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Stage Works by Kurt Weill in Productions Across Europe

Dec. 03, 2013

Stage Works by Kurt Weill in Productions Across Europe

This month and into the New Year, several major productions of Weill stage works continue throughout Europe.

The Theater Bremen opens its production of Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny on December 7, directed by Benedikt von Peter and conducted by Markus Poschner. Performances take place at the Theatre at the Goethe Platz in Bremen, Germany and continue through April 2014. 

The Staatsoper Hannover continues its new production of Street Scene directed by Bernd Mottl with a performance on December 13. Conductor Benjamin Reinters leads a cast that includes Ania Vegry as Rose Maurrant, Brian Davis as Frank Maurrant, Brigitte Hahn as Anna Maurrant, and Ivan Tursic as Sam Kaplan. The production runs through February 5 in Stefan Troßbach’s German translation.

At the Staatsoperette Dresden, Holger Hauer’s acclaimed production of The Firebrand of Florence continues on December 18. The production, conducted by Andreas Schüller in a new German translation by Roman Hinze, marks the German premiere of the work as well as the European stage premiere. Manuel Brug writes for Die Welt:

You get grand oper(ett)a—like the 20-minute opening scene—catchy tunes and naughty songs. Weill can do it all, even serenading God Cupid with an octet of models as "the little naked boy." The Dresden premiere makes one thing obvious: this is a wonderful piece of cultural entertainment to be discovered, revealing yet another fascinating side of Weill.

Closing out the year, Schauspiel Leipzig premieres its production of The Threepenny Opera on December 31, directed by Philip Tiedemann and conducted by Anthony Bramall. The production continues in repertory through May 13, 2014.

For more information on Kurt Weill, please visit www.kfw.org.

Information on the Theater Bremen production can be found at www.theaterbremen.de.

Visit www.staatstheater-hannover.de for details on the production at Staatsoper Hannover.

For details on the Staatsoperette Dresden production, please visit www.staatsoperette-dresden.de. 

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 orch: 2(2pic)2.3sax(ssax, asax, tsax)2- 2221-perc-pno.zither or xyl.banjo.bandoneon-3 vn
full evening

Street Scene (1946)
an American opera in two acts
book (Eng) by Elmer Rice; lyrics (Eng) by Langston Hughes and Elmer Rice
based on the play Street Scene by Elmer Rice
6S, A, 4Mz, 4T, 3Bar, B-Bar, B, boy soprano, speakers, dancers and orchestra
1(pic).1.2.bcl(cl).1-2.2.2.0-timp.perc-hp.pno(cel)-str
full evening 

The Firebrand of Florence (1944)
a Broadway operetta in two acts
book by Edwin Justus Mayer, based on his play The Firebrand
lyrics (Eng) by Ira Gershwin
2S, Mz, 2T, 3Bar, B, boy soprano, speakers and orchestra
1(pic).1.2.1-2.3.1.0-timp.perc-hp-gtr-str
full evening

The Threepenny Opera (1928)
play with music after John Gay's The Beggar's Opera; in three acts
German translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann
adaptation and lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
2S, 2Mz, T, Bar, B-Bar and speaking roles
asax(fl, cl, bsax).tsax(ssax, bsn, bcl)-tpt.tbn(db)-banjo(vc, gtr, Hawaiian gtr, mandolin, bandoneon)-timp/perc (tpt 2)-harm (cel, pno)
full evening

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