Kurt Weill - Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny / Lenya · Brückner-Rüggeberg

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Even seasoned operagoers are likely to look at this cast list and wonder who these people--aside from Lotte Lenya--are. The answer is that it doesn't really matter. The point is that this mid-1950s recording, made a little more than two decades after the piece's premiere, authoritatively captures the unique, peculiar, fragile style of Brecht and Weill in the Weimar Republic. That means big, provocative ideas expressed with relatively humble musical means with a presentational style of theater and vocal gruffness inhabiting its own netherworld between cabaret and opera. If one needs further proof, this performance has all the grit one hears in the scratchy, 1932 original-cast excerpts, with the exception of Lenya, who sounds like a bad opera singer in the early recordings but the very soul of Weill's cynical, world-weary music in the later one. In fact, she delivers the now-overexposed "Alabama Song" with an acerbic freshness here that may not be possible today. Other recordings may be more faithful to the original keys but not as faithful to its spirit. --David Patrick Stearns

Kurt Weill - Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny / Lenya · Brückner-Rüggeberg, Music, Kurt Weill, Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg, Lotte Lenya, Classical, Classical Music, Modern Composition, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio
Kurt Weill - Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny / Lenya · Brückner-Rüggeberg
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Viva la Lenya! Viva la Weill! Viva la Brecht!
  • If Mack the Knife is all you know, you're really missing out
  • Truly an amazing work
  • MAHAGONNY ROCKS!
 Kurt Weill - Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny / Lenya · Brückner-Rüggeberg
Kurt Weill , Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg , and Lotte Lenya
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General ModernGeneral Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Classical MusicClassical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Opera & VocalOpera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Lotte Lenya sings Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins & Berlin Theatre Songs

ASIN: B000009I3P
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

  1. Act I, No.1: Gesucht Werden Leokadja Begbick - Richard Munch/Peter Markwort/Horst Gunter/Gisela Litz
  2. Act I, No.1: Sie Soll Sein Wie Ein Netz - Gisela Litz/Peter Markwort/Horst Gunter
  3. Act I, No.2: Rasch Wuchs/Oh, Show Us The Way - Richard Munch/Lotte Lenya/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn
  4. Act I, No.3: Die Nachricht - Richard Munch/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Peter Markwort/Horst Gunter
  5. Act I, No.4: In Den Nachsten Tagen - Richard Munch/Heinz Sauerbaum/Fritz Gollnitz/George Mund/Sigmund Roth
  6. Act I, No.5: Damals Kam Unter Anderen - Richard Munch/Heinz Sauerbaum/Fritz Gollnitz/Georg Mund/Sigmund Roth/Gisela Litz
  7. Act I, No.5: Heraus, Ihr Schonen Von Mahagonny - Heinz Sauerbaum/Fritz Gollnitz/Georg Mund/Sigmund Roth/Lotte Lenya/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn
  8. Act I, No.5: Ach, Bedenken Sie - Lotte Lenya/Fritz Gollnitz/Gisela Litz/Heinz Sauerbaum
  9. Act I, No.6: Ich Habe Gelernt - Lotte Lenya/Heinz Sauerbaum
  10. Act I, No.7: Alle Grossen Unternehmungen - Richard Munch/Gisela Litz/Peter Markwort/Horst Gunter
  11. Act I, No.7: Auch Ich Bin Einmal - Gisela Litz/Peter Markwort/Horst Gunter
  12. Act I, No.8: Alle Wahrhaft Suchenden - Richard Munch/Fritz Gollnitz/Heinz Sauerbaum/Georg Mund/Sigmund Roth
  13. Act I, No.8: Aber Etwas Fehlt - Heinz Sauerbaum/Fritz Gollnitz/Georg Mund/Sigmund Roth
  14. Act I, No.9: Das Ist Die Ewige Kunst - Fritz Gollnitz/Heinz Sauerbaum/Gisela Litz
  15. Act I, No.9: Sieben Jahre - North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Fritz Gollnitz/Georg Mund/Sigmund Roth/Heinz Sauerbaum...
  16. Act I, No.10: Ein Taifun! - Richard Munch/Lotte Lenya/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Gisela Litz/Peter Markwort/Horst Gunter
  17. Act I, No.11: In Dieser Nacht Des Entsetzens - Richard Munch/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Lotte Lenya/Fritz Gollnitz/Gisela Litz...
  18. Act I, No.11: Nein, Jetzt Sage Ich - Heinz Sauerbaum/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Gisela Litz
  19. Act I, No.11: So Tuet Nur, Was Euch Beliebt - Gisela Litz/Heinz Sauerbaum/Fritz Gollnitz/Georg Mund/Sigmund Roth/Peter Markwort/Horst Gunter...
  20. Act II, No.12: Hurrikan Bewegt - North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Richard Munch
  21. Act II, No.12: O Wunderbare Losung! - North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn

Tracks:

  1. Act II, No.13: Von Nun An War Der Leitspruch - Richard Munch/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn
  2. Act II, No.13: Jetzt Hab Ich Gegessen Zwei Kalber - Fritz Gollnitz/Heinz Sauerbaum/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn
  3. Act II, No.14: Zweitens Kommt Die Liebe Dran! - North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Gisela Litz
  4. Act II, No.14: Sieh Jene Kraniche - Lotte Lenya/Heinz Sauerbaum
  5. Act II, No.14: Erstens, Vergesst Nicht, Kommt Das Fressen - North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn
  6. Act II, No.15: Wir, Meine Herren - Sigmund Roth/Peter Markwort/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Georg Mund/Heinz Sauerbaum
  7. Act II, No.15: Dreimal Hoch Dreieinigkeitsmoses! - North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Horst Gunter/Heinz Sauerbaum/Sigmund Roth
  8. Act II, No.16: Freunde, Kommt, Ich Lade Euch Ein - Heinz Sauerbaum/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Heinz Sauerbaum/Peter Markwort/Georg Mund...
  9. Act II, No.16: Meine Herren, Meine Mutter Pragte - Lotte Lenya/Horst Gunter/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn
  10. Act II, No.17: Wenn Der Himmel Hell Wird - Heinz Sauerbaum
  11. Act III, No.18: Haben All Zuschauer - Horst Gunter/Gisela Litz/Peter Markwort/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn
  12. Act III, No.18: Zweitens Der Fall Des Jimmy Mahoney - Horst Gunter/Heinz Sauerbaum/Georg Mund/Gisela Litz/Peter Markwort/Lotte Lenya...
  13. Act III, No.19: In Dieser Zeit Gab Es In Mahagonny - Richard Munch/Gisela Litz/Lotte Lenya/Peter Markwort/Georg Mund/Horst Gunter/Fritz Gollnitz
  14. Act III, No.20: Hinrichtung Und Tod Des Jimmy Mahoney - Richard Munch/Horst Gunter/Heinz Sauerbaum/Lotte Lenya/Georg Mund
  15. Act III, No.20: Erstens, Vergesst Nicht, Kommt Das Fressen - North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn/Horst Gunter/Heinz Sauerbaum
  16. Act III, No.21: Wohlt Ihr Mich Denn Wirklich Hinrichten? - Heinz Sauerbaum/Gisela Litz/Peter Markwort/Fritz Gollnitz/Georg Mund/Horst Gunter/Lotte Lenya
  17. Act III, No.21: In Diesen Tagen Fanden In Mahagonny - Richard Munch/Gisela Litz/Peter Markwort/Horst Gunter/North German Radio Chor/Max Thurn

Amazon.com essential recording

Even seasoned operagoers are likely to look at this cast list and wonder who these people--aside from Lotte Lenya--are. The answer is that it doesn't really matter. The point is that this mid-1950s recording, made a little more than two decades after the piece's premiere, authoritatively captures the unique, peculiar, fragile style of Brecht and Weill in the Weimar Republic. That means big, provocative ideas expressed with relatively humble musical means with a presentational style of theater and vocal gruffness inhabiting its own netherworld between cabaret and opera. If one needs further proof, this performance has all the grit one hears in the scratchy, 1932 original-cast excerpts, with the exception of Lenya, who sounds like a bad opera singer in the early recordings but the very soul of Weill's cynical, world-weary music in the later one. In fact, she delivers the now-overexposed "Alabama Song" with an acerbic freshness here that may not be possible today. Other recordings may be more faithful to the original keys but not as faithful to its spirit. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Viva la Lenya! Viva la Weill! Viva la Brecht!.......2000-07-30

This recording, as the above editorial review states, is very faithful to the original spirit of MAHAGONNY and the decadent Weimar Republic. Lenya is absolutely brilliant. First off, in "Ach, Bedanken Sie, Herr Jacob Schmidt:" her voice is plaintiff, yet unsentimental. She delves into the role of Jenny, showing us her pathetic upbringing in this song, and hopping right back up for the sexual manipulation of Jenny's character in the ensuing scene with Jimmu Mahoney. But her real triumph is in Jenny's big, Act Two soliliquy "Denn Wie Man Sich Bettet." It is among the dramatic highlights of the show, and Lenya has stamped her name on this song forever. This score is undeniably inventive, just listen to the underscoring in the opening dialogue between Fatty and Trinity-Moses. Then there is the brass and woodwind fugue that represents the approach of the typhoon, and all of the above-mentioned songs. The tenor portraying Jimmy Mahoney on this album is of very good voice, and it shows in his "Duet of the Cranes" with Lenya, as well as his first act two arias. The three woodcutter's make a good harmonic combination in "Wunderbar ist des Heraufkommen des Abends--," and this, along with the "Crane Duet" and the chorus act two opening chorale, poses as one of the few calm, peaceful moments in this in-your-face ferocity (the chorus sounds beautiful in their act two opener). The only quibbles that I have with this album are the quick tempos (which was neccesary to fit the score on two long-playing records in its original 1958 release), and a few spots where Weill's original orchestrations have been tampered with. Other than that this is a highly enjoyable recording, and a good introduction to one of the few masterpieces among 20th Century Opera that was not by Menotti or Stravinsky.

4 out of 5 stars If Mack the Knife is all you know, you're really missing out.......1999-10-22

Truly this is Weill's masterpiece, and perhaps one of Bert Brecht's best, too. If a drunk Ferruchio Busoni wrote Dixieland jazz, this probably would be the result. I also have the Capriccio CD, and despite it's superior fidelity, the performances don't compare. (Except for the restoration of the "bordello-scene"; omitted in this recording.) In the Capriccio CD, the singing is pompous, more befitting an inflated "Rienzi"; in this vintage recording, the performance is probably closer to Weill's conception. Doors freaks will enjoy the "Alabama-Song"; while political historians will notice a clever foreshadowing of the maniacal reign of Hitler. This is the quintissential Weill--forget Dreigroschenoper! The omitted star is for mono sound, but one hardly notices the limitation.

5 out of 5 stars Truly an amazing work.......1999-09-06

*sigh* This is a fantastic and epic recording. I sat myself down with the translated lyrics and took two days to listen to it. It's a mockery of the American Musical, of capitalism, of socialism, of the values mankind pretends to hold dear... I was thoroughly blown away.

5 out of 5 stars MAHAGONNY ROCKS!.......1999-06-01

Don't be 'afraid' of this exciting music-theatre work even if your idea of opera is only hurdy-gurdy-verdi. It is melodic and jazzy and very exciting. The performances are first rate: real singing ACTORS! (inc. Weill's widow, Lotte Lenya). The recording was made in the 1950's but the sound is terrific. Everytime I listen to it (and I listen far more than I ever thought I would) I get chills.

Track Listings:

  1. Lamentations de la Renaissance
  2. Les Plus Grandes Toccatas V.100 [Import]
  3. Liszt: Complete Organ Works
  4. Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonatas [Box set]
  5. Mahler: Symphony No. 3; Schubert: "Rosamunde;" Webern: Six Pieces for Orchestra / Gielen, SWR Sinfonieorchester
  6. Mahler: Symphony No. 9; Wagner: Siegfried-Idyll; Strauss: Metamorphosen
  7. Maurice Jarre at the Royal Festival Hall [Live] [Soundtrack]
  8. Mendelssohn: The Piano Trios
  9. Monteverdi - Madrigali guerrieri ed amorosi / Concerto Köln, Jacobs
  10. Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 21 & 23

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

At the End of a Perfect Day [Import]

Handel's the Messiah

Classified

1951-1952

Kings of Punk [Import]

Gangster of Love [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Excellent [Live]

Genteel Companion

Grand View Drive

Feets, Don't Fail Me Now

Everybody Loves a Happy Ending

Concierto del Amor [Live]

El Hombre y la Voz

E.Z. Does It

Visions