Grabbed this from Goodwill and was excited to hear the 'Ballad of Mack The Knife' as it is the source for the Richard Strange opening number of his EP I had posted!! A poor man's opera that is really quite good as I usually don't like opera's but the singers sound more normal on this one.
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And now for an Eric Music Geek Moment™
I have fewer versions of this than I would like. Thank you for one that I did not have. Especially since I did not have one in the original German.
Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill's Three Penny Opera was originally done in 1928 in Berlin. It's not really an opera as most would think of it. It draws from an older piece called The Beggar's Opera. The idea being that this is a poor man's opera, done by poor people. It's one of Brecht's commentaries on society, and maybe his best work. I had many an argument over that with my college theater teachers (including my Dad).
Lotte Lenya was cast as Pirate Jenny, and it made her a star in Germany. She is best known in the English speaking world as Rosa Kleb in From Russia With Love. She and Weill were married to each other twice. Her stage career was long and successful. She won a Tony Award for a revival of Threepenny in 1956. It remains the only time that has been given for an Off-Broadway production. The cast recording of that show is one of my favorite albums.
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