news & events Der Volume 26 26 Volume 2 Number 2008 Fall Roger Rees Nathan Gunn Now On DVD at the 2004 Bregenz Festival and at its sub- and at the 2004 Bregenz Festival at Terrence Mann Terrence Anna Christy Der Kuhhandel Fans who missed David Pountney’s production of Pountney’s missed David who Fans Kuhhandel sequent co-produc- tions North, at Vienna Leeds and the have now Volksoper up the chance to make The lost time. for Volksoper pro- Vienna duction, conducted Christoph Eberle, by on has been preserved - Phoenix Edi by DVD tion. Ursula Pfitzner Sanchez)(Juanita and Dietmar Kerschbaum Santos) lead the (Juan cast. ’s or a Die sieben Weill and , directed by John , directed by took home the Ned Porgy and Bess The Evening Standard , in a co-production with the Der Lindberghflug performed in concert. The multi-nation- performed in concert. Lady A supplement to the Newsletter Weill to the Kurt A supplement Street Scene , will return to New York on 12 March for 2009 York , will return to New , a popular opera or a serious musical? Well, , a popular opera or a serious musical? : “Was this a look back to : “Was

Returns Die Dreigroschenoper

Selected as Best 2008 London Musical West Side Story West Evening Standard

when the production travels to the Montreal to the the production High Lights Festival travels when topical The Firebrand of Florence The Firebrand HK and Chorus Sine Nomine in a June GruberWien will lead the Klangforum Street Scene look forward to look forward when you were watching Elmer Rice’s picture of Elmer Rice’s tenement life on watching were New you when atmos- imaginatively Weill’s East Side or listening to Kurt Lower York’s did- we Vic Young At the . . . seem to matter. didn’t definitions pheric music, that singing, some terrific Helped by tale. just witness a rich, rewarding n’t poignant, sleazy, could be troubled, tale was transformed that into music Pucciniesque and more. Wagnerian, shattered, laid back, exhausted, jazzily its everything, its boldness, its texture, For The Opera Group’s productionThe Opera of Group’s Young Vic and Watford Palace Theatre, has won Theatre, Palace Watford and Vic Young Awards Best Musical of for 2008 on the London stage. Award Ned Sherrin and Benedict Nightingale reported in the announced onwere 24 November, day’s next Sherrin Award for Best Musical in 1997. Sherrin for Award The National Theatre’s production of Theatre’s The National Fulljames, was the clear winner ofFulljames, the Best Musical award.” 2009 European tour of next February after successful tours to the 2006 Edinburgh Festival and to the Festival tours after successful to the 2006 Edinburgh February next performances Four Wellington. in Arts Festival Zealand International 2008 New 2009. are scheduled 18-21 February for and luminous staging of imaginative Girard’s Anna I to Anna Hofmann plays Lindbergh, and Magdalena plays Workman Charles Boudreau conducts the Société de Walter Anna IIs (one per sin); different seven Musique Contemporaine du Québec. Todsünden Dorothea al cast includes Hanna Schwarz Ian Bostridge (Macheath), (Celia Peachum), Florian Boesch (Tiger Angelika Kirchschlager (Jenny), Peachum), (Polly Röschmann (Lucy),As usual, Gruber and Christoph Bantzer (Narrator). Teuscher Lydia Brown), The tour begins in Hamburg’s Peachum. Jeremiah duty as Jonathan will do double Théâtre des the Barbican in London by (13 June), followed Laeiszhalle (11 June), (16 June). Vienna and the Konzerthaus (14 June), in in Champs-Élysées The Firebrand Other Notable Productions Montreal audiences will have the opportunity to see François Girard’s the opportunity to see François Montreal have audiences will bill of double 2006 acclaimed Opéra de Lyon the first time since its ill-fated Broadway run. The Collegiate ChoraleThe Collegiate has assem- run. Broadway its ill-fated time since the first the occasion, an all-star cast for Gunn (Benvenuto including Nathan bled Mann (Duke). Terrence Anna Christy (Angela), and Cellini, the “Firebrand”), a concert for performance the venue Hall provides Tully Alice Lincoln Center’s Gemignani conducts. Paul Rees; directed and narrated Roger by Weill’s 1945 operetta with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Edwin Justus Iraby Gershwin Edwin and book by 1945 operetta with lyrics Weill’s Mayer, 2a Volume 26, Number 2 Topical Weill Kurt Weill Foundation News

New 2008 Kurt Weill Awards in Performance

In recognition of Kurt Weill’s contribution to the musical theater, and to encourage the high standards of singing and acting which his works demand, on 11 August 2008 the Board of Trustees of the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music established the Kurt Weill Award in Performance. In the program’s inaugural year, awards have been presented this fall to an outstanding senior student in the Musical Theater program at each of the fol- lowing four universities: University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Carnegie Mellon University, and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. The award winners were selected by the faculties of their universities’ musical theater programs; each winner received a check for $5,000 from the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. Criteria for selection included exceptional talent in both singing and acting, along with the focus and determination Ashley Blanchet necessary to establish a career in performance. The 2008 winners are: Laura Mixon

University of Michigan: Ashley Blanchet (New Rochelle, NY) University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music: Kaitlyn Davidson (Overland Park, KS) Carnegie Mellon University: Laura Mixon (Pensacola, FL) New York University: Emily Cramer (Winthrop, MA)

Kaitlyn Davidson Emily Cramer Revised Guidelines for Kurt Weill Upon recommendation from an independent review panel, the Kurt Foundation Grant Program Weill Foundation has awarded mid-year 2008 funding to the following eight grant applicants: Each year the Kurt Weill Foundation Grant Program awards financial support to not-for-profit organizations for perfor- Professional Performance mances of Kurt Weill’s musical works, to individuals and not- Edinburgh International Festival Society, Edinburgh, . for-profit organizations for scholarly research projects, and to Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. not-for-profit organizations for educational initiatives directly Chautauqua Opera, Chautauqua, NY. Street Scene. related to Weill and/or Lotte Lenya. The Foundation’s Board Orchestre de Bretagne, Rennes, . Marie Galante Concert Suite. of Trustees has approved revised guidelines for grants begin- Kurt Weill Gesellschaft, Dessau, . 2009 Kurt Weill Fest: ning with the 2009 funding period. Grant categories now Die sieben Todsünden, Symphony No. 2. include: Research and Travel, Kurt Weill Dissertation

news & news events Fellowship, Publication Assistance, Educational Outreach, Fall Semester 2008 College/University Performance College/University Performance, Professional Performance, and Broadcast. An additional annual application deadline has Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Street Scene. been established (1 June, beginning in 2009), limited exclusive- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. Street Scene. ly to College/University Performance grants for productions University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. Street Scene. taking place in the fall semester of the current academic year. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. Street Scene.

Kurt Weill Book and Article Prizes Raised in Deems Taylor Award to mcclung 2009 The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The 2009 Kurt Weill Prizes for book and article have been (ASCAP) has bestowed a 2008 Deems Taylor Award on bruce d. increased to cash awards of $10,000 and $2,000 respectively. The mcclung for Lady in the Dark: Biography of a Musical (Oxford Kurt Weill Foundation welcomes nominations for the 2009 Kurt University Press). Deems Taylor Awards are given annually to Weill Book Prize for distinguished scholarship in twentieth-cen- honor excellent music books, articles, broad- tury music theater (including opera), for works first published in casts and websites; mcclung’s book was one of calendar years 2007 and 2008. Edited multi-author collections of nine recognized at the New York City awards essays are not eligible in the book category, although single ceremony on 9 December. This is the third essays from such collections may be nominated in the article cat- major prize for mcclung’s book, which also egory. There are no citizenship or language restrictions. won the 2007 Kurt Weill Prize and the 2006 Nominations are solicited from individuals, publishers, scholar- George Freedley Award Special Jury Prize ly societies, and institutions, but self-nominations are encour- from the Theatre Library Association. Lady in aged as well. The application deadline is 30 April 2009; for fur- the Dark: Biography of a Musical was pub- ther information see the website of the Kurt Weill Foundation. lished in paperback in December 2008. Topical Weill Volume 26, Number 2 3a

Lenya Competition Winners Make Their Marks Honored by Metropolitan news & eventsnews & Amy Justman, 2004 prizewinner, returns to Broadway this fall in White Opera Guild (24 September 2008) Christmas, fresh from her starring role in a revival of the Gershwins’ Of colleagues, old friends, and fans Thee I Sing at Bard SummerScape, for which she received the following gathered at New York City’s Town Hall on 24 accolade from Charles Kondek of The Independent Online: “Actor/singers September 2008 to honor John Bolton (Wintergreen) and Amy Justman (Mary) are wonderful the remarkable legacy of together; perfectly paired, delivering broad but neatly modulated perfor- soprano Teresa Stratas in a mances.” In October, Justman soloed in gala event sponsored by the Leonard Bernstein’s Mass with the Baltimore Metropolitan Opera Guild. Symphony conducted by Marin Alsop with Host Paul Gruber of the performances at , in Baltimore, Guild interviewed Stratas and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, about her life and career D.C. and showed video clips San Francisco Chronicle critic Joshua from some of her legendary Kosman praised James Benjamin Rodgers performances, including (First Prize, 2007) for his July 2008 perfor- Stratas in trademark cap the landmark Met produc- Amy Justman mance in Albert Herring with the Merola tion of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. The Program of : “At the center of the production, hap- winner of the Kurt Weill Distinguished Achievement pily, was tenor James Benjamin Rodgers, giving a detailed and vocally Award in 1998 for her devotion to the music of Weill, resplendent performance in the title role. Rodgers, whose limpid tone and Stratas is an honorary trustee of the Kurt Weill impeccable diction matched his frail, slightly ethereal stage presence, Foundation and an esteemed advisor, and judge for the traced Albert’s metamorphosis in both theatrical and musical terms.” annual Lotte Lenya Competition. Rodgers will be presented in San Francisco Opera’s Schwabacher Debut Recital Series in March 2009. Since she won the most recent Lenya Competition in April, Rebecca Jo Angelika Kirchschlager at Wigmore Hall Loeb (First Prize, 2008) has appeared as Petra in A Little Night Music with (28 September 2008) the Boston Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart, both in Boston and at Tanglewood, and as Jenny in Tanglewood Music Center’s Mahagonny. In “Then came some Kurt Weill songs, which were as far September, Loeb joined 2007 winner Rodgers in a gala concert at the from Schubert as one could imagine. Kirchschlager Holocaust Memorial Center in Detroit. didn’t quite have the measure of the bitter and desper- Liam Bonner (Second Prize, 2005), the subject of a full-page profile in ate song ‘Je ne t’aime pas,’ but she plumbed the depths the September 2008 Opera News, sings two roles in the current Houston of the ‘Complainte de la Seine,’ which imagines all the Grand Opera season: Claudio in Berlioz’ Béatrice et Bénédict and tears and human wreckage lurking at the bottom of Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. that river. ‘Abschiedsbrief ’ was disillusioned, too, but in a humorous way. After Kirchschlager had sung her Prizes Increased for 2009 Lenya Competition caustic letter to the man who’d dumped her, she deliv- ered the punch-line—‘kiss my ass’—and stormed off, First, Second, and Third Prizes have been set at $15,000, $10,000, and to delighted applause.”—Ivan Hewett, The $5,000, respectively, for the 2009 Lotte Lenya Competition. In addition, Telegraph (30 September 2008) other special awards will be designated by the panel of judges, all distin- guished musical theater/opera professionals. The contest presents a one- of-a-kind opportunity for talented young singer/actors to illustrate their Die sieben Todsünden, Sacrum Profanum versatility in repertoire ranging from opera/operetta to contemporary Festival, Krakow (14 September 2008) Broadway scores, with a focus on the theater works of Kurt Weill. Artists born after 31 December 1976 and before 1 January 1990 may apply. “Last night Ute Lemper took her Krakow audience on Competition finals will be held on 18 April 2009 at the University of an amazing sentimental journey back to the Berlin of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, after regional auditions at Seattle the 1920s, launching the sixth annual Sacrum Pro- Opera (3 February 2009), the University of Kansas in Lawrence (18 fanum Festival. Lemper began the Festival with pa - February), the Eastman School of Music (21 February), the University of nache by singing Kurt Weill’s Die sieben Todsünden. . . Michigan in Ann Arbor (26 February), and Dicapo Opera Theater in New she was accompanied by the Sinfonietta Cracovia, con- York City (6, 7, and 8 March). Contestants who are unable to participate ducted by the great Marc Minkowski. Together, the in any of the scheduled regional auditions may instead submit a DVD, artists cast a spell on the audience.”—Joanna which must contain all four of the required repertoire selections. Finalists Werynska, Gazeta Krakowska (15 September selected from the five regional competitions and video submissions will 2008) each receive an award of $500, plus a stipend to offset travel costs to the “It opened with a spirited Kurt Weill evening, in which finals in Rochester. a totally unaffected Ute Lemper showed herself in top The application deadline is 19 January 2009; audition DVDs must be form with Die sieben Todsünden. Marc Minkowski con- received by 15 February 2009. Further information regarding competition ducted the Sinfonietta Cracovia with pep.”—Manuel rules, tips to contestants, and application forms are available at the web site Brug, Die Welt (15 October 2008) of the Kurt Weill Foundation (www.kwf.org) or by phone (212.505.5240). 4a Volume 26, Number 2 Topical Weill Round About Weill — 2009 Kurt Weill Fest

The seventeenth annual Kurt Weill Fest will take place in Dessau from 27 February to 8 March 2009, with Swedish jazz trombonist Nils Landgren as this year’s Artist-in- Residence. On opening night, the Anhaltisches Theater and Puppentheater Magdeburg will unveil a new puppet version of Die sieben Todsünden with soprano Ute Gfrerer singing Anna I (27 February); puppets also figure in an original musical work entitled The Seven Deadly Sins from Britain’s Tiger Lillies (1 March); and choreographer Gregor Seyffert’s 2007 hit, Tango Palace, will be revived on 7 March. Gfrerer can be seen again on 1 March in an all-Weill concert, One Life to Live, with pianist Christian Koch, and 2008 Lotte Music for a While Lenya Competition prizewinner Tora Augestad will front her ensemble Music for a While for an evening of Weill songs on 7 March. Baritone Alexander Franzen, who debuted the Unsung Weill songbook in the 2004 Bregenz Festival, appears in concert with pianist Jörg Daniel Heinzmann on 8 March. Later that evening, the MDR Symphony Orchestra will bring the festivities to a close with a performance of Symphony No. 2 led by conductor Ute Gfrerer Michael Sanderling. The Tiger Lillies

Spring Stagings 2009 Ravinia Festival

The acclaimed Opéra de Lyon/Théâtre de la Renaissance co-production of Lady in the The 2009 Ravinia Festival will spotlight Dark tours nine French cities (7 January–10 March). Director Jean Lacornerie and con- Weill in its “Breaking the Silence” series, ductor Scott Stroman continue the collaboration they began with Opéra de Lyon’s 2006 established by Music Director James . Conlon to Theater Augsburg premieres on 23 January, with eleven scheduled per- honor com- formances through 27 March. Martin Herrmann (Olim) and Michael Suttner (Severin) posers whose lead the cast; Manfred Meiß directs and Kevin John Edusei conducts. work was sup- Directors Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser, who staged Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt pressed by the Mahagonny at the 2007 Spoleto Festival USA, will reprise their work when the opera is Nazis. Tony co-produced by the Angers Nantes Opéra and Opéra de Lille in a seven-performance run. Award-win- Conductor Pascal Verrot leads Elzbieta Szmytka and Andrew Rees as Jenny and Jimmy in ner Patti Lu - news & news events three performances in Nantes (21, 24, 26 February), three in Angers (10, 12, 15 March), Pone joins and a final performance in Lille (3 April). Con lon and Also on 21 February, new productions of Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny pre- the Chicago Patti LuPone miere in Budapest and Erfurt, in a co-production with Opéra de Nancy (where perfor- Symphony Orchestra for The Seven mances took place in April 2007). The Erfurt artistic team is led by Ewald Donhoffer, Deadly Sins on 9 August 2009; the second conductor, and Philipp Himmelman, director; the cast includes Weill veterans Karan half of the program will consist of Armstrong (Begbick) and Robert Wörle (Fatty). Performances continue through 13 June. Symphonic Nocturne from Lady in the In the Hungarian Mahagonny, Gergely Kesselyák conducts and János Szikora directs; fur- Dark and Weill songs. The salute will also ther performances are 22 February; 3, 4, 12, and 13 March; 7 and 8 April. include a concert on 4 August featuring After performances in Strasbourg (24, 25 January), young artists of l’Opéra Studio de Mahagonny Songspiel. l’Opéra du Rhin travel to Colmar (5 February) and Mulhouse (20 February) to perform a double-bill of and Mahagonny Songspiel. Jean-Christian Daniel and Franck Gruber and Gfrerer Villard serve as director and conductor, respectively. A rare production of plays at Toronto Operetta Theater 20-22 Under the baton of HK Gruber, Ute February. Two extended-run Threepenny open in Southern California in February Gfrerer will sing the role of Anna I in as well: At Long Beach International City Theater on 17 February (through 22 March), two performances of Die sieben Tod- and at San Diego Repertory Theater (28 February–29 March; Sam Woodhouse directs). sünden with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln in Cologne (31 December 2008) and Essen (2 January 2009). On 9 and 10 Weill at Salzburg Easter Festival January Gruber and Gfrerer travel to Rennes for performances of the Marie Angelika Kirchschlager will join the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle, con- Galante Concert Suite with the ductor, in performances of Die sieben Todsünden on 7 and 11 April 2009. Orchestre de Bretagne. Topical Weill Volume 26, Number 2 5a news & eventsnews &

Lost for 80 Years, Weill’s First Stage Work Is Available Again

Kurt Weill Edition Publishes Zaubernacht (Magic Night)

After eighty years of obscurity, Kurt Weill’s first stage work is available again. Based on an orig- inal set of instrumental parts discovered at Yale University in 2006, the Kurt Weill Edition is releasing a critical edition of Zaubernacht. Weill composed this children’s pantomime in 1922, while he was a member of Ferruccio Busoni’s master class in composition in Berlin. Based on a scenario by Wladimir Boritsch (1891–1954), an elusive writer and impresario from Russia, the pantomime received its world premiere on 18 November 1922 at Berlin’s Theater am Kurfürstendamm, where it played for several performances. The work’s only other production occurred at New York City’s Garrick Theatre in December 1925, after which the orchestration disappeared.

Weill left the orchestral score behind when he fled Nazi Germany in March 1933. Boritsch had taken the instrumental parts to the when he prepared the Garrick Theatre’s pro- duction. After his death in 1954, his widow deposited the parts at Yale University, but the accession process was left incomplete due to a curator’s illness and a librarian who deposited Kurt Weill the materials in the wrong safe. In the 1960s, the safe, presumed empty, was moved to a base- ment, where it was soon forgotten. Two years ago, staff members at Yale discovered the safe, but a locksmith had to be called in because the combination was long lost. When opened, the safe revealed its sensational contents.

Zaubernacht is an hour-long stage work scored for an imaginative nine-piece ensemble consist- ing of flute, bassoon, percussion, piano, and five string players. The plot involves two children falling asleep in their bedroom. At midnight a fairy appears and awakens all the toys with her song, and the action unfolds from there, as the toys interact with the dreaming children in a series of follies and dances.

Edited by Elmar Juchem and Andrew Kuster, the publication of Zaubernacht closes a major gap in Weill’s published canon that ultimately comprised more than thirty stage works. Juchem’s introductory essay offers a host of new insights into this poorly documented phase of Weill’s early career. The next volumes in the Kurt Weill Edition, currently in production, are: Popular Adaptations, 1927–1950, edited by Charles Hamm; and Music with Solo Violin (Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra, op. 12, and Der neue Orpheus, op. 16), edited by Andreas Eichhorn. Wladimir Boritsch

Kurt Weill. Zaubernacht (Kurt Weill Edition, Series I, Volume 0). Edited by Elmar Juchem and Andrew Kuster (New York: Kurt Weill Foundation for Music; European American Music Corporation, 2008). Full score volume (224 pp.) and critical report volume (72 pp.). ISBN 978-0-913574-65-2 6 news & events a Kurt WeillKurt inExile only asdownloadable MP3files fromcdbaby.com), Trio Trikolore’s recordings, themBremnerDuthie’s among the samename( “SpeakLow” hisnew acool,jazz-inflected album on offers Scaggs of Boz Hall Konzert Weill of arrangements in theatrical songs Boz Scaggs anall-Englishalbum on ( Song” year. singer Englishopera The veteran Thomas Allen sings“September from aroundtheworld have CDreleasesthis recorded on hisevergreens Weill’sIllustrating theperennialfreshnessof songwriting, prominentartists New Recordings 2009 at aceremony at Staples CenterinLos Angeles, which willbebroadcastlive television. on inearly duringitsstageby run EuroArts 2007.GRAMMY Award 8February willbeannouncedon winners andfeaturing acastledby Conlon Anthony DeanGriffey, Patti LuPone, and wasrecordedAudra McDonald, Academy, thefive recording theonly among opera BestClassicalnominees. Recording forGRAMMY nominations BestOpera andBestClassical 2008byAlbum of The Recording The DVD Los of Angeles Opera’s Two GRAMMYAwardNominations for Opera News Opera News be mistaken for Kurt Weill.” ‘Tango Notturno,’ by Hans-OttoBorgmann,couldalmost thefirst track of andit’s fromtheopeningbars tion, clear thetangowithaCD compila- of tothesirensong respond IsabelBayrakdarian to isthelatest“Soprano artist classical Isabel Bayrakdarian: Records/Les DisquesSRCMVCD1176) In recent months several have talentednewcomers In recentmonths producedall-Weill (SPV Recordings, SPV78952). American singer/songwriter (September 2008) (September (private issue),and The Kurt Weill Project’s , DeccaB001202602). Tango Notturno Notturno Tango Orchester include four salon orchestra four salon include Orchester Berlin-based MaxRaabeandhisPalast Messer.” Returning territory, tofamiliar known song, theKnife/Mackie “Mack Weill’s of EMI 2162452)withversions best- his big-bandCD( Belgian popstarHelmut andends Lottibegins ( inanhomage toCathyrepertoire Berberian Silbersee from juxtaposesKammer selections singer/actressSalome CHAN 3155);German Salomix-Max vocal luster. .thetitletrack, ness, withsacrificing any firedoses of andworld-weari- Bayrakdarian bringsequal sinuous ‘Youkali,’ towhich andKurt Weill’suna Cabeza’ Carlos Gardel’s ‘Por classic flat. thestandoutsare Among with her. falls .Naryatrack that beingoodhands we’ll —Joshua Rosenblum, Sir ThomasAllen,Baritone Rise andFall Mahagonny theCityof of and Heute Nacht odernie:DasCarnegie , Wergoand 2); 6709 WER Bremner SingsWeill Helmut Lotti:TimetoSwing Helmut oue2,Nme Topical Weill Volume 26, Number2 (CBC Mahagonny Mahagonny with avant-garde subtext.” song,’ which thesong’s seedy, underscores desperate sexual duciel’andhis imaginativein thehaunting‘Letrain take ‘Alabama on for lively listeningthroughout,mostnotably techniques,Those electronic though,make pyrotechnics that accompany hisvocal. despitethesonic muchlacks distinction with theopening‘Lonely House,’ which mostnotably cabaretartist, as astruggling t’aime pas,’ but sometimeshecomesacross be lovely, especially intheliltingtango‘Je ne finesse.considerable . Teshin’s tenorcan Weill’s with various songwriting periodsof is different—moreasoundscape thanarecital,moving between tackling Weill artists and rock standards. Teshin’s though, approach, notably withtheCD‘LostinStars,’ which offerednumerous pop “Certainly Weill spinbefore, hasbeengiven acontemporary most A.J. Teshin: A SongaboutForever , Chandos (available Youkali: DVD —Robert Nesti, Der , The Kurt Weill Project Weill Kurt The Helmut Lotti Kammer (reviewed p. on 15),hasreceived Mahagonny (Consolidated (Consolidated Productions, CAP1011). Artists Edge Boston.com , conducted by James, conducted Sir ThomasAllen Max Raabe (18 August 2008) Topical Weill Volume 26, Number 2 7a Summer 2008 Stage Productions news & eventsnews &

Street Scene, Chautauqua Opera (15 and 18 August 2008)

After spring 2008 performances at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, Jay Lesenger’s staging of Street Scene traveled to Lesenger’s home base, the Chautauqua Opera in western New York. Two Manhattan School students, Carolyn Amaradio and Jacob Lewis Smith, were engaged to repeat their roles as the jitterbugging Dick McGann and Mae Jones. Reviewer Robert W. Plyler of the Jamestown Post Journal reported on the produc- tion: “The opera company has cast a generous sprinkling of wonderful voices and a number of talented area actors to join with Chautauqua’s fine young artists to tell the tale of lust, longing, and murder on the streets of New York City during the depths of the Great Depression. . . . Special praise is due to Susan Nicely as Emma Jones . . . there was an out- standing song and dance number by Carolyn Amaradio and Jacob Lewis Smith . . . The outstanding singing voices belonged to Richard Bernstein as the stagehand Frank, Brenda Harris as his wife, Deborah Selig as their daughter Rose, Eric Fennell as the Jewish boyfriend Sam, George Dvorsky as the lecherous employer of the daughter, and Peter Kazaras as the boyfriend’s father. . . . The star of the production was the startlingly realis- tic set by Steven Capone. Jay Lesenger directed, and the production had the perfect little touches which we have come to expect from his work. Jerome Shannon conducted the “Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed.” Jacob Lewis Smith and Chautauqua Opera Orchestra.” Carolyn Amaradio. Photo: Mark Anderson Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Tanglewood Music Center (9–11 August 2008)

“It was a major disappointment when emergency surgery forced James Levine to withdraw from most of his commitments at Tanglewood this summer, including a full production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, the 1930 opera by Kurt Weill and , performed by fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center. Fortunately, a top-notch substitute was all set to go: Erik Nielsen, a 31-year-old American conductor who has worked in Germany since 2001, most recently at the Frankfurt Opera. . . . The eager and accomplished cast was appealing over all, and Doug Fitch’s production made inventive use of basic scenic elements. But the highlight was Mr. Nielsen’s cool, incisive, and gripping conducting. He drew dynamic playing from the excellent orchestra and seemed at home in a challenging score that blurs distinctions between opera, musical theater, and 1920s German cabaret.”—Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times (12 August 2008)

“Leading the cast as the bitter, empty Jenny was Rebecca Jo Loeb, a very fine singing actress with mezzo credentials and a soprano-ish brightness, who had no problem handling the wide range of Weill’s lyrical tunes or conveying Brecht’s text. . . . Steven Ebel was strongly cast as the tragic hero Jimmy, and his lanky, twitchy, gee-whiz physicality and fresh, lyric voice added up to an affecting characterization.”—Judith Malafronte, Opera News Online (October 2008) Steven Ebel (Jimmy) and Rebecca Jo Loeb (Jenny) Photo: Hilary Scott “In Saturday’s opening performance, the young conductor did a commendable and utterly professional job in this high-profile substitution. From the outset he showed an instinctual feel for the thrust and bite of this tartly ironic music. That said, one might have wished him even more of the courage of his convic- tions, as the music would have benefited from a drier snap, and at times more rhythmic charge and momentum.”—Jeremy Eichler, The Boston Globe (11 August 2008)

“Christin-Marie Hill brought a gutsy mezzo to Mrs. Begbick, and Jonathan Beyer, as Trinity Moses, and Adam Sattley, as Jacob Schmidt, also did well. Without Levine, the one reminder of the Met’s production was the fine English translation by David Drew and Michael Geliot, but supertitles would have Jenny with the cast. Photo: Hilary Scott helped.”—Financial Times.com (12 August 2008) 8 news & events a Fleck, Stefan. “ Stefan. Fleck, http://www.hannseisler.net/index/documents/EislerTage2008Fasshauer.pdf Faßhauer, Tobias. “Abhängigkeit Kurt von biszurSelbstpreisgabe?Einflüsse Weill der von ‘Song Ware.’” inHannsEislers anische Instrument Aust, Brigitte. “.undderHaifisch der Jahrestag hat Zähne:Zumachtzigsten noch derUraufführung 2008.(Kurt WeillAmerican MusicCorporation, SeriesI,vol. 0) Edition, e Dreigroschenoper der Opera Fantasies for Violin Youkali: Weill Kurt inExile fifteen(includes Weill songs). Bremner SingsWeill A SongaboutForever WeillThe Kurt Project Records Jenny” “Saga HCD2502(includes of and“SingMeNotaBallad”). The1952Walden IraGershwin: Lyrics by Sessions Song”). “September Chandos CHAN3155(includes Sir ThomasAllen,Baritone “LostintheStars”). 94782 (includes Rainbow ’RoundMy Shoulder bin einearme Matrosen “Ich sagen,” Verwandte,” and“Surabaya-Johnny”). Salomix-Max Recordings, four SPV78952(includes Weill songs). HallKonzert Heute Nacht odernie:DasCarnegie Speak Low RECORDINGS One Touch Venus of Klassiker 872. Edition Die 3Groschenoper Der Kuhhandel VIDEOS ARTICLES Weill, Kurt. SCORES Davis, L. Ronald Calico, Joy H. Anstey, F. BOOKS New Publications Salzman, Ericand Thomas Desi. North Texas Press, 2008. Latham, Edward D. University Press, 2008. Everett, William A. andPaul R.Laird, eds. The TintedVenus , Boz Scaggs, “SpeakLow”). DeccaB001202602(includes , Boz Zaubernacht , SalomeKammer, etal., Wergo “WasWER 67092(includes dieHerren Brecht at theOpera , staged performance by, staged the performance Vienna Volksoper, David Pountney (dir.), 803. PhoenixEdition ChristophEberle(cond.), Die Dreigroschenoper Mary Martin, Broadway Legend Martin, Mary , German andFrench film, German of directedby versions G.W. Pabst (1931)withsupplementarymaterial, Absolut Medien 34, no. 102(August 2008),pp. 17–21. , film Republic version, Pictures, distributed by Lionsgate. ). , Bremner Duthie (vocals), Stan Cramer (piano),available, BremnerDuthie(vocals), StanCramer only asdownloadable MP3files fromcdbaby.com , The Kurt Weill Project,Consolidated Productions, eleven CAP1011(includes Artists Weill songs). Tonality inFour asDrama:ClosureandInterruption Twentieth-Century AmericanOperas , A.J. Teshin, twelve etal.,LMLMusicCD-231(includes Weill songs). , ed.ElmarJuchem and Andrew Kuster. New York: Kurt Weill Foundation for Music;New York: European , Livia Sohn (violin), Benjamin Loeb (piano), Naxos 8.570202 (includes first, Livia (piano),Naxos 8.570202(includes Sohn (violin),BenjaminLoeb movement of , volume 2, Philharmonia Orchestra, David Parry (cond.), “Opera inEnglish: Great David “Opera Operatic (cond.), Orchestra, Parry series,, volumeArias” 2,Philharmonia . Illustratedby Bernard Partridge. UnitedKingdom:DodoPress, 2008.(Reprint.) , Trio Trikolore, private nineteen issue(includes Weill songs). , Barbara Cook(vocals), Lee Musiker, Barbara DRG (cond.), Records . Berkeley: California Press, University of 2008.(California Studiesin20th-CenturyMusic, no. 9) The NewMusicTheater: SeeingtheVoice, HearingtheBody Drehorgel.” Drehorgel.” The Cambridge CompaniontotheMusical oue2,Nme Topical Weill Volume 26, Number2 Das mechanische Instrument . Norman: University of OklahomaPress, University of 2008. . Norman: , Nancy , Nancy Walker, LouiseCarlyle (vocals), David Harbinger Baker (arrangements), , MaxRaabe&, SPV 34, no. 102,(August 2008),pp. 22–32. . 2nd edition. Cambridge;New . 2ndedition. York: Cambridge . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Dreigroschenoper . Denton: University of . Denton: Sieben Stücke nach .” .” Das mech-