VOLUME 34 NUMBER 1 Kurt Weill Newsletter SPRING 2016 FEATURES Not Your Grandfather’s Threepenny Opera at the National Theatre Lost in the Stars at Washington National Opera IN THIS ISSUE VOLUME 34 Kurt Weill Newsletter NUMBER 1 3 In the Wings - Upcoming Performances SPRING 2016 Editor’s Note NEH Awards Grant for Weill Concert Series ISSN 0899-6407 FEATURES © 2016 Kurt Weill Foundation for Music 7 East 20th Street 4 Not Your Grandfather’s Threepenny Opera New York, NY 10003-1106 A Daring New Production at the National tel (212) 505-5240 fax (212) 353-9663 9 Sponsorship for Weill Festival in Twin Cities Published twice a year, the Kurt Weill Newsletter features articles and reviews REVIEWS (books, performances, recordings) that center on Kurt Weill but take a broader Performances look at issues of twentieth-century music and theater. With a print run of 5,000 copies, the Newsletter is distributed worldwide. Subscriptions are free. The editor 10 Lost in the Stars welcomes the submission of articles, reviews, and news items for inclusion in Washington National Opera future issues. Susan Galbraith A variety of opinions are expressed in the Newsletter; they do not necessarily represent the publisher’s official viewpoint. Letters to the editor are welcome 11 Lessons from a Fellowship ([email protected]). Adam Turner Staff 12 Die Dreigroschenoper Theater an der Wien Dave Stein, Editor Norbert Mayer Elizabeth Blaufox, Staff Writer Veronica Chaffin, Production 13 L’opera da tre soldi Natasha Nelson, Editorial Assistant; Production and Circulation Piccolo Teatro Strehler Stephen Hastings Kurt Weill Foundation Trustees André Bishop 14 Symphony No. 2 Victoria Clark Philadelphia Orchestra Joanne Hubbard Cossa David Patrick Stearns Susan Feder, Secretary Corey Field 15 Der Jasager Philip Getter, Executive Vice Chair of the Board Den Norske Opera og Ballett Ed Harsh, Chair of the Board Magnar Breivik James Holmes Welz Kauffman 16 Der Zar lässt sich photographieren Kim H. Kowalke, President and CEO Kurt Weill Fest Dessau Guy Stern, Vice Chair of the Board Rebecca Schmid Tazewell Thompson Recording Trustees Emeriti Honorary Trustees 17 The Cradle Will Rock Milton Coleman James Conlon John Mauceri Paul Epstein Stephen E. Davis Walter Hinderer Teresa Stratas Harold Prince NEWS 18 Lotte Lenya Competition News Websites Social Media http://www.kwf.org facebook.com/KurtWeillFoundation 20 Weill Around the Globe http://www.threepennyopera.org twitter.com/KurtWeillFndn http://www.marc-blitzstein.org youtube.com/KurtWeillFoundation 22 Foundation News E-mail Cover photos from rehearsals at the National Theatre (clockwise Information: [email protected] from top left): Jamie Beddard (Mathias) and Rebecca Brewer Weill-Lenya Research Center: [email protected] (Betty); Rosalie Craig (Polly) and Rory Kinnear (Macheath); Kurt Weill Edition: [email protected] Dominic Tighe (Robert); Peter De Jersey (Brown), Rory Kinnear, and Hammed Animashaun (Jimmy). Photos: Richard Hubert Smith 2 Kurt Weill Newsletter Volume 34, Number 1 IN THE EDITOR’S NOTE WINGS UPCOMING PERFORMANCES As summer begins, things are heating up in London, where The Threepenny Opera the most exciting production of The Threepenny Opera in National Theatre, London, UK years has just opened. Rufus Norris, not only one of the U.K.’s Rufus Norris, director; David Shrubsole, conductor top directors but also the new Artistic Director of the Nation- Continuous run opens 26 May al Theatre, leads the production of a new English-language ad- aptation by Simon Stephens, one of Britain’s most celebrated The Airborne Symphony (Blitzstein) playwrights. The band led by music director David Shrubsole Curious Flights Symphony Orchestra and Festival Chorus, San Francisco, CA will feature exactly the same line-up as the one at the world Alasdair Neale, conductor; Brian Thorsett, tenor; Efrain Solis, baritone premiere—a rarity indeed in this day and age. Our feature ar- 28 May ticle beginning on the next page draws on interviews with all three and includes two tantalizing excerpts from the book and “Kurt Weill on Broadway” lyrics. 54 Below, New York, NY At the head of our review section stands Tazewell Mary Testa, et al., vocals; Matthew Stephens, music director Thompson’s production of Lost in the Stars at the Washington 7 June National Opera. Following Thompson’s triumph at the Glim- merglass Festival in 2012, Artistic Director Francesca Zam- Royal Palace bello brought the staging to the nation’s capital with many of Opéra Montpellier, France the same singers. One noteworthy addition to the cast: Lauren Marie-Ève Signeyrole, director; Rani Calderon, conductor Michelle, First Prize winner of the 2015 Lotte Lenya Compe- 10–16 June tition, as Irina. Lauren has had quite a year, and we wish for equally great things for our new crop of Lenya winners. This Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny year the Competition set a record with nine prizes and awards Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile at the finals, for a total of $79,000 in cash awards, another new Marcelo Lombardero, director; David Syrus, conductor record (see pp. 18–19). 23 June through 1 July This issue of theNewsletter benefits from the labor of staff members Elizabeth Blaufox and Veronica Chaffin—for Der Jasager/Down in the Valley the first time—as well as veteran Natasha Nelson. My thanks Opera North Youth Chorus & Scottish Opera Connect Company go to all three for their diligence and alacrity. Aberdeen International Youth Festival 5 August (2 performances) Dave Stein Der Lindberghflug St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis, MO David Robertson, conductor; Amy Kaiser, choral director 16–17 September NEH Awards Grant for Weill The Seven Deadly Sins Virginia Opera Concert Series Keturah Stickann, director; Adam Turner, conductor; Ute Gfrerer, Anna I; The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a Gabrielle Zucker, Anna II grant of $300,000 for a curated concert series of Kurt Weill’s 2, 4 October Norfolk, VA music, titled “Kurt Weill’s America.” The fourth installment of 8–9 October Fairfax, VA the “Music Unwound” series, created and curated by histo- 14, 16 October Richmond, VA rian Joseph Horowitz, will be presented in a festival format, with works presented in multiple concerts over the course of The Seven Deadly Sins a weekend or consecutive days. Featured works include Sym- BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Glasgow, UK phony No. 2, The Seven Deadly Sins, Walt Whitman Songs, Ilan Volkov, conductor; Measha Brueggergosman, Anna I and Street Scene. Several orchestras and universities have al- 20 October ready signed on, including the Buffalo Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, the Brevard Festival, El Paso Symphony Lost in the Stars Orchestra, and DePauw University. Highbury Opera Theatre, London, UK The grant extends over three years and provides financial Jean Lacornerie, director; Scott Stroman, conductor support to orchestras who have engaged Horowitz to present 3–5 November the concert series. Previous iterations of “Music Unwound” have focused on the music of Ives, Copland, and Dvořák. To learn about the many other Weill performances coming up around the “Kurt Weill’s America” will present carefully crafted programs world, view the performance calendar at to audiences across the U.S. and encourage performing or- ganizations and audiences alike to get involved and discover www.kwf.org Weill’s music. Volume 34, Number 1 Kurt Weill Newsletter 3 FEATURES The Threepenny Opera returns to its London roots on 26 May 2016, when a new English adaptation officially opens at the National Theatre. The team of Rufus Norris (stage director), David Shrubsole (music director), and Simon Stephens (adaptor) presides over the new production in the Olivier Theatre. The National has not taken up Threepenny since 1986, when the creative team consisted of Peter Wood (director), Dominic Muldowney (music director), and Robert David MacDonald (trans- lator); Tim Curry played Macheath. This year, some of London’s leading actors take principal roles: Rory Kinnear (Macheath), Rosalie Craig (Polly), Nick Holder (Mr. Peachum), Haydn Gwynne (Mrs. Peachum), and Sharon Small (Jenny); Vicki Mortimer designs the sets and Imogen Knight choreographs. The creative team promises “filthy language and immoral behaviour,” but that is only the half of it. The production offers an incisive, brand-new English rendering of dialogue and lyrics, a reimagining of the characters of this classic of musical theater, Weill’s original scoring performed by seven band members (just as in the 1928 world premiere), and a head-turning new staging masterminded by a committed group of seasoned professionals. A total of 82 performances are scheduled through October. Brace yourself, London, for . Not Your Grandfather’s Threepenny Opera A Daring New Production at the National One of the hottest directors in British theater has teamed up with How far can one go in reworking such a familiar play? Ste- one of the most successful playwrights. Rufus Norris, Artistic phens noted that it’s not a free-for-all. “I remain pretty loyal to Director of the National Theatre, and Simon Stephens, Olivier Brecht and Weill in terms of narrative, character, action, location. Award-winning dramatist, never wavered in their determination I’ve not changed the story. I’ve not added characters or taken to rework the text of The Threepenny Opera and make it more co- characters away.” As Norris put it, “We’re trying to muscle it up herent onstage. Their efforts have yielded an entirely new book a bit so that people aren’t just waiting for the next song to come and lyrics that compel us to see the characters through new eyes, along, and they actually care about the story.” rethink certain moments in the plot, and weigh Brecht’s theories of politics and drama and how they might be useful (or other- wise) in the context of a new production. The Women So often, The Threepenny Opera is presented as a conflict between The Book protagonist Macheath and antagonist Mr.