Mahagonny-Songspiel
Encyclopedia
Mahagonny-Songspiel, also known as The Little Mahagonny, is a "small-scale 'scenic cantata'" written by the composer Kurt Weill
and the dramatist Bertolt Brecht
in 1927. Weill was commissioned in the spring to write one of a series of very short operas for performance that summer, and he chose to use the opportunity to create a 'stylistic exercise' as preparation for a larger-scale project that they had begun to develop together (the two had met for the first time in March), their experimental 'epic
opera' The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
(1930).
The Little Mahagonny was based on five 'Mahagonny Songs', which had been published earlier in the year in Brecht's collection of poetry, Devotions for the Home (Hauspostille), together with tunes by Brecht. To these five was added a new poem, "Poem on a Dead Man", that was to form the finale. Two of the songs were English-language parodies written by Elisabeth Hauptmann
: the "Alabama Song
" and "Benares Song". Using one or two of Brecht's melodies as a starting-point, Weill began in May to set the songs to music and to compose orchestral interludes along the following pattern:
The Little Mahagonny was first produced at the new German chamber music festival at Baden-Baden
on 17 July 1927. Brecht directed, Lotte Lenya
played Jessie, and the set-design
was by Caspar Neher
, who placed the scene in a boxing-ring before background projections that interjected scene-titles at the start of each section. According to a sketch published years later, they read:
A programme note for the performance stated:
The production lasted about forty-five minutes and was a great success, although there were no immediate plans for a revival.
Years later, The Little Mahagonny was produced, in a much adapted version, by the Berliner Ensemble
at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm
in East Berlin
, opening on 10 February 1963 and directed by Matthias Langhoff and Manfred Karge.
Stephen Sondheim
was asked to translate this piece once with W.H. Auden, but declined. He said of this event, "But, I'm not a Brecht/Weill fan and that's really all there is to it. I'm an apostate: I like Weill's music when he came to America better than I do his stuff before...I love The Threepenny Opera but, outside of The Threepenny Opera, the music of his I like is the stuff he wrote in America - when he was not writing with Brecht, when he was writing for Broadway."
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
and the dramatist Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
in 1927. Weill was commissioned in the spring to write one of a series of very short operas for performance that summer, and he chose to use the opportunity to create a 'stylistic exercise' as preparation for a larger-scale project that they had begun to develop together (the two had met for the first time in March), their experimental 'epic
The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre
"The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre" is a theoretical work by the twentieth-century German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht. It was composed in 1930 as a set of notes to accompany his opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny...
opera' The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed in Leipzig on 9 March 1930.-Composition history:...
(1930).
The Little Mahagonny was based on five 'Mahagonny Songs', which had been published earlier in the year in Brecht's collection of poetry, Devotions for the Home (Hauspostille), together with tunes by Brecht. To these five was added a new poem, "Poem on a Dead Man", that was to form the finale. Two of the songs were English-language parodies written by Elisabeth Hauptmann
Elisabeth Hauptmann
Elisabeth Hauptmann was a German writer who worked with Bertolt Brecht....
: the "Alabama Song
Alabama Song
The "Alabama Song" was originally published in Bertolt Brecht's Hauspostille . It was set to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 "Songspiel" Mahagonny and used again in Weill's and Brecht's 1930 opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny...
" and "Benares Song". Using one or two of Brecht's melodies as a starting-point, Weill began in May to set the songs to music and to compose orchestral interludes along the following pattern:
- Song One | Little March | Alabama Song | Vivace | Song Two | Vivace assai | Benares Song | Sostenuto (Choral) | Song Three | Vivace assai | Finale: Poem on a Dead Man
The Little Mahagonny was first produced at the new German chamber music festival at Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
on 17 July 1927. Brecht directed, Lotte Lenya
Lotte Lenya
Lotte Lenya was an Austrian singer, diseuse, and actress. In the German-speaking and classical music world she is best remembered for her performances of the songs of her husband, Kurt Weill. In English-language film she is remembered for her Academy Award-nominated role in The Roman Spring of Mrs...
played Jessie, and the set-design
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
was by Caspar Neher
Caspar Neher
Caspar Neher was an Austrian-German scenographer and librettist, known principally for his career-long working relationship with Bertolt Brecht.Neher was born in Augsburg...
, who placed the scene in a boxing-ring before background projections that interjected scene-titles at the start of each section. According to a sketch published years later, they read:
- 1. The great cities in our day are full of people who do not like it there.
- 2. So get away to Mahagonny, the gold town situated on the shores of consolation far from the rush of the world.
- 3. Here in Mahagonny life is lovely.
- 4. But even in Mahagonny there are moments of nausea, helplessness and despair.
- 5. The men of Mahagonny are heard replying to God's inquiries as to the cause of their sinful life.
- 6. Lovely Mahagonny crumbles to nothing before your eyes.
A programme note for the performance stated:
- Mahagonny is a short epic playNon-Aristotelian dramaNon-Aristotelian drama, or the 'epic form' of the drama, refers to a kind of play whose dramaturgical structure departs from the features of classical tragedy in favour of the features of the epic, as defined in each case by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in his Poetics .The German...
which simply draws conclusions from the irresistible decline of our existing social classSocial classSocial classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
es. It is already turning towards a public which goes to the theatre naïvely and for fun."
The production lasted about forty-five minutes and was a great success, although there were no immediate plans for a revival.
Years later, The Little Mahagonny was produced, in a much adapted version, by the Berliner Ensemble
Berliner Ensemble
The Berliner Ensemble is a German theatre company established by playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, Helene Weigel in January 1949 in East Berlin...
at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm
Theater am Schiffbauerdamm
The Theater am Schiffbauerdamm is a theatre building at the Schiffbauerdamm riverside in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, opened on November 19, 1892. Since 1954 it is home to the Berliner Ensemble theatre company, founded in 1949 by Helene Weigel and Bertolt Brecht.The original name of the...
in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
, opening on 10 February 1963 and directed by Matthias Langhoff and Manfred Karge.
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
was asked to translate this piece once with W.H. Auden, but declined. He said of this event, "But, I'm not a Brecht/Weill fan and that's really all there is to it. I'm an apostate: I like Weill's music when he came to America better than I do his stuff before...I love The Threepenny Opera but, outside of The Threepenny Opera, the music of his I like is the stuff he wrote in America - when he was not writing with Brecht, when he was writing for Broadway."
Performance History
- July 17, 1927: Baden-BadenBaden-BadenBaden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
, Deutsches Kammermusikfest; Walter Brügmann, dir., Ernst MehlichErnst MehlichErnst Mehlich was a German-Brazilian orchestra conductor and composer. In Brazil he was known as Ernesto Mehlich....
, cond. - December 11, 1932: Paris, Salle Gaveau; Hans Curjel, dir., Maurice AbravanelMaurice AbravanelMaurice Abravanel was aSwiss-American Jewish conductor of classical music. He is remembered as the conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years.-Life:...
, cond. - January 20, 1971: New Haven, Yale Repertory Theater; Michael Posnick, dir., Thomas Fay, cond. (double-bill with Brecht & Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins)
- September 8, 1984: London, English National OperaEnglish National OperaEnglish National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
; Lionel Friend, cond. - March 30, 1989: New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Brooklyn Academy of MusicBrooklyn Academy of MusicBrooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
; Peter SellarsPeter SellarsPeter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
, dir., Craig SmithCraig SmithCraig Smith is an American professional basketball player who was most recently member of the Los Angeles Clippers...
, cond. - March 25, 2000: New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Symphony SpaceSymphony SpaceSymphony Space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre or the 160-seat Leonard Nimoy Thalia theater. Programs include music, dance, theater, film, and literary readings...
; Enesmble Weil, Ari Benjamin MeyersAri Benjamin MeyersAri Benjamin Meyers is an American classical composer and conductor working in the experimental / electronic / new music scene in Germany...
, dir. (presented as part of the 12-hour concert Wall-to-Wall Kurt Weill) - June 5 and 7, 2008: Seattle, Seattle SymphonySeattle SymphonyThe Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
; Gerard SchwarzGerard SchwarzGerard Schwarz is an American conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011.In 2007 Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as principal conductor since 2005...
, cond.
Recordings
- London SinfoniettaLondon SinfoniettaThe London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
, conducted by David AthertonDavid AthertonDavid Atherton OBE, is an English conductor.-Background:Atherton was born in Blackpool, Lancashire in a musical family. He was educated at Blackpool Grammar School. His father, Robert Atherton, was the Music Master at St Joseph's College, Blackpool and was also a conductor...
, with Mary Thomas, Meriel Dickinson, Philip LangridgePhilip LangridgePhilip Gordon Langridge CBE was an English tenor, considered to be among the foremost exponents of English opera and oratorio....
, Ian PartridgeIan PartridgeIan Partridge CBE is a retired English lyric tenor, whose repertoire ranged from Monteverdi, Bach and Handel, the Elizabethan lute songs, German, French and English songs, through to Schoenberg, Weill and Britten, and on to contemporary works. He formed a renowned vocal-piano duo with his sister...
, Benjamin LuxonBenjamin LuxonBenjamin Matthew Luxon CBE is a retired British baritone.-Biography:He studied with Walter Grünner at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and established an international reputation as a singer when he won a third prize at the 1961 ARD International Music Competition in Munich...
, and Michael Rippon on Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
(DGG 423 255-2) - West Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lukas FossLukas FossLukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
(Turnabout TV 34675, CD reissue: Vox CDX 5043) - RIAS Berlin Sinfonietta, conducted by John MauceriJohn MauceriJohn Francis Mauceri is an American conductor, producer and arranger for theatre, opera and television. For fifteen years, he served on the faculty of Yale University. He was a protege of Leonard Bernstein...
, with Ute LemperUte LemperUte Lemper is a German chanteuse and actress renowned for her interpretation of the work of Kurt Weill.- Biography :Born in Münster, Germany, Ute Lemper was raised in a Roman Catholic family. She joined the punk music group known as the Panama Drive Band at the age of 16...
, Susanne Tremper, Helmut Wildhaber, Peter Haage, Thomas Mohr, and Manfred Jungwirth on Decca RecordsDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
(London CD 430 168-2), doubled with The Seven Deadly Sins - König Ensemble, conducted by Jan Latham-König, with Gabriele Ramm, Trudeliese Schmidt, Hans Franzen, Walter Raffeiner, Peter Nikolaus Kante, and Horst Hiestermann on Capriccio (Cappriccio CD 60 028), doubled with The Seven Deadly Sins
Works cited
- Sacks, Glendyr. 1994. "A Brecht Calendar." In Thomson and Sacks (1994, xvii-xxvii).
- Thomson, Peter and Glendyr Sacks, eds. 1994. The Cambridge Companion to Brecht. Cambridge Companions to Literature Ser. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521414466.
- Willett, JohnJohn WillettJohn Willett was a British translator and a scholar who is remembered for translating the work of Bertolt Brecht into English.-Early life:Willett was educated at Winchester and Christ Church, Oxford...
. 1967. The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht: A Study from Eight Aspects. Third rev. ed. London: Methuen, 1977. ISBN 041334360X. - Willett, JohnJohn WillettJohn Willett was a British translator and a scholar who is remembered for translating the work of Bertolt Brecht into English.-Early life:Willett was educated at Winchester and Christ Church, Oxford...
and Ralph ManheimRalph ManheimRalph Frederick Manheim was an American translator of German and French literature, as well as occasional works from Dutch, Polish and Hungarian...
, eds. 1994. Introduction and Editorial Notes. In Collected Plays: Two by Bertolt Brecht. Bertolt Brecht: Plays, Poetry, Prose Ser. London: Methuen. ISBN 0413685608.