Weill - Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera)

Kurt Weill (Performer), Bertolt Brecht (Performer), Lotte Lenya (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht
• Audio CD (December 29, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: CBS
• ASIN: B0000026HI
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,635 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

2. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

3. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

4. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

5. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

6. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

7. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

8. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

9. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

10. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

11. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

12. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

13. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

14. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

15. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

16. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

17. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

18. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

19. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

20. Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hervorragend!, September 5, 2000

By 

William White (B-1200 Brussels Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Weill - Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) (Audio CD)

I first listened to this recording on an LP of my parents' from the 1960s. The work was created by not one but two greats: Brecht and Weill, while Lotte Lenya worked closely with Brecht during his career.

It really does sound as if it was recorded a long time ago, but somehow you don't want this opera to be 'smooth'. It also really sounds much better in German than in English. It has won over certain friends of mine who usually don't listen to [good] music of any sort. It manages to sound simultaneously (1) as if it was recorded in a church hall by a cast of chain-smokers (2) spot-on, tight, and flawlessly performed, which is not easy with Weill when he messes around with strange harmonies.

If there's one language in which it sounds even rougher and better than German, it's [mandarin] Chinese. Nearly two years ago I had the privilege of seeing this work performed, for the first time in my life. It was done by Beijing Youth Theatre as part of a festival in Hong Kong, directed by Chen Yong, a real veteran director. Not only did it relate perfectly to a lot of things in mainland China, but it was also performed by people who really knew what they were doing.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Threepenny Opera, October 25, 2001

By 

Deborah S. Gers (Flemington, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Weill - Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) (Audio CD)

Kurt Weill was once quoted as saying "there are only two kinds of music - good music and bad music". This is great music whipped into a frenzy - the Threepenny Opera as true opera and not as a musical play. The casting is superb, a direct reflection of Lotte Lenya's musical supervision of the project. It is one of the few complete recordings of the work, including both the "Jealousy Duet", often omitted because of the vocal demands placed on the performers, and the Ballad of Sexual Dependency, usually omitted because of its frank content.

Lotte Lenya steals the show. Pirate Jenny has an almost maniacal lilt in the final verse. The Tango Ballade hits its full stride only after Lenya's voice takes over the lead. Her delivery of, perhaps, Brecht's most famous line; "erst kommt das fressen, dann kommt die moral" in the Ballad "What Keeps Mankind Alive" is as authoritative as Brecht could ever hope it to be. Lenya's exploitation of the musical interval of a tritone at "Rocke heben" adds a lifetime of experience and conviction to the work.

Not to be overlooked is the excellent musical direction of Wilhelm Bruckner-Ruggeberg of the musicians and singers. Trude Hesterburg as Frau Peachum delivers a delightful performance of the Ballad of Sexual Dependency, and the Peachum family triumphs in the finale to Act I, the Uncertainty of Human Conditions. A true virtuoso performance all around.

Kurt Weill suceeded beyond his wildest dreams - he truly was the poor man's Verdi.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The way it oughtta be!, December 11, 1999

By 

Donald C. Allen "Don Allen" (Carlisle, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Weill - Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) (Audio CD)

This is the Threepenny Opera done right. If you love this music, this recording is a must, even if you have the recording of the Blitzstein English adaptation. Great as Blitzstein's version is, you don't get the full pungency of this incredible work without hearing it in German.