Customer Reviews

Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's "The Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny" is not only one of the most important operas of the twentieth century, it is also one of my personal top ten on a 'desert island' list. The music is exciting and adventurous, melodic, frantic, descriptive, beautiful, harsh and absolutely unforgettable.

On my first day of video shopping, after purchasing a DVD player, I saw this brand new release of the 1998 Salzburg Festival production directed well by Peter Zadek, conducted brilliantly by Dennis Russell Davies. The latter obviously has a true affinity for Weill's music: his recording of the ballet "The Seven Deadly Sins," featuring Marianne Faithful, is certainly one of the best available.

The quality of the picture and the sound on this DVD is, naturally, top notch. The question, however, must be raised as to whether television cameras are really all that helpful in a medium like opera where the singers sometimes distort their faces and bodies in order to produce the correct tone. This must be especially strange for a viewer coming to opera for the first time via television tapes or DVD's. Although the leading performers in this "Mahagonny" all have the acting chops to make their characters true and honest and exciting, they also must be true to the music and so we have many close-ups of their faces which, to be honest, are simply unflattering to the point of grotesquery.

Gwyneth Jones, as 'Leocadia Begbick, is still a beautiful woman, but, since her best career years are behind her, she can no longer handle alot of Weill's music and, thus, resorts to growling; Jerry Hadley as 'Jimmy Mahoney' acts and sings well enough but Catherine Malfitano is, I'm afraid, too mature in voice and body, to play a convincing 'Jenny.' Two other of the major roles are played by singer-actors who would do this piece proud anywhere: Dale Deusing as 'Pennybank Bill' and Udo Holdorf as 'Jake Schmidt.'

The designs for Salzburg are evocative, although they seemed to dwarf the actors at times (certainly they are more fitting than the ones used presently by the Metropolitan Opera in New York), the chorus sings well and acts adequately, although I question the use of full nudity. Was this really necessary to convey the sense of a brothel when the music and libretto do so already? The Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna plays this difficult, wonderful score magnificently under Dennis Russell Davies. I also wanted to commend the uncredited fight director. The extended fight scene in Act 2, is one of the best and most realistic of any theatrical fight I've witnessed.

Right from the get go Dennis Russell Davies has the orchestra playing with
a fine "Weill" sound - clean and intense with impressive brass playing as
the strings chug-chug away. The very opening bars of Mahagonny (especially
when played this well) can really get me going on the ride.

Immediately we're introduced to a hot, doe-eyed announcer who saunters on
and off before each scene and before we know it we're being introduced to
our three fugitives from justice. As Trinity Moses, the pinstriped Wilbur
Pauley is long and lean and looks just "too cool" sporting the sharpest
sideburns in the biz. R. Cornelius Smith is his complete physical opposite
and together they make a great comedy team while pouring out vocal gold.
Dame Gwyneth appears with her trademark hair and looking hard as nails.
Vocally, her Begbick is worn and the wobble is now so large as to have
become a thing of wonder. Still, she sings with great conviction and turns
in a gutzy, biting, scathing and memorable performance.

Peter Zadek's production is nothing short of astounding with sets from
Richard Peduzzi and lurid costuming by Norma Moriceau. The set, beginning
as blank walls colored only by lighting, grows with each scene reaching its
apotheosis as a 30's Holly set of a Babylon movie complete with life sized
statutes of elephants and is most impressive.

Zadek trusts his actors and they in turn seem to trust him right back all
giving inspired performances, down to tiny touches that make all the
difference. An example: Begbick, kicking back into relaxation states how
the new city will be all relaxation, no work for anyone. Yet, as she
mentions this the reality is Moses and Fatty are sweating their asses off
hauling her cargo with all the zeal of a prison work release hand assigned
to paint a factory or clean out a pig sty. Irony, lies, contradiction and
self deception all go hand in hand in Mahagonny.

As Jenny, Catherine Malfitano's wide vibrato nearly puts her in Dame
Gwyneth's camp, but like Dame Gwyneth here is a consummate operatic
actress, investing everything with passion and she fills the role of Jenny
from teeth to toes.

The quartet of ax-swinging lumberjacks invests the opera with even
more "real" fun. Weill and Brecht have created this foursome with such
craft and inspiration it's impossible not to fall in love with these guys.
One also can't help fearing for their wellbeing as Begbick welcomes them,
trapping them into her spider web Mahagonny.

Marco complains about the ugly voice of Jerry Hadley. I can't agree. It's
not a "beautiful" voice, but here is a characterization and development of
a role which succeeds on every other level. I've never been a big fan of
the tenor's, but he gives such a gutsy, mindboggling performance and he
really SINGS the role as opposed to some of the Herodes-style barking I've
heard passing for Jimmys in the past. The voice sounds free and sizeable
and is deployed with an abandon I'm not used to hearing from this singer.
Hadley also gives a physical performance that is hard to believe: jumping
from table to table, flinging furniture, dancing with his axe, falling from
platforms, slapping whores' asses and dancing his very big heart out. I
had to make sure it was Hadley!

The scene where Jimmy tries to leae Mahagonny is a most powerful one. The
boys in peppermint stripes the scene turns into a gay-90's barbershop
quartet before Jimmy jumps into the pit and into the aisles with enough
energy I wouldn't be surprised if he had callbacks for Cabaret . . . or
Grease!

Former lister (or is he?) Udo Holdorf is hilarious as Jakob Schmidt,
receiving encouragement and cheers as he glutonously prepares to eat his
3rd calf in a row before. The cheers continue until, meat hanging out of
his mouth, poor Jakob . . . well, you know . . .

There is much to enjoy here: the boxing match (gruwesome and hilarious)
between Trinity and Joe; "Pirate Jenny" with Malfitano atop the billiards
table (some interesting symbolism here), a touching "Crane Duet" and Dale
Duesing's performance as Pennybank Bill showing why he's one of the very
best of American Singers - taking a rather small, ensemble role and
creating a genuinely memorable character that touches the heart.

I'm not sure what other videos/DVDs are available of Mahagonny . . . but
they'll have to go a long way before they can touch this one.

Highly recommended.

This is a very enjoyable production. Although some people may not like some of the actions on the stage, I think they're necessary because the Salzburg stage is simply so large! Besides, they're mostly very appropriate. Jerry Hadley and Catherin Malfitano are excellent leads and they've got excellent support from Gwyneth Jones, Cornelius Smith and Wilbur Pauley. This is the kind of epic theatre envisaged by Brecht and Weill. The picture and sound qualites are very good.

Although Mahagonny is the probably the grandest of all of Weill and Brecht's collaborations, the Salzburg stage is still a few size too large for any production of this opera. With the help of Peter Peduzzi's simple but gigantic sets, the director, Peter Zadek, tried to fill the stage with quite an amount of action, hoping (not quite successfully at the end) to fill the void. That this recording on DVD makes more enjoyable home-viewing than expected has, to a very large extent, to do with the judicious video direction of Brian Large, who is clever enough to focus the cameras on the interaction between the main characters so that the viewer's concentration will not be distracted by all those flimsy business going on around them.

Among the cast assembled for this festival production, Jerry Hadley stands out as Jim Mahoney. The tenor plays the part with obvious relish, and while he may be belting out at times (excusable given the vast venue of the performance), he sings with ardour and also appears to believe in every word that he utters. This is in every way a dramatically compelling and vocally exciting assumption. Opposite him, Catherine Malfitano also immerses herself totally into the role of Jenny. Yet, the camera is rather unkind to her in a couple of scenes and she suffers from some intonation problem from time to time. Nevertheless, she and Hadley make a fine pair and their duets exude a sense of intimacy, which is all the more welcome in this large-scale production.

The role of Leokadja Begbick is perhaps not too suitable for Dame Gwyneth Jones, for the vocal line lies too low for her. Her voice sounds rather worn at this register, even though she tries hard to make every word tell. Nevertheless, both her handsome stage presence and acting ability have not diminished by the passing years and she is particularly vivid in the Act I drinking scene and the Act III trial scene. Roy Cornelius Smith is a vocally luscious Fatty and Wilbur Pauley offers an imposing yet obnoxious Trinity Moses - a piece of excellent characterisation. Udo Holdorf, Dale Duesing and Harry Peeters are a fine team of friends for Hadley, and Toby Spence is a young-sounding (and looking) Toby Higgins. On the whole, the standard of acting in this performance, taped "live" during the 1998 Salzburg Festival (with curtain calls included at the end), is very good indeed.

In the pit, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Dennis Russell Davies (all dressed in casual clothes, which contrast sharply with the bejewelled Salzburg audience) gives a fine and energetic performance of the score which is both epical in scope and rich in detail. The picture quality of the DVD is very good, but the sound, especially that from the orchestra, is slightly diffused. While there are some imperfections in the performance, this DVD recording does make enjoyable viewing, and can be warmly recommended in particular as there are, at the time of writing, no rival sets of this work on the new audio-visual format.

This DVD is about the worst 'video' of a live stage production I have seen in years. The singing is fine enough, the costumes and set design are very fine enough (what we actually see of them!) Mr. Brian Large who has a long list of Directing for Video numerous stage productions seems to here, at least, take no regard to what is actually happening on the stage. He and his camera crew are obsessed with capturing every singer in full head and shoulder CLOSE UP. No matter what drama is going on the vast stage of the salzburg theater, he is showing every singer in continuous in- your- face Close Ups. (very often the cameras are not even catching up to the moving actors....but you see them moving out of the frame, or missing the target all together)
He even treats us to loving shots of the BACKS of the heads of the chorus !!!
This is VERY TOUGH GOING.... Sad. It won't help to turn the picture OFF and just listen. Several singers sound very off-mic. Oh, and you have to like hearing them stomp around the stage, cause the floor mics seem to work more than fine for the singers foot steps. So, If you are looking for that 'You Are There' experience of being in the expansive, dramatic,Salzburg and hearing a huge orchestra ...... you are out of luck here. Don't buy it.
I cant even watch the second half of this . Totally ruined by Brian Large. How does this man find work??? (To try and convey the amount of damage that his camera work has done to this production.........here is his name in CLose Up
for this review: " N L "

I wish I could get a DVD of the New York Metropolitan Opera version done around 1978 and broadcast on PBS Live From the Met. That one, sung in English, blows this one away. But still, the Salzburg version is better than none at all!

Despite the obscenely socialist/existential "theology" behind "Mahagonny," still...it's my very favorite opera, even more entertaining than "Dialogues Of The Carmelites" or "Aida." And that w***ehouse piano solo at the very beginning of Act 15, still, thirty years after initially experiencing "Mahagonny," makes me completely STOP what I'm concurrently "doing" and just LISTEN. Kind of like "Gimme Shelter"..."Birdland"...or "Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay," for a couple of examples. I'll neither reiterate nor disagree with what any of my fellow reviwers have mentioned here - except I reckon I'll have to wait till Judgement Day or shortly thereafter to hear "Mahagonny" with Teresa Stratas as Jenny: the DEFINITIVE Jenny!

Kurt Weill's opera shows all the worst about humanity: greed, exploitation and an absence of caring. Its message is "you can't buy happiness," and "carpe diem."

The performance is quite good. Jerry Hadley simply bursts with energy as Jimmy Mahoney--he's just right, and keeps the story flowing for the entire production. Catherine Malfitano does a masterful job of singing and acting the role of Jenny Smith. Unfortunately, as other reviewers have noted, the camera just comes in too close, making us wish she had recorded this a decade or so earlier. With my deep appreciation for her acting and singing talents, I really hate to say that, but Jenny is supposed to be a young girl, and this is just pushing it too far.

You will absolutely devour the scene of "Fatty" as he devours meat and more meat to illustrate the human trait of gluttony for more and more out of life. Roy Cornelius Smith has set the benchmark for this role.

Dennis Russell Davies keeps the pep and energy going constantly, to make this a typical "always-on-the-move" Weil performance.

The nudity may offend some but it is appropriate for this well-done Weill.

I couldn't wait to see this DVD. I love Weill and I was expecting some terrific stuff. The singing was quite good, but the staging fell flat.

First the singing. Jones was quite good and made me think of Lauren Bacall with her sultry approach to her role. Malfitano is particulary interesting as an older Jenny. I have seen reviewers criticize her in this role for taking it on at her age,...she fits the part quite well.

The rest of the cast is quite good and the acting is excellent, particularly from Wilbur Pauley and Roy Cornelius Smith. Jerry Hadley as Jimmy Mahoney is technically very good.

Given this terrific cast, I was amazed at how unimpressed I was with the production. The first act staging had some interesting moments, particularly with the placement of Jones, Pauley, and Duesing. However, the drab colors and the lack of a sense of the feel of the natural setting of the American South (if indeed this is the place where the set designer intended this production to be set) made the opera seem more depressing that I think Weill intended. It seemed to exist in a dingy corner of the world. Certainly Mahagonny was one such place, but in Weill's mind, it existed in the tropical (indeed, even with hurricanes) American South.

The second act and the final death of Mahoney scene staging were equally uninteresting. Even several naked women couldn't brighten up the stage. The Statue of Liberty at the end was comical to this American who was watching the rich in Germany watch an opera about America--a bit obvious of a cliche don't you think?

My recommendation is to turn the TV off and turn the surround sound up.

Known in English as "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny", Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny by Kurt Weill rates among the worst of the Euro-trash operas. Though Weill has had occasional lapses of reasonable music that he has written, his ideologic drive for communism has clouded his thinking and produced a piece of trash that would not survive the kindest of the Soviet years. To be fair to this opera, I will critique separately 1) the musical performance, 2) the stage performance, and 3) the opera itself. First, the musical performance was not too badly performed. The only problem is that there was little the was overtly demanding, including no demands on the singer, save to sing weird, no lengthy segments, no music that could even be thought of as likable. The stage performance represented a complete lapse of ingenuity. Isn't one tired of the suitcase on stage motif carried by a Zoot-suited individual, now found in just about every European opera production? I could wax eloquent about how virtually every scene lacks in creative imagination. The minimalist staging suggested that the producer really didn't care enough for the opera to put much into it. And, that is quite understandable, because it was not an opera to enjoy or appreciate as a work of art. Brecht (via Weill) at the end of the opera spewed out a vindictive against capitalism, the stage designers and Brecht not-so-subtly implying that the greatest sinners of their communistic ideology are the Americans. A leading character named Jimmy is sentenced to death for a lack of money. I presume that Weill was attempting to make some sort of profound statement against greed and monetary avarice, but he fails dismally. Any thinking person finds the philosophical statements of this opera to be poorly developed non-sequitors with a forced conclusion, believed only by Brecht and Weill, and perhaps a few of the performers and audience. Such go the warm and fuzzy statements of the new art, promoting the warm and fuzzy sentiments of the new philosophy and the new politic. It's one thing to have wasted one's money renting this opera, but even a worse crime to have wasted one's time watching it.