Customer Reviews

Speak Low (Songs by Kurt Weill) & The Seven Deadly Sins [Die Sieben Todsunden] ~ von Otter

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS is such a brilliant mini-masterpiece (and, to me, the pinnacle of the Brecht-Weill years) that it is hard to screw up. It is a testament to the staying power of this work (and to the brilliance of Weill's music in general) that it can be performed by the likes of Lotte Lenya, Julia Migenes, Ute Lemper, Judy Kaye, Marianne Faithfull, Teresa Stratas, and -- as here -- Anne Sofie von Otter, and STILL work... and EACH of these women are totally successful in the piece on their own terms.

Here, Anne Sofie von Otter gives us an intelligent (and highly musical) rendering of the text, keeping the musical line very much intact. She sings with vibrato at times, and then will turn around and use straight-tones at moments where it is dramatically appropriate to do so. She balances the performance well, shifting gears between cool detachment (which she is often criticized for) and impassioned outbursts (which her critics often fail to notice).

John Eliot Gardiner surprised me with how easily this music seemed to come to him, especially as he seems to be a man more at home with "Period-Instrument-Mozart" than highly charged 20th century works. However, his reading of "The Rake's Progress" by Stravinsky was totally staggering. For example, his choice beginning the climactic moment of the score ("Envy") as slowly as he does caught me very much off guard at first, and I didn't really care for it at all. However, with each successive listen, I find myself "getting" this choice more and more.

Finally, the "filler." As to be expected, she is more successful with the European material than she is with the songs from Weill's Broadway years. But this is the case with about 99.9% of all opera singers who try to sing Weill's Broadway scores. You will never hear any singer give "Je ne t'aime pas" a more hauntingly beautiful, passionately intense performance than Anne Sofie von Otter. Truly, the ultimate interpretation of one of my favorite Weill songs. "Nannas Lied," "Der Abschiedsbrief," and the HAPPY END selections. However, "My Ship" and "One Life to Live" seem to fail at catching fire -- the former because it is marred by an attempt to sound like a "pop singer," the latter because von Otter sings English better than native speakers (she knows where the ACTUAL emphasis in the phrase "nothing: the thing is to have fun" goes, as opposed to where Ira Gershwin placed it). I also -- surprisingly enough -- don't care for her performance of "Schickelgruber" -- she just seems totally lost to me. (I really think that this song is foreign territory to 'legit' sopranos and mezzos -- I don't even care for the Stratas rendition.) Just when I thought I would have to suffer through another bad batch of "opera-crossover," Anne Sofie turned around and surprised me by giving highly successful performances of the numbers from ONE TOUCH OF VENUS (especially on "I'm Stranger Here Myself").

All in all, a worthy purchase: highly recommended to all fans of THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS and Kurt Weill enthusiasts.

This outstanding singer has done a lot of marvelous work, including works by unfamiliar Swedish composers, songs of Korngold and Mahler, and recently a disc of songs by Cecile Chaminade. (And let's not forget her outing with Elvis Costello!)

This Weill disc is perhaps more familiar territory, but striking for the utterly intelligent singing on display. I recently heard her perform some of these songs live in recital, and they were the highlight of an afternoon that was chock-full of great moments. Yes, she has a fantastic instrument. But what distinguishes her from many others is her musical instinct - her ability to interpret, her impeccable phrasing, her total confidence in performing.

As just one example, listen to how she shapes "Surabaya, Johnny," bringing out its longing and sadness without a trace of excess. It is poignant without being maudlin. The beautiful "My Ship" sounds as effortless as if it had been written for her.

Other versions of "The Seven Deadly Sins" have been hits; Teresa Stratas and Ute Lemper's outstanding versions come to mind, and these singers are also great actresses. But for sheer vocal artistry, von Otter is hard to beat. Suave accompaniment also, by John Eliot Gardiner and the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, and clear, natural sound. Totally engaging.

I've always found Ms. von Otter to be a very classy, intelligent singer. When I first bought this CD about six months ago, I was primarily interested in hearing the soprano version of "Seven Deadly Sins." Suffice it to say that this recording puts both the work and von Otter in the upper brackets of the classical music world. She sings with panache, ease, and lovely tone. Her pronunciation of each language she sings in is flawless (I challenge anyone to listen to her English and not think she could be a native speaker). On some of the songs, she betters Stratas and Lenya. I've fallen in love (so to say) with Ms. von Otter because of this recording, and have rediscovered my love for Weill's music. Give yourself a treat and get this disc.

Weill, and particularly anything Brecht-Weill, has suffered for too long with interpertations based on tired ham theatrics, burlesques of Lenya's style, to the point where we have come to expect it as the only way to sing this music. Lenya herself is said, late in life, to have commented that a better singer (specifically Stratas at that time) would be more appropriate for properly interpreting Weill's music.

Here, after countless CD releases of the Seven Deadly Sins, is the first recording sung in the key the composer originally intended! The result is relevatory, sublime and magnificent.

Ms. Von Otter interprets the rest of the songs with mixed results--all are lovely, several are excellent, though several others have been handled better by singers with more "theatrical" talents. Nevertheless, this recording stands alone, head and shoulders above the others.

Anne Sofie von Otter does have a magnificent voice and Kurt Weill had an uncanny sense of melody. Between the two of them this recording is one of the most enjoyable discs around. The songs are great fun, especially "Schickelgruber", "Stranger", and the Gershwin bits. The "7 Deadly Sins" are a sinful delight (please excuse the disgusting pun) and the orchestra playing is very nice indeed. All in all a best buy.

`Speak Low Songs by Kurt Weill' is a great addition to the performances of Herr Weill's works by the prominent mezzo-soprano, Anne Sofie Von Otter. I have listened to many performances by Weill specialists from the archetype, Weill's wife, Lotte Lenys, for whom many of the songs were originally written to Ute Lemper and Gisela May, who lean heavily toward Lotte Lenya's gravel-voiced interpretation of Weill's songs.

Anne Sofie Von Otter breaks with this tradition and gives us what are easily the sweetest interpretations of Weill's songs from both his German and English works, which I have heard anywhere.

The flagship performance on this disc is `Die Sieben Todsunden' (`The Seven Deadly Sins') which was a cycle of songs to be sung on the stage, accompanied by dances done by a second performer. This takes the first nine (9) tracks and is at least as good as what I have heard from Weill specialist, Lemper. This album is the first time I have noticed that there are two versions of this work, and that Ms. Von Otter is performing the version for soprano.

But, I think the most moving performances come later, especially in von Otter's performances of the three numbers from `Happy End', `Bilbao-Song', `Surabaya-Johnny', and `Das Lied von der harten Nuss' (Song of the Big Shot). I have heard these done by many people, but never so sweetly. These numbers are so lovingly performed that I insist that you ignore the fact that the lyrics are in German. The accompanying booklet gives English translations, which I simply ignore and enjoy the musical talent with no filter. My understanding German has nothing to do with this, as I do the same with French, which I can just barely make out.

Kurt Weill may not be the most important influence on American musical theatre in the 20th century, but he is easily in the top five, along with the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and collaborators, and Cole Porter.

Ms. Von Otter is ably accompanied on this disk by her favorite pianist, Bengt Forsberg plus the Norddeutch Rundfunk orchestra directed by John Eliot Gardiner. While I really like her selection on this disk, the collection makes me wish Ms. Von Otter would do some more Weill and spend less time hanging out with Elvis Costello, but that's a different story.

This is a very nice selection of Weill pieces showing the full range of his output. These range from the ambitious Seven Deadly Sins to songs from Happy End to some of his Broadway work. All are very interesting. The performers, particularly Von Otter, are excellent. Recommended strongly.

Anne Sophie von Otter has a fantastic voice and makes one wish there were more than just seven deadly sins and seven big cities to visit. Other highlights are the CD title song, "Speak Low," as well as "My Ship;" Von Otter puts wonderful meaning and color into the texts. This CD can be listened to over and over with great pleasure.

Weill and Brecht defined a nasty age with nasty art, writing some of the grittiest satire in the history of music. In this CD von Otter misses that edge, skirts all the dangerous, sleazy implications, and ultimately sounds too much the opera singer slumming it for an hour. Her earnestness is no subtitute for the right period style, a la Lotte Lenya.

... and that might be all I need to write. Was it the best or the worst of a composer's luck that his first-performance interpreter should have given the all-time definitive interpretation? Given the existence of recordings of Lotte Lenya, is it even worthwhile for anybody to try to re-interpret these gritty, nasty, decadent and beautiful songs? If so, Anne Sofie wouldn't be my choice. Her voice is too refined. She sounds silly trying to project rude vitality. Likewise, John Eliot Gardiner's orchestral support is just too clean, too attentive to the notes on the page; there's no 'tin' in his Tin Pan Alley.

In the "Pride" section of Weill's Seven Deadly Sins, Anna 1 advices Anna 2 that "Pride is only for rich people! Do what they want you to do, and not what you want them to want of you." The whole libretto was intended by the author Bertholt Brecht as a sarcastic satire of middle-class 'ethics' but ironically this advice seems to have been exactly what Weill did with his immense talent when he rejected Hitler's Germany and sought a moderate success on Broadway.