“Hieronymus Bosch in Consumer Hell”
Mahagonny at Deutsche Oper Berlin
Those with tickets to the recent production of Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny that premiered at Deutsche Oper Berlin arrived to find a darkened foyer, the word “OPEN” glowing in red above a mobile bar. Sparkling wine was available for purchase, but at oddly shifting prices. Among the crowd there were to be seen a few individuals attired surprisingly, even for Berlin. With the start of Kurt Weill’s music and the eruption of those individuals into song, it would have become clear to attendees that they were surrounded by cast and chorus and truly immersed in this particular incarnation of Mahagonny, a vision of “Hieronymus Bosch in Consumer Hell” (Das Opernmagazin).
In Bremen in 2012, director Benedikt von Peter created a production of Aufstieg that distributed the singers and action all over the opera house, around and among patrons who could move freely while following the proceedings on numerous video monitors. Deutsche Oper intendant Dietmar Schwarz chose a renewed version of this production to close his twelve-year tenure in Berlin, attracting extensive if mixed comment in the press.
Respect for the skill and resources necessary to pull off such a performance event was evident. “A technical masterpiece from all sides, which deserves a bow on bended knee,” wrote Lynn-Sophie Guldin in Opernmagazin. Kai Luehrs-Kaiser of Radio 3 recognized conductor Stefan Klingele’s task as “the most thankless coordination work imaginable.” Bachtrack’s Svenja Koch lauded Klingele, who she wrote “masterfully holds together orchestras and singers—who may find themselves separated by many floors.” Assessing the qualities of the production, Bojan Budisavljević of Neue Musikzeitung credited principally “the singer-actors and their sweaty commitment.” Holger Jacobs (Kultur24.berlin) enthused over “great vocal performances from everyone, especially of course from Annette Dasch as Jenny, Evelyn Herlitzius as Begbick and Nikolai Schukoff as Jimmy.”
If the Opernmagazin headline reference to Bosch in a surprising context captured the engaging novelty of the Deutsche Oper production, Ossama el Naggar in ConcertoNet offered a piquant, counterbalancing observation: “Early in the opera, a blasé Jim, sated with Mahagonny’s pleasures, complained: ‘Aber etwas fehlt’ (‘but something is missing’). It would seem that Jim nailed it from the outset!”
Watch the Deutsche Oper trailer. And note that the same creative team is poised to mount a parallel production at Theater Basel, premiering 28 August.
“Kurt Weill in His Time… and Ours”
Spring Newsletter Published
Midway through this double anniversary year (the 125th of Weill’s birth and 75th of his death), the latest issue of the Kurt Weill Newsletter investigates the composer’s continuing relevance in today’s world. Weill’s world was tempestuous and sometimes dangerous; our own day’s iterations of war, oppression, and demagoguery are no less cause for concern. In a feature titled “Weill in His Time and Ours,” the latest Newsletter publishes twenty-one responses to the question “Which Weill work—stage, concert, or song—speaks most pointedly to the present historical moment?” A group of distinguished professionals (among them such figures as HK Gruber, Jeffrey Kahane, John McWhorter, Jeremy Sams, Jeanine Tesori, and Francesca Zambello) named a total of fourteen works, the sheer variety and acuity of their answers making a strong case indeed for the significance of Weill’s work in today’s world.
The Newsletter offers a consideration by Jürgen Thym of a rich selection of current Weill scholarship in the form of two recently published collections: The Works of Kurt Weill: Transformations and Reconfigurations in 20th-Century Music, edited by Naomi Graber and Marida Rizzuti; and Resonances against Fascism: Modernist and Avant Garde Sounds from Kurt Weill to Black Lives Matter, edited by Laura Chiesa. Four major performances from the first half of 2025 receive reviews, with coverage of the renaissance of Love Life taking pride of place. Weill-related news and a report on the latest Lenya Competition Finals round out the issue.
READ THE NEWSLETTER ONLINE HERE.
Mark Your Calendars!
Three Important Recording Releases
COMING IN OCTOBER on Capriccio: The first-ever complete recording of this landmark of the American musical theater, captured live in Opera North’s January 2025 performances. (See reviews of the production here.)
COMING THIS FALL on Ensemble Modern Media: A release prominently including the world premiere recording of Die sieben Todsünden (The Seven Deadly Sins) in the fifteen-player version prepared by HK Gruber and Christian Muthspiel; conducted by Gruber, sung by Wallis Giunta and amarcord and played by the incomparable Ensemble Modern.
COMING IN OCTOBER on Atlantic Records (preceded by release on streaming services 15 August): The original Broadway cast recording of Just in Time, featuring Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff as the legendary Bobby Darin, brings Weill’s “Mack The Knife” to sizzling new life.
