The Seven Deadly Sins
Encyclopedia
The Seven Deadly Sins is a satirical ballet chanté ("sung ballet") in seven scenes (nine movements) composed by Kurt Weill
to a German
libretto
by Bertolt Brecht
in 1933 under a commission from Boris Kochno
and Edward James
. It was translated into English
by W. H. Auden
and Chester Kallman
. This would be the last major collaboration between Weill and Brecht.
on 7 June 1933. It was produced, directed and choreographed by George Balanchine
with mise en scène
by Caspar Neher
. The lead roles were played by Lotte Lenya
(Anna I) and Tilly Losch
(Anna II). Nils Grosch writes that it "was met with bewilderment by the French audience (not just because the work was sung entirely in German). German émigrés living in Paris, however, were enthusiastic and considered it 'a grand evening.'" The production went to London
opening at the Savoy Theatre under the title Anna-Anna, on 28 June of the same year with an impromptu translation by Lenya.
Kurt Weill
was commissioned to compose Die sieben Todsünden by Edward James
, a wealthy Englishman who had been in Paris
during Weill’s visit in December of 1932. James’s wife, Tilly Losch
, was a ballerina
who James himself described as having a striking resemblance to Weill’s wife, Lotte Lenya
. Knowing that Weill was going to write for Lenya, James, in contracting Weill for the opera, included a clause for his wife, Losch, to dance opposite her lookalike. This set-in-stone the complicated split personality plot before Bertolt Brecht
even knew he was the librettist.
It was revived by Weill's widow Lenya in the 1950s; however with the main singing part in version transposed to a fourth below its original pitch level which matched her new lower voice but did not correspond to his intentions. Another transposed version, down by a full octave, was used by Marianne Faithfull
in her recording from 1997. The original higher version has been recorded by, among others, Elise Ross, Anne Sofie von Otter, Teresa Stratas
and Anja Silja
.
Patti LuPone
sang the role of Anna in a new version of the ballet, produced by New York City Ballet
in May 2011. The production was directed and choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett
.
The Seven Deadly Sins tells the story of two sisters, Anna I and Anna II. Anna I, the singer, is the main singing voice. Her sister Anna II, the dancer, is heard only infrequently and the lyrics hint at the possibility that they are the same person: "To convey the ambivalence inherent in the 'sinner', Brecht splits the personality of Anna into Anna I, the cynical impresario with a practical sense and conscience, and Anna II, the emotional, impulsive, artistic beauty, the salable product with an all too human heart."
"The Family", a male quartet, acts as the Greek chorus
. Both sisters set out from the banks of the Mississippi
in Louisiana
to find their fortune in the big cities, and to send enough money back to their family to build a little house on the river. After the prologue
, in which Anna I introduces the sisters and their plans, seven scenes are devoted to the seven deadly sins
, each encountered in a different American
city:
After arriving back home after seven years, the sisters ostensibly succeed in securing the means to buy the little house, but in the process Anna II envies all those who can engage in the sins she has been deprived of, and the epilogue
ends in a sober mood, with Anna II's resigned response to her sister, "Yes, Anna."
Brecht, on the other hand, took the more circuitous route to Paris. He left Paris for Prague, had only a short stay, and went to Vienna to live with a friend. In less than a month he was already in Zurich, and then to a cheaper residence in Lugano, Switzerland. In Lugano he met a patron that offered him residence in his summer home in Carona, outside Lugano. Upon arriving at his sixth residence in as many weeks Brecht received word from Weill of his commission for the Seven Deadly Sins and made the journey to Paris. Seven cities in seven weeks. Each of the seven scenes takes place approximately one year after the previous and Anna find herself in a new city each time. It is this geographical journey that is parallel to the journey that Brecht takes, his trek from Berlin to Paris.
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...
to a German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by 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 1933 under a commission from Boris Kochno
Boris Kochno
Boris Kochno was a Russian poet, dancer and librettist. He was close with Karol Szymanowski who gave him as a gift a Russian translation of the chapter The Symposium from Efebos, the composer's unpublished novel. Szymanowski also dedicated four poems to him...
and Edward James
Edward James
Edward William Frank James was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement.-Early life and marriage:...
. It was translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
and Chester Kallman
Chester Kallman
Chester Simon Kallman was an American poet, librettist, and translator, best known for his collaborations with W. H. Auden and Igor Stravinsky.-Life:...
. This would be the last major collaboration between Weill and Brecht.
Performance history
The Seven Deadly Sins was first performed in the Théatre des Champs-Elysées in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 7 June 1933. It was produced, directed and choreographed by George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
with mise en scène
Mise en scène
Mise-en-scène is an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a story"—both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in poetically artful ways through direction...
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...
. The lead roles were played by 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...
(Anna I) and Tilly Losch
Tilly Losch
Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine "Tilly" Losch, Countess of Carnarvon was an Austrian-born dancer, choreographer, actress and painter who lived and worked for most of her life in the United States and United Kingdom....
(Anna II). Nils Grosch writes that it "was met with bewilderment by the French audience (not just because the work was sung entirely in German). German émigrés living in Paris, however, were enthusiastic and considered it 'a grand evening.'" The production went to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
opening at the Savoy Theatre under the title Anna-Anna, on 28 June of the same year with an impromptu translation by Lenya.
Kurt Weill
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...
was commissioned to compose Die sieben Todsünden by Edward James
Edward James
Edward William Frank James was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement.-Early life and marriage:...
, a wealthy Englishman who had been in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
during Weill’s visit in December of 1932. James’s wife, Tilly Losch
Tilly Losch
Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine "Tilly" Losch, Countess of Carnarvon was an Austrian-born dancer, choreographer, actress and painter who lived and worked for most of her life in the United States and United Kingdom....
, was a ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
who James himself described as having a striking resemblance to Weill’s wife, 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...
. Knowing that Weill was going to write for Lenya, James, in contracting Weill for the opera, included a clause for his wife, Losch, to dance opposite her lookalike. This set-in-stone the complicated split personality plot before 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...
even knew he was the librettist.
It was revived by Weill's widow Lenya in the 1950s; however with the main singing part in version transposed to a fourth below its original pitch level which matched her new lower voice but did not correspond to his intentions. Another transposed version, down by a full octave, was used by Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
in her recording from 1997. The original higher version has been recorded by, among others, Elise Ross, Anne Sofie von Otter, Teresa Stratas
Teresa Stratas
Teresa Stratas, OC , is a retired Canadian operatic soprano. She is especially well-known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's Lulu.-Early life and career:...
and Anja Silja
Anja Silja
Anja Silja Regina Langwagen, , born April 17, 1940, in Berlin, is a German soprano who is known for her great abilities as a singing-actress and for the vastness of her repertoire....
.
Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
sang the role of Anna in a new version of the ballet, produced by New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
in May 2011. The production was directed and choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett
Lynne Taylor-Corbett
Lynne Taylor-Corbett is a choreographer, director, lyricist, and composer. She was born in Denver, Colorado.She works in theatre and film, and also choreographs for dance companies, both ballet and modern, and is the principal guest choreographer for Carolina Ballet...
.
Major productions with premiere dates
- in German unless otherwise noted
- June 7, 1933, Paris, Théâtre des Champs-ElyséesThéâtre des Champs-ÉlyséesThe Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne. Despite its name, the theatre is not on the Champs-Élysées but nearby in another part of the 8th arrondissement of Paris....
; George Balanchine, choreographer; 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:...
, conductor.
- December 4, 1958, City CenterNew York City CenterNew York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
, New York City BalletNew York City BalletNew York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
; George Balanchine, choreographer; Robert IrvingRobert Irving (conductor)Robert Augustine Irving, DFC*, was a British conductor whose reputation was mainly as a ballet conductor.Born in Winchester, England, the son of mountaineer and author R. L. G. Irving, he was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, graduating with a degree in music...
, conductor; Anna I (singer), Lotte Lenya; Anna II (dancer), Allegra KentAllegra KentAllegra Kent is an American ballet dancer and actress.Born in Santa Monica, Kent studied with Bronislava Nijinska and Carmelita Maracci before joining the School of American Ballet. After graduating, she joined the New York City Ballet in 1953 at the age of 15, and was promoted to principal in 1957...
(in English).
- June 15, 1976, Wuppertal, Wuppertaler Tanzwoche; Pina BauschPina BauschPhilippina "Pina" Bausch was a German performer of modern dance, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director...
, choreographer; Frank Meiswinkel, conductor.
- December 23, 1987, Lyon, Lyon Opéra-Ballet; Maguy Marin, choreographer; Kent NaganoKent Nagano__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...
, conductor.
- March 15, 1997, New York State Theater, City OperaNew York City OperaThe New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
, Anne BogartAnne Bogart-Biography:She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bard College in 1974, followed by a Master of Arts degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1977. She served as Artistic Director of the Trinity Repertory Company for its 1989-90 season...
, director, Derrick Inouye, conductor.
- April 26, 2007, London, Royal Ballet; Martha WainwrightMartha WainwrightMartha Wainwright is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle...
, Zenaida YanowskyZenaida YanowskyZenaida Yanowsky is a Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.-Early life:Both of her parents, Anatol Yanowsky and Carmen Robles, were dancers with the Lyon Opera Ballet. Later, the family moved to settle in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, where her parents set up a dance school...
, Marianela NúñezMarianela NunezMarianela Núñez is an Argentine dancer. She is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, London.-Biography:Núñez was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina...
; director / choreographer Will Tuckett; Martin YatesMartin YatesMartin Yates is a British conductor.Studied at the Royal College of Music and Trinity College of Music, London where his teachers included Bernard Keeffe , Richard Arnell , Ian Lake, Jakob Kaletsky & Alan Rowlands and Douglas Moore & John Burden .Conducting debut 1983 with Israel National Opera...
conductor.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, (Conductor:) |
|---|---|---|
| Anna I | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
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... |
| Anna II | dancer | Tilly Losch Tilly Losch Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine "Tilly" Losch, Countess of Carnarvon was an Austrian-born dancer, choreographer, actress and painter who lived and worked for most of her life in the United States and United Kingdom.... |
| Brother | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Albert Peters |
| Mother | bass | Heinrich Gretler Heinrich Gretler -Selected filmography:* Gilberte de Courgenay * Herz der Welt * Es geschah am hellichten Tag * The Ideal Woman * Kohlhiesel's Daughters -External links:... |
| Father | first tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Otto Pasetti |
| Brother | second tenor | Erich Ruchs |
Synopsis
"The Family", a male quartet, acts as the Greek chorus
Greek chorus
A Greek chorus is a homogenous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action....
. Both sisters set out from the banks of the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
to find their fortune in the big cities, and to send enough money back to their family to build a little house on the river. After the prologue
Prologue
A prologue is an opening to a story that establishes the setting and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information. The Greek prologos included the modern meaning of prologue, but was of wider significance...
, in which Anna I introduces the sisters and their plans, seven scenes are devoted to the seven deadly sins
Seven deadly sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...
, each encountered in a different American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
city:
- Prologue
- Faulheit / SlothSloth (deadly sin)In the Christian moral tradition, sloth is one of the seven capital sins, often called the seven deadly sins; these sins are called sins because they supposedly destroy the charity in a person's heart and thus may lead to eternal death.-Definition:Sloth is defined as spiritual or emotional...
(city not mentioned) - Stolz / PridePridePride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
(MemphisMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
) - Zorn / Wrath (Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
) - Völlerei / GluttonyGluttonyGluttony, derived from the Latin gluttire meaning to gulp down or swallow, means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, intoxicants or wealth items to the point of extravagance or waste...
(Philadelphia) - Unzucht / LustLustLust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...
(BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
) - Habsucht / Greed (TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, in posthumous versions BaltimoreBaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
) - Neid / EnvyEnvyEnvy is best defined as a resentful emotion that "occurs when a person lacks another's superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it."...
(San Francisco) - Epilogue (home, in the new little house)
After arriving back home after seven years, the sisters ostensibly succeed in securing the means to buy the little house, but in the process Anna II envies all those who can engage in the sins she has been deprived of, and the epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
ends in a sober mood, with Anna II's resigned response to her sister, "Yes, Anna."
Origins
The origins of Weill’s one-act opera, which premiered on June 7, 1933, came from the events of the previous February. With the Nazis seizing power, the Reichstag fire of February 28 was all that was needed for the librettist and composer, especially Weill as a Jew, to see that Berlin was no longer going to be conducive to their artistic development. After spending time in Paris in December of 1932, Weill quickly moved back, with his money still held by soon-to-be Nazis in German banks, and found work soon after.Brecht, on the other hand, took the more circuitous route to Paris. He left Paris for Prague, had only a short stay, and went to Vienna to live with a friend. In less than a month he was already in Zurich, and then to a cheaper residence in Lugano, Switzerland. In Lugano he met a patron that offered him residence in his summer home in Carona, outside Lugano. Upon arriving at his sixth residence in as many weeks Brecht received word from Weill of his commission for the Seven Deadly Sins and made the journey to Paris. Seven cities in seven weeks. Each of the seven scenes takes place approximately one year after the previous and Anna find herself in a new city each time. It is this geographical journey that is parallel to the journey that Brecht takes, his trek from Berlin to Paris.
Satire
The full title (in English) is "The Seven Deadly Sins of the Petty Bourgeousie". The libretto is satirical: the important moral point is that Anna II does wrong only when she does not commit the sin concerned. Anna II frequently tries to do the right thing, but is cured of this "temptation" to "sin" by her hypocritical family and her "prudent" alter ego. For instance, her "pride" consists in not wanting to work in a strip club, her "lust" is wanting to marry the one she loves rather than marrying for money, and her "anger" is righteous anger against ill-treatment of a fellow worker.Recordings
- Lotte Lenya sings Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins & Berlin Theatre Songs (Sony 1997)
- Die sieben Todsünden; Chansons B.Fassbaender, Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR, C.Garben (HMA 1951420)
- Die sieben Todsünden. (The Seven Deadly Sins). Gisela May; Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig; Herbert Kegel, cond. Polydor 429 333-2.; Deutsche Grammophon 139308
- Die sieben Todsünden (The Seven Deadly Sins). Songs. Marianne Faithfull, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies, cond. Sung in English. Reverso/RCA Victor 74321 601192. (Reissued 2004 as RCA Red Seal 82876-60872-2.)
External links
- Amadeus Almanac, accessed 26 October 2008
- The Seven Deadly Sins on the site of the Los Angeles PhilharmonicLos Angeles PhilharmonicThe Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
Association- http://www.kwf.org/kurt-weill/discography.html