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The Threepenny Opera

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The Threepenny Opera
Die Dreigroschenoper, original German poster from Berlin, 1928
MusicKurt Weill
LyricsBertolt Brecht
BookBertolt Brecht
BasisThe Beggar's Opera by John Gay
ProductionsBerlin, Schiffbauerdamm Theatre (1928)
London, Empire Theatre (1933)
Off-Broadway, Theater de Lys (1954)
Broadway, Roundabout Theatre Company (2006)
And many more...

The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) is a revolutionary [1] work of musical theatre, by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher, adapted from an 18th century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. Premiering on August 31, 1928, at Berlin's Schiffbauerdamm Theatre, Die Dreigroschenoper offers a socialist critique of the capitalist world.

Overview

Set in a marginally anachronistic Victorian London, the play focuses on the stories of the working class, rather than those liable to attend fashionable upper-crust operas. The protagonist, in the original opera as well as the Brecht/Weill adaptation, is Macheath, an elegant highwayman for Gay and an amoral, anti-heroic criminal for Brecht/Weill. In an acknowledgement of the earlier work, Weill sets his opening number, Morgenchoral des Peachum, to the music used by composer Pepusch in Gay's original.

Macheath (Mackie Messer, or Mack the Knife) marries Polly Peachum. This displeases her father, who controls the beggars of London, and he endeavours to have Macheath hanged. But his moves are hindered by the fact that the chief of police, Tiger Brown, is Macheath's childhood friend. Still, Peachum exerts his influence and eventually gets Macheath arrested and sentenced to hang. Moments before the execution, in an unrestrained parody of a happy ending, Brecht sends in a hard-riding messenger from the "Queen" (the chronology is deliberately muddied) to pardon Macheath and grant him a baronetcy.

The play directly challenges the audience by breaching the "fourth wall" with what Brecht called Verfremdungseffekt, or the "alienation effect." For example, slogans are projected on the back wall and the characters sometimes carry picket signs, or stand at times with their backs to the audience. The play challenges conventional notions of property as well as those of theatre. It asks the central and highly political question, "Who is the bigger criminal: he who robs a bank or he who founds one?"

Die Dreigroschenoper is an early example of the modern musical comedy genre. Its score is deeply influenced by jazz and mandates a fifteen-piece jazz combo. Its opening and closing lament, "Die Moritat vom Mackie Messer," was written just before the Berlin premiere, when actor Harald Paulsen (Macheath) threatened to quit if his character did not receive an introduction; this creative emergency resulted in what would become the work's most popular song, later translated into English by Marc Blitzstein as "Mack the Knife" and now a standard which has been covered by Louis Armstrong, Bobby Darin, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé and countless others. "Pirate Jenny", originating from the first act, has been famously covered by singer and activist Nina Simone on 1964's Nina Simone in Concert. She gave the song a grim civil rights undertone, with the ship 'the black freighter' symbolizing the coming black revolution.

Roles

  • Macheath (tenor)
  • Polly (soprano)
  • Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum (baritone)
  • Celia Peachum (mezzo-soprano)
  • Brown (baritone)
  • Lucy (soprano)
  • Jenny (mezzo-soprano)
  • Street singer (baritone)

Synopsis

Act I

Act I commences in the shop of Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum, the boss of London's beggars, where Peachum outfits and trains the beggars in return for a slice of their takings from begging. In the first scene, the extent of Peachum's iniquity is immediately exposed. Filch, a new beggar, is obliged to bribe his way into the profession and agree to pay over to Peachum 50 percent of whatever he made; the previous day he had been severely beaten up for begging up within the area of jurisdiction of Peachum's protection racket. As a depiction of exploitational capitalism, in a world where even beggars, individuals at the most exposed and lowest of human ebbs, are constrained to pay protection, it sets out to paint an unflattering picture.

After finishing with the new man, Peachum becomes aware that his grown daughter Polly did not return home the previous night. Peachum, who sees his daughter as his own private property, concludes that she has become involved with Macheath. This does not suit Peachum at all, and he becomes determined to thwart this relationship and destroy Macheath.

The scene shifts to an empty stable where Macheath himself is preparing to marry Polly once his gang has stolen and brought all the necessary food and furnishings. No vows are exchanged, but Polly is satisfied, and everyone sits down to a banquet. Since none of the gang members can provide fitting entertainment, Polly gets up and sings "Pirate Jenny," a revenge fantasy in which she is a pirate queen and orders the execution of her bosses and customers. The gang becomes nervous when the Chief of Police, Tiger Brown, arrives, but it's all part of the act; Brown had served with Mack in England's colonial wars and had intervened on numerous occasions to prevent the arrest of Macheath over the years. The old friends duet in the "Cannon Song" ("Army Song"). In the next scene, Polly returns home and defiantly announces that she has married Macheath by singing the "Barbara Song." She stands fast against her parents' anger, but she inadvertently reveals Brown's connections to Macheath which they subsequently use to their advantage.

Act II

Polly warns Macheath that her father will try to have him arrested. He is finally persuaded that Peachum has enough influence to do it and makes arrangements to leave London, explaining the details of his bandit "business" to Polly so she can manage it in his absence. Before he leaves town, he stops at his favorite brothel, where he sees his ex-lover, Jenny. They sing the "Pimp's Ballad" ("Tango Ballad") about their days together, but Macheath doesn't know Mrs. Peachum has bribed Jenny to turn him in. Despite Brown's apologies, there's nothing he can do, and Macheath is dragged away to jail. After he sings the "Ballad of the Easy Life," another girlfriend, Lucy (Brown's daughter) and Polly show up at the same time, setting the stage for a nasty argument that builds to the "Jealousy Duet." After Polly leaves, Lucy engineers Macheath's escape. When Mr. Peachum finds out, he confronts Brown and threatens him, telling him that he will unleash all of his beggars during Queen Victoria's coronation parade, ruining the ceremony and costing Brown his job.

Act III

Jenny comes to the Peachums' shop to demand her money for the betrayal of Macheath, which Mrs. Peachum refuses to pay. Jenny reveals that Macheath is at Suky Tawdry's house. When Brown arrives, determined to arrest Peachum and the beggars, he is horrified to learn that the beggars are already in position and only Mr. Peachum can stop them. To placate Peachum, Brown's only option is to arrest Macheath and have him executed. In the next scene, Macheath is back in jail and desperately trying to raise a sufficient bribe to get out again, even as the gallows are being assembled. Soon it becomes clear that neither Polly nor the gang members can raise any money, and Macheath prepares to die. Then a sudden reversal: a messenger on horseback arrives to announce that Macheath has been pardoned by the queen and granted a castle and pension. The cast then sings the Finale, which ends with a plea that wrongdoing not be punished too harshly.

Musical numbers

Vorspiel (Prelude)

Nr 1 Ouverture
2 Moritat vom Mackie Messer ("The Ballad of Mack the Knife" - Ausrufer - Street singer)

Erster Akt (First Act)

Nr.3 Morgenchoral des Peachum (Peachum's Morning Song - Peachum)
4 Anstatt dass-Song (Instead of Song - Peachum, Mrs Peachum)
5 Hochzeits-Lied (Wedding Song) (The Gang)
6 Seeräuberjenny (Pirate Jenny) (Polly)*
7 Kanonen-Song (Cannon Song) (Macheath, Brown)
8 Liebeslied (Love Song) (Polly, Macheath)
9 Barbarasong (Barbara Song) (Polly)†
10 I. Dreigroschenfinale (First Threepenny Finale) (Polly, Peachum, Mrs Peachum)

Zweiter Akt (Second Act)

Nr.11 Melodram (Melodrama - Macheath)
11a Polly's Lied (Polly's Song - Polly)
12 Ballade von der sexuellen Hörigkeit (Ballad of Sexual Dependency - Mrs Peachum)
13 Zuhälterballade (Pimp's Ballad - Jenny, Macheath)
14 Ballade vom angenehmen Leben (Ballad of the Pleasant Life - Macheath)
15 Eifersuchtsduett (Jealousy Duet - Lucy, Polly)
16 II. Dreigroschenfinale (Second Threepenny Finale - Macheath, Mrs Peachum, Chorus)

Dritter Akt (Third Act)

Nr.17 Lied von der Unzulänglichkeit menschlichen Strebens (Useless Song - Peachum)
17a Reminiszenz (Reminiscence)
18 Salomonsong (Solomon Song - Jenny)
19 Ruf aus der Gruft (Call From the Grave - Macheath)
20 Grabschrift (Grave Song - Macheath)
20a Gang zum Galgen
21 III. Dreigroschenfinale (Third Threepenny Finale - Brown, Mrs Peachum, Peachum, Macheath, Polly, Chorus)

* In many productions, "Seeräuberjenny" ("Pirate Jenny") is sung by the character of Jenny. In the original, it is sung by Polly during the wedding scene, but is sometimes moved to the Second Act and given to Jenny. In the 1956 off-Broadway production starring Lotte Lenya, Polly sang a version of the "Bilbao Song" from Brecht and Weill's Happy End in the first act wedding scene.

† In the Marc Blitztein adaptation, this song was moved to the second act and sung by the character of Lucy.

Production history

The Threepenny Opera was first performed at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin in 1928, and, after an initially poor reception, went on to run 400 times in the next two years. (The performance was a springboard for one of the best known interpreters of Brecht and Weill's work, Lotte Lenya, who was married to Weill.)

The work subsequently became a huge success, being translated into 18 languages and performed more than 10,000 times. It was translated into French as L'Opéra de quat'sous; (quatre sous, or four pennies being the idiomatically equivalent French expression for Threepenny and, by implication, cut-price, cheap). Georg Wilhelm Pabst's French version of his film also used this title. Die Dreigroschenoper has been translated into English several times. One was published by Blitzstein in the 1950s and first staged under Leonard Bernstein's baton at Brandeis University in 1952. It was later used on Broadway. Other translations include those by Ralph Manheim and John Willett (1979), by noted Irish playwright and translator Frank McGuinness (1992), and by Jeremy Sams for a production at London's Donmar Warehouse in 1994.

Broadway (New York)

At least seven productions have been mounted in New York, on and off Broadway.

  • In 1954, Lotte Lenya won a Tony Award for her role as Jenny in Blitzstein's somewhat softened version of The Threepenny Opera, which played off-Broadway at the Theater de Lys in Greenwich Village for several years. Blitzstein had translated the work into English; Lenya, Weill's wife since the 1920s, had sung both Jenny and Polly earlier in Germany. Jenny's (originally Polly's) ballad, dreaming of quitting her work as a barmaid to lead a pirate assault on the city, is well known: And the ship with eight sails, and with 50 cannons, will fire on the city (Und das Schiff mit acht Segeln und mit fünfzig Kanonen wird beschießen die Stadt).

West End (London)

Selected Recordings

Recordings are in German, unless otherwise specified.

  • Die Dreigroschenoper, 1930, on Telefunken. Incomplete. Lotte Lenya (Jenny), Erika Helmke (Polly), Willi Trenk-Trebitsch (Macheath), Kurt Gerron (Moritatensänger; Brown), and Erich Ponto (Peachum). Lewis Ruth Band, conducted by Theo Mackeben.
  • The Threepenny Opera, 1954, on Decca Broadway 012-159-463-2. In English. Lyrics by Marc Blitzstein. The 1950s Broadway cast, starring Jo Sullivan (as Polly), Lotte Lenya (as Jenny), Charlotte Rae (Mrs Peachum), Scott Merrill (Macheath), Gerald Price (Street Singer), and Martin Wolfson (Peachum). Beatrice Arthur sings Lucy, normally a small role, here assigned an extra number. Complete recording of the score, without spoken dialogues. Conducted by Matlowsky.
  • Die Dreigroschenoper, 1955, on Vanguard 8057, with Anny Felbermayer, Hedy Fassler, Jenny Miller, Rosette Anday, Helge Roswaenge, Alfred Jerger, Kurt Preger and Liane. Vienna State Opera Orchestra conducted by F. Charles Adler.
  • Die Dreigroschenoper, 1958, on CBS MK 42637. Lenya, who also supervised the production, Kóczián, Hesterburg, Schellow, Neuss, and Willi Trenk-Trebitsch, Arndt Chorus, Sender Freies Berlin Orchestra, conducted by Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg. Complete recording of the score, without spoken dialogues.
  • Die Dreigroschenoper, 1966, conducted by Rennert on Philips. With Huebner, Teichmann, Mey, Korte, Brammer, and Kutschera.
  • Die Dreigroschenoper, 1968, on Polydor 00289 4428349 (2 CDs). Conducted by James Last. The only recording up to the present, that contains the complete spoken dialogues.
  • Die Dreigroschenoper, 1990, on Decca 289 430 075-2. Ute Lemper, Milva, Helga Dernesch, René Kollo, Rolf Boysen, Mario Adorf. RIAS Berlin Sinfonietta, John Mauceri.
  • The Threepenny Opera, 1994, on CDJAY 1244. In English. Donmar Warehouse (London) production. Translated by Robert David Macdonald (lyrics translated by Jeremy Sams). Conducted by Yershon. With Small, Hugo, Hall?, Hollander, Walter?, and Mannion-T.
  • Die Dreigroschenoper, 1994, on Capriccio. Conducted by Jan Latham-König, with Ulrike Steinsky, Gabriele Ramm, Jane Henschel, Walter Raffeiner, Rolf Wollrad, and Peter Nikolaus Kante.

Also note:

  • Mackeben/Ponto/Valetti/Bahn/Paulsen/Lenya/Gerron, cast of German 1928 premiere
  • Mackeben/Neher/Lenya/Gert/Forster/Busch/Rasp, cast of German version of 1931 Pabst movie.
  • Mackeben/Florelle/Lion/de Matha/Préjean/Artaud/Modot, cast of French version of Pabst movie.
  • Symonette/Myszak/Shoumanova/Herrmann-A/Jung/Kmentt/Becht, 1980s?, on Koch.
  • Gruber-HK/MacDonald-S/Brauer/Hagen-N/Raabe/Holtz?/Gruber-HK, 1999, on RCA.

Film

There have been at least four film versions. German director Georg Wilhelm Pabst made German- and French-language versions simultaneously (a common practice in the early days of sound films) in 1931. Another version was directed by Wolfgang Staudte in West Germany in 1962. Scenes with Sammy Davis, Jr. were added for its American release. In 1990 an American version (renamed Mack the Knife) was released, directed by Menahem Golan, with Raúl Juliá as Macheath and Roger Daltrey as the Street Singer.

Pronunciation of the English title

The English-language title is pronounced differently in Great Britain than in most English-speaking nations. The word "threepenny" having been the name of a coin in Britain's pre-decimal currency - the musical's title in Britain reflects the various common pronunciations of that coin. Though the coin was discontinued in 1971 after the decimalization of sterling - the idiosyncratic British pronunciations of the show title continues. The three-syllable word "threepenny" is condensed when spoken into a two-syllable word - with the exact pronunciation varying from geographical region to region. The principal pronunciations are: "THROOP-nee" "THREPP-nee" or "THRUPP-nee".

See also

References

  1. ^ Kurt Weill Foundation (2007). "Threepenny Opera: An Introduction". Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  2. ^ Threepenny on Broadway official site
  3. ^ Aisling Arts site

Bibliography

  • Hinton, S: Kurt Weill: The Threepenny Opera (Cambridge, 1990)
  • Brockett, Oscar G. and Hildy, Franklin J, History of The Theatre, Allyn and Bacon, 2002 (9th Edition), ISBN 0-205-35878-0
  • Warrack, John and West, Ewan, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, Oxford University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-19-869164-5
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