Lotte Lenya sings Kurt Weill's
The Seven Deadly Sins & Berlin
Theatre Songs
Queen of the Epic Theatre & Dark Cabaret
#1
Levine, Lenya,
Armstrong, Gilford, et al
Queen of the Epic
Theatre & Dark Cabaret #2
Back in dark days of
the Age of the LP & Before The Flood, one of my most cherished LP was a two
album collection simply titled LOTTE LENYA. It contained a smashing collection
of the singer's selections from the pre-World War Two days in Germany, to later
work in the United States theatre scene. It was really wonderful &
contained great translations of all the German songs in a commemorative insert.
Alas, the album was washed away in the Flood. I made attempts to relocate a
replacement, but the original seemed to have completely vanished. Then, wonder
of wonders, Amazon was born & I thought I had discovered a CD version--with
the original cover photo of the Star--but it contents was nothing like the LP.
As a matter of fact it was very disappointing.
Ah, shucks...
But then I started looking at other CD's a made a miraculous discovery: all the
tunes & their original line-up were found on a compilation of 2 available
CDs: LOTTE LENYA SINGS KURT WEIL SINGS KURT WEIL'S THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS &
BERLIN THEATRE SONGS, and LOTTE LENYA SINGS KURT WEIL & AMERICAN THEATRE
SONGS.
The only real difference between the CD's and the original LP was that they
included other numbers (including the fantastic number What Would You Do? from
Cabaret) and no translation material--but I'm sure it can be located somewhere
on the web. Nonetheless, I felt like I got my baby back--well, something like
that anyway.
This CD, LOTTE LENYA SINGS KURT WEIL & AMERICAN THEATRE SONGS, pretty much
covers her American Theatre career. Selections 1-12 were on the original LP in
that same order. It should be mentioned that many critics agree that Kurt
Weill's work really suffered in the American theatre environment. Without the
influence of Bertolt Brecht and the playwright's concept of Epic Theatre, Weill
had to compromise & satisfy American artistic commercialism. So some of
these songs aren't so hot--but the added German numbers compensate & the
fact that they represent the legacy of the legendary Lotte Lenya, I still
thinks this CD deserves 5 Stars.
Here's a few highlights:
"September Song" is a great American standard & Lenya's
interpretation is still the best.
"Trouble Man" is a vocally demanding composition. You can actually hear
the singer gasping for breath--and this only heightens the dramatic delivery of
the song. It's wonderful.
"What Would You Do?" from Cabaret is effectively performed. It's a
compassionate song about an elderly woman who, when confronted by a young idealist
asking how she can just sit back when an evil regime begins to dominate
society--admits to being afraid, but too old to do anything about it. It has a
timely message.
Both CDs will have immense appear to people who love theatre, dark musicals,
German cabaret, the German language, history, etc. I can't recommend this CD
enough!
EPIC
THEATER refers to playwright Bertolt Brecht’s literary & theatrical style
of presenting characters who represent social forces rather than individuals.
The technique is based on the Marxist concept of historical materialism. This
idea asserts that history is motivated by class struggle & that we live in
the age of capitalism in decay Brecht remained in E. Germany after the fall of
Berlin that ended World War II. He has often been castigated as an apologist
for Stalin.
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Review: JEFarrow
Updated 05/09
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