Full Evening
9 March 1930, Leipzig, Städtisches Theater, Walter Brügmann, dir., Gustav Brecher, cond.
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Read these indispensable notes prepared by Kim H. Kowalke in English or Deutsch.
Excerpt sung by Lotte Lenya and chorus, 1932
Audra McDonald as Jenny; LA Opera, 2007
Somewhere in America. Three criminals on the lam–Fatty, Trinity Moses, and the Widow Begbick–are stranded in the desert after their truck breaks down. Begbick decrees that they will found a city called Mahagonny, a utopia of pleasure and idleness, but really a snare and a money pit (). The city grows quickly, soon populated by prostitutes, led by Jenny (), and dissatisfied bourgeoisie (). Then a group of lumberjacks arrives from Alaska (), lured by the city’s reputation. Begbick welcomes them as they introduce themselves (): Jim (the leader), Bill, Jack, and Joe. She brings on the girls and the lumberjacks bargain for them (). Begbick and her partners lament their inadequate income and decide to pack up and leave (), but they change their minds when more suckers arrive. Jim and the lumberjacks are also dissatisfied because there is not enough action (). A pianist plays “The Maiden’s Prayer” in a hotel lobby, prompting Jim to continue his lament (). Then a hurricane approaches the city and everyone cowers in fear () except Jim, who takes advantage of the impending catastrophe to declare that henceforth nothing will be prohibited in Mahagonny ().
Mahagonny is inexplicably unharmed by the hurricane (), and the inhabitants resume their revels (). A series of tableaux follows: eating, sex, boxing, and drinking. Jack eats himself to death (), the men of Mahagonny line up for the prostitutes (), and Joe dies in a boxing match with Trinity Moses (). Jim invites everyone for a round of drinks (), but he tells Jenny that he is out of money when the bill comes. He proposes that they escape to Alaska together, and the crowd enacts a voyage inside the bar. Then Jim admits to Begbick that he cannot pay, and he is bound and thrown into prison. When Begbick asks Jenny if she will pay for Jim, she disavows all responsibility (). The chorus intones an ominous warning for Jim ().
Jim languishes in prison, awaiting his trial the next morning (). When court convenes (), a murderer is freed before Jim’s trial. Jim appeals to his last remaining friend, Bill, for money, but Bill refuses. Fatty, Moses, and Begbick convict Jim summarily on numerous charges, but he is condemned to death because he failed to pay his bar tab (). Jenny and others complain that they have nowhere else to go (). Jim is executed, and the remaining residents lapse further into discontent (). First Begbick, then all the others, display protest placards with contradictory slogans (), and it is clear that the city of Mahagonny will not survive.
Note: For commentary on act divisions and the placement of the optional “Kraniche-Duett” (Crane Duet) for Jenny and Jim, see “Building Mahagonny: Some Guidelines.”
Libretto
Universal Edition, UE 9852
Revised piano-vocal score
(David Drew, 1969), Universal Edition, UE 9851
Revised piano-vocal score reflecting performance options (2012)
Universal Edition, UE 35 318
