KURT WEILL NEWSLETTER Volume 6, Number 1 Spring 1988 R ise and Fall in the City of Angels The Los Angeles Music Center Opera will open its third season with Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny in September 1989. The production marks the first collaboration be­ tween the Los Angeles group and the Lyon Opera, whose newly appointed conductor, Kent Nagano, will lead the orchestra. This season, Nagano conducted the Lyon Opera Orchestra for Maguy Marin's elaborate pro­ duction of Die sieben Todsunden. Director Jonathan Miller and designer Robert Israel, acclaimed for their work on the 1987-88 Los Angeles stagings of Tristan und Isolde and Prokofiev's The Fi,ery Angel, will head the production team. Soprano Anna Steiger and tenor Gary Bachlund will lead the cast. CBS Reissues Lenya on CD CBS Masterworks will be reissuing Lenya's recordings of Die Dreigroschenoper andAufstiegund Fall der Stadt Mahagonny on compact disc this summer. In addition, Lenya's recording of Happy End will be cou­ pled with Die sieben Todsu_nden on CD and The Eternal Road, Opening Scene. Documents from the Weill-Lenya Research Center are highlighted in a feature article beginning on page 10. another CBS reissue will feature her per­ formances of the Berlin and American Thea­ ter Songs. Originally made in the 1950's, all IN THIS ISSUE recordings of the stage works feature Wilhelm Bruckner-Riiggeberg as conductor. Future Foundation in Profile by Mario Mercado ............................ ...... 6 CD releases will include reissues of the origi­ From the Archives: Retracing The E ternal Road by David Farneth . .... ..... 10 nal Broadway cast recording of Street Scene, featuring Anne Jeffreys, Polyna Stoska, Brian Columns Sullivan, and Maurice Abravanel, conductor, Letters: Richard Taruskin Answers David Drew . 3 as well as the recording of excerpts from Lady I Remember: Reflections from a New Home by Lys Symonette. 9 in the Dark with Rise Stevens, Adolph Green, New Publications ........................... .................... .... .. 14 and John Reardon, with Lehman Engel, con­ From the Archives: Recent Acquisitions ........... .... .. ... .. ... .. 15 ductor. Press Clippings . .. ....... ....................................... .. ... .. 26 Selected Performances . .. .. ... .. ........... ........................... 27 Lady Sings in Scotland Books ...... ....... ... ... .. .. ... ... .. ... .. .. ... .. .. ... ....... 16 On 31 August 1988 John Mauceri will con­ Bertolt Brecht: Chaos, According to Plan by J ohn Fuegi; Opera for a New Repub­ duct the Scottish Opera Orchestra and Cho­ lic: The Zeitopern of Krenek, Weill and Hindemith by Susan C. Cook; Bertolt rus in a concert performance of Lady in the BrechtlKurt Weill, Die Dreigroschenoper. Igor Stravinsky, The Rake's Progress: Dark at Usher Hall, as part of the Edinburgh Texte, Materialien, Kommentare edited by A. Csampai and D. Holland; The Thea­ Festival. T he full score, orchestral parts, and tre Art of Boris Aronson by Frank Rich with Lisa Aronson; Gershwin by Edward piano-vocal score, newly edited by David J ablonski Loud from Weill's manuscripts and the origi­ nal orchestra parts, have been prepared in Performances .. ............. ....................................... 20 cooperation with the Rodgers and Ham­ Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt M ahagonny in Buenos Aires; Der neue Orpheus in New merstein Theater Library under a grant from York; Die sieben Todsunden in Dresden; War Play in Boston; Happy End in the National Endowment for the Arts. With a Calgary; Knickerbocker Holiday in Munster book by Moss Hart and lyrics by Ira Gersh­ win, Lady in the Dark, one of Weill's most Recordings . .. ... .. .. ... ... .. ..... .. .. .... ................ ...... 25 successful American stage works, awaits a Kleine Dreigroschenmusik Phillip Jones Brass Ensemble major reviv?,) in the U.S. NEWS IN BRIEF nan), Jeannette Scovotti (Greta Fiorentino), Decca Announces Bengt Rundgren (Carl Olsen), Grace Hoffman Weill Recording Project (Emma J ones), Brett Hamilton (George Send Us Your Trivia Ray Minshull, executive vice-president of Jones), Angelo Marenzi (Lippo Fiorentino), About Threepenny Opera Decca International, has announced that the Syble Young (Nursemaid), Elizabeth Eaton record company, which owns the Decca and (Nursemaid). The concert performances will The next issue (FaU 1988) of the London labels, and is part of the PolyGram be given in English with reduced dialogue de­ Kurt Weill Newsletter will celebrate the group, plans to produce and release a long­ livered by the actors Holger Hagen and Linda 60th anniversary· of Die Dreigro­ term series of recordings of works by Kurt Joy. Synopses in German will precede each schenoper, which premiered on 31 Au­ WeiU. Decca's letter of intent to the Founda­ act. Donald Arthur will direct and Jan gust 1928 at the Theater am Schiff­ tion stipulates that "the overriding concern for Latham-Konig conduct. The performance in bauerdamrn in Berlin. the entire project is its integrity"; thus Decca Duisburg is part of a year-long international Two pages of the issue will be de­ is committed to recording, in most cases for arts festival "Charles Ives und die amerikan­ voted to "Trivia About Threepenny." the first time, authentic performances, with­ ische Musik." Readers are invited to send anecdotes, out transpositions or other musical altera­ The Scottish Opera will co-produce Street observances, statistics, etc., which tions. Although the series will focus on the Scene with the English National Opera in they feel will be of interest to the read­ stage works, it will also include a number of 1989. David Poutney will provide the stage ership of the Newsletter. Authors ofaU Weill's orchestral and chamber works. direction, and John Mauceri will lead the per­ published contributions will be cred­ Under the supervision of producer Michael formances of the Scottish National Opera and ited. Haas, the first five years of the projected se­ share the conducting responsibilities at the Apart from reviews, the issue will be ries of compact discs will include Die Drei­ ENO. The Scottish Opera production will devoted exclusively to articles about groschenoper, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt open on 23 May 1989 at Glasgow and run for Di.e Dreigroschenoper, including its var­ Mahagonny, lady in the Dark, Happy End, five performances until 1 June. A tour fol­ ious translations, adaptations, and Marie Galante, Di.e siebe-n Tods(bzden, Der lows: 8 June at Liverpool, 14 and 16 June at manifestations. Anyone interested in Weg der Verheissung, Street Scene, Die Newcastle-upon-Tyne, returning to Scotland contributing an article for the issue is Burgschaft, Der Zar liisst sich photograph­ on 23 June for a performance at the 1989 invited to contact the editor to discuss ier,m, Der Protagonist, and the Mahagonny Edinburgh Festival. The English National possible topics. Songspiel. Also planned are several re­ Opera Street Scene bows on 11 October at the cordings featuring Ute Lemper singing songs London Coliseum, with performances by Kurt Weill; the first of these will be re­ through 25 November. These events fulfill corded in West Berlin in August 1988 and rel­ hopes WeiU expressed in a letter to Max KURT WEILL NEWSLETTER Dreyfus in 1947: "I wanted to give [Street eased on one of Decca's affiliated pop labels. VoJ. 6, No. 1 Spring 1988 The series will be produced in association Scene] to Boosey & Hawkes because with them I would have been sure of the kind of with VEB/Deutsche SchaUplatten in the Ger­ © 1988 Kurt Weill Foundation for Music man Democratic Republic and RIAS in West standard exploitation which this score caUs for: an English production (Covent Garden) 7 East 20th Street Berlin. The principal conductors will be New York, NY 10003-1106 Herbert Kegel and John Mauceri. All except and performances in European opera (212) 260-1650 Lemper's solo albums will utilize Weill's origi­ houses." nal orchestrations and arrangements. Street Scene is enjoying revivals at univer­ MCI Mail 296-6674 Decca has announced the casts of both Die sities in far-flung locales this year. The Uni­ Dreigroschenoper (1988) and A 1ifstieg und Fall versity of Nebraska mounted a production in The Newsletter is published to provide an open der Stadt Mahagonny (1989). The cast of the February, and the Queensland Conservatory forum wherein interested readers may express a former will feature famous performers of the in Brisbane, Australia will put up its produc­ variety of ideas and opinions. The opinions ex­ most varied backgrounds: Rene KoUo will tion for eight performances, 1- 9 September. pressed herein do not necessarily reflect the pub­ sing Macheath, Ute Lemper Polly, Milva lisher's official viewpoint. The editor encourages Jenny, Helga Demesch Mrs. Peachum, and Anderson and Play wrights the submission of artides, reviews, and news items Wolfgang Reichmann Mr. Peachum. In con­ for inclusion in future issues. The submission dead­ Company featured in Exhibition line for the next issue is 1 September 1988. trast, Mahagonny will be cast throughout with opera singers: Josephine Barstow as Jenny, An exhibition entitled "Maxwell Anderson Helga Dernesch as Begbick, Rainer Goldberg and the Playwrights Company" wiU open in as Jimmy, Gunther Reich as Moses, Peter David Farneth, Editor the Astor GaUery, New York Public Library at Mario R. Mercado, Associate Editor Haage as Jacob Schmidt, and Heinz Zednik as Lincoln Center, on 20 June and run until 25 James Lynch, Production Assistant and Fatty. Casts for other recordings have not August. Dorothy Swerdlove, head of the li­ Typesetting yet been finalized. brary's Billy Rose Theatt:e Collection, will If the initial release of sixteen CDs is suc­ serve as curator. The founding members of Board of Trustees cessful, Decca intends to continue the series the Playwrights Company, an ensemble of Kim Kowalke, President until virtually the entire Weill catalogue has writers and creative talent founded by Ander­ Henry Marx, Vice-President been recorded. son in 1938, included Elmer Rice, Robert E. Lys Symonette, Vice-President Guy Stem, Secretary Street Scene Around the World Sherwood, Sidney Howard, and S. N. Behr­ Milton Coleman, Treasurer man.