruber and Christian Muthspiel  
Anna I · Soprano - Anna II · Dancer - The Family: Tenor I, II, Baritone, Bass (The Mother)
1(pic).0.2.1-1.1.1.0-perc-pno.bjo(gtr)-str(1.1.1.1.1)

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