European American Music Distributors Company is a member of the Schott Music Group

Productions of Kurt Weill's Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny in Belgium, Bonn, and Berlin

Sep. 26, 2022

When Ivo van Hove’s production of Kurt Weill’s classic Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny opened at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen on September 9, it became the first of three Mahagonnys to appear onstage in the initial weeks of the new cultural season. Two days later, a new production directed by Volker Lösch premieres at Theater Bonn. Soon thereafter, in October, Barrie Kosky’s insightful if controversial take on the work returns in repertory at Komische Oper Berlin.

Ivo van Hove’s production, first premiered at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2019, continues making the rounds of its co-producers. Additional co-production partners are the Metropolitan Opera, Dutch National Opera, and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg. Belgian soprano Tineke van Ingelgem and Italian tenor Leonardo Capalbo take the lead roles, Jenny Hill and Jimmy Mahoney. The company’s principal conductor, Alejo Pérez, is on the podium. 

The new production at Theater Bonn appears under the rubric of the company’s multi-year Fokus ’33 series, an extended examination and exploration of music theater works from the first third of the twentieth century. Natalie Karl and Matthias Klink play the lead couple. Generalmusikdirektor Dirk Kaftan leads the Beethoven Orchester Bonn.

Kosky’s vision, emphasizing and expanding on the biblical connotations of the work, will again be realized with Allan Clayton as Jim and Nadja Mchantaf as Jenny, and with General Music Director Ainārs Rubiķis conducting.


(Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny | La Fura dels Baus | Teatro Real 2010 (DVD/Blu-ray trailer))


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