Customer Reviews

Weill - Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny

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

 

 

Mahagonny is more-or-less an opera - Weill intended it as such, but with the cabaret-style numbers it can also be seen as musical theater. To modern viewers (well, me, at any rate) its construction initially seems unsatisfactory: the first half-hour is very bitty, more a series of tableaux than anything, and scenes are announced over a loudspeaker (every time we cut to it, I expected it to go "The white zone is for loading and unloading only..."). This is all very distancing for the viewer, but that's the whole point - as James Conlon explains in the useful 20-minute interview, we are expected to be intellectually but not emotionally engaged. In fact, though, with a performance as good as Anthony Dean Griffey's as the unfortunate Jimmy and with the orchestra on top form, it's hard not to get caught up as the story unfolds, and Weill knew exactly what he was doing - musically, it all comes together superbly. The plot? Mahagonny is founded as a haven of "contentment" for men, but rules of good behavior bring boredom and, in the face of destruction from a hurricane, the rule is changed to "everything is permitted" (accompanied in this production by explicit reference to Nazi Germany). Mahagonny prospers, but Jimmy McIntyre commits the ultimate crime of not being able to pay; the end is remarkably bleak in its view of society: "there's nothing you can do for a dead man". The production is well designed, and clever in its gradual transformation to modern times, reminding us that although Brecht's particular form of anti-capitalist art may seem a little old-fashioned it still is of relevance. Of course if you're coming to this DVD as a lover of musicals rather than opera, the big draws will be Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald; both are excellent - in as much as you can get to the heart of a character who might not have one, McDonald manages it.

This 2007 LA Opera production of Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht's 1931 Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny gets a fine musical performance (led by James Conlon), but the stage production falls short and is often frustratingly stagnant. Many numbers are given with the performers seated on stage (a particular peeve of mine I'll admit) or standing in a line across the stage facing the audience, often without interaction between the characters. In one scene two characters reminisce about their friendship. The music suggests intimacy yet the singers not only don't address each other but are also many feet apart on stage with the chorus standing between them.

In a work that straddles the worlds of opera and musical theater, it's not surprising that the strongest and most fully rounded performances come from the two Broadway stars in the cast. Audra McDonald in particular throws herself into the part of Jenny, the leader of Mahagonny's prostitutes, giving a provocative performance that a star of her stature could easily have avoided. Her singing, which I've often found too overpowering for her material, here fits nicely. Patti LuPone also does well as Leocadia Begbick, one of the band of fugitives who found the city providing recreation and entertainment for gold miners out in the middle of nowhere ("It's easier getting gold out of men then out of rivers" she says). Overall the rest of the cast sings well, but delivers spoken dialogue stiffly.

As I've said, the musical performance is first rate. Weill's score lies somewhere between Stravinsky and Gershwin, always tuneful, yet rhythmically active and harmonically pungent. Conlon delivers this in the present tense, without making it sound like a retro-recreation of Weimar Republic era sounds. My only criticism is that the chorus is sometimes unintelligible which, combined with the lack of English subtitles, can make the plot a bit hard to follow at times. Otherwise, considering the short supply of available recordings of this work (especially in English) I would recommend it to listen to with the video turned off.

The LA Opera production of "Mahagony" is nothing less than thrilling. Weill's great score is rendered powerfully and idiomatically and the cast is excellent, especially Audra McDonald, Patti Lupone and Anthony Griffey as Jimmy. The production was faithful to Brecht's epic theater principles, including the presentational style of acting. This is not realism, so it shouldn't be judged as if it were. And though the tone is ironic and satiric, that doesn't mean there isn't emotion or excitement. The "agitprop" works beautifully, with some contemporary flourishes (allusions to Iraq, for example) that are faithful to the Brechtian spirit.

This is a masterful production of an incredibly dark and dissonant 'opera.' I put the quotes around opera because this is not your typical opera by any stretch of the imagination. The sets are purposefully minimal, the casting is purposefully odd, the orchestration is purposefully dissonant, the music and tone are purposefully haunting and the singing is incredible!

No one would believe that Jenny could fall for Jimmy. No one would believe that anyone would want to live in Mahagonny. No one would believe that anyone would have such disloyal friends as Jimmy after being together for so many years. But believable or not, it works. However, this is not your father's Rigoletto! If you are considering this item because you like opera you may not be pleased with your purchase. As already mentioned by another reviewer, the 20 minute conversation with the conductor on the DVD is invaluable. He clearly explains that the geniuses behind this masterpiece didn't write an `opera' that they intended for the audience to experience with their hearts. They wrote a biting commentary on the ills of society and the banality of human existence that they wanted us to experience from a distance with our heads.

It is dark, dissonant, minimalist and not at all uplifting, but it is masterful musical theater and the lead performers are all at the peak of their game and perfectly fit their various roles in this disharmonious stab at human existence and society's ill placed priorities.

I was blown away by this production and would have awarded it five stars but for the lack of libretto in the liner notes and/or English subtitles on the DVD.

I've long been a fan of the Kurt Weill-Bertolt Brecht opera "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny." In particular, I love the mid-1950s recording featuring Weill's wife Lotte Lenya in the lead role of Jenny. And I've always felt that this musical opus--a radical conjunction of opera, jazz, musical theater and political agit-prop--is best served by actors who sing rather than singers who act. Lenya's unorthodox vocals, simultaneously harsh and tender, fits this work to a T, especially since the musical numbers are closer to popular song than traditional operatic arias. Like Weill and Brecht's "Threepenny Opera," "Mahagonny" is a fierce critique of capitalism conveyed in irresistible, jazzy melodies. It was with some trepidation, therefore, that I approached this DVD of a live 2007 performance of "Mahagonny" by the Los Angeles Opera starring noted singers Patti Lupone and Audra McDonald. This new production follows the storyline closely, but adopts a chronological progression that brings the action into the present in an attempt to make the work more relevant and accessible to modern audiences. I found this a little jarring at first, then decided it simply provided another level of aesthetic disconnection that's perfectly in tune with Brecht's famous alienation effect (i.e., self-consciously stressing the formal artificiality of a work so that audiences can engage more directly with its content). The staging, costumes and sets are impressive, and the performances suitably stylized and impassioned. Lupone is excellent as the amoral brothel owner whose vision of greed inspires the rise of the city of Mahagonny. As the prostitute Jenny, McDonald adroitly blends eroticism, tenderness and mercenary self-interest. The male performers are less vibrant, with the exception of Anthony Dean Griffey as Jimmy, the opera's sacrificial lamb who pays the ultimate price for having committed the ultimate crime: poverty. The musical arrangements of Weill's tunes are perhaps the production's weakest element, lacking the brio and emotional shading necessary to make the numbers truly come alive. And having the songs sung in English, while understandable, lessens the sardonic character of the German version. These criticisms aside, the performance captured on this DVD is an ambitious and welcome variation of this timeworn classic, one whose many positives make up for its few imperfections.

Saw this production in LA, and after three attentive viewings at home, the music of Kurt Weill comes through as a vanguard in the avant garde music of the 1930. It takes a bit of listening for the ear to accommodate the sound of Weill ... especially with the agendized text of Brecht ... but once the words no longer become an issue one can hear and appreciate the unusual talent of Weill. This is a GREAT production ... capturing the 'essence' of the creators while not fawning into a love match with Weill, the agenda or the time of German Expressionism. I caution all NOT to write any comments until you have gone through multiple hearings .. and then I believe you will have nothing but praise for the opera and this performance.

Holy cow! A totally integrated presentation: music (awesome), interpreters (perfect) and staging (with the right amount of minimalism, so one can concentrate on political message). And to think that it took a Jewish German Communist to predict the downfall of advanced American capitalism, as well as to trace its beginnings! Lupone, Mc Donald and Jeffreys are simply outstanding. And how refreshing to see a director and an orchestra out of penguin suits! You won't blink for two hours. I do not nitpick like so many other reviewers--the totality must be judged, and this one deserves 5 stars. A good Xmas present for your progressive friends, and even some of the others!

This was a pleasant enough production but what was the point of a "new" English translation? There already is a fine English version of this opera, as performed by NY's Metropolitan Opera. This translation is just foolish. The definition of Mahagonny, meaning City of Nets, is changed to City of Webs. OK, but the lead male character is named Jimmy Mahoney and this version calls him Jimmy McIntyre! That's like coming out with a new translation of "Carmen" and deciding the character is now named "Matilda."

The most astonishing part of this DVD is that although it has Spanish, French and German subtitles, it does not have English ones. This made it incredibly frustrating, as with singing the text is not easily understood, and it helped a lot that I've seen a performance of the same couple of years ago in Boston, so I knew the words somewhat.
It is truly unpleasantly surprising that the producers of this DVD missed this essential part - because Brecht's text is full of scathing satire, and each word must be understood.

However, this forces the listener to focus on the music more, and one realizes how poor it is - yes, it has some appellation to Stravinsky, but cannot approach such level even remotely. It is the combination of the text and the music, the most savage story that makes The Rise and Fall a true immortal hit - eternal themes of seven deadly sins, betrayal and loneliness of man in the world.

The production itself is quite good, and the singing of Audra - Jenny is of too excellent a quality - she sings more as an opera diva, while her role is of a harlot. Somehow her voice does not convey her character - it is too classical.

Jimmy is too old or too obese for the role - alas, after seeing a more vivacious and sharp production in Boston, it was difficult not to compare. In fact, this Jimmy is in such a shape that one wonders if he is interested in women at all, undermining the credibility of his character, who frequents the brothel.

To me, the appeal of The Rise and Fall is much more the drama again, with the music taking the back seat. No wonder that Weill and Brecht quarreled during the creation of it and hardly finished it at all.

It is unfortunate that only this interpretation of the opera exists in DVD today. Because of its singularity, it is worth seeing, but I personally saw a better one and I am sure better productions exist.

I didn't much like the opera, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, several decades ago at the Met, in an otherwise admirable production starring, as I recall, Julia Migenes, Richard Cassilly and Astrid Varnay. And I didn't much like the opera this time around either. That's partly because the opera is clunky in both plot and construction, as well as having such a 1930s agitprop sensibility as to make it more laughable than gripping and more importantly the DVD lacks English subtitles. Yes, I know, the production is IN English, but as in much opera in English, diction leaves much to be desired and one simply cannot make out a significant proportion of the words. Interestingly, when the DVD was shown on PBS they had the good sense to supply English subtitles if one chose to select them. But they're not there on the DVD and potential purchasers need to know that.

Performances? Yes, McDonald, Lupone and Griffey are excellent, as is the direction of Jimmy Conlon. Still, it was not, for me, an enjoyable experience, certainly nowhere near Weill's and Brecht's Threepenny Opera.

Scott Morrison