In hopes of shedding light:
According to Martin Esslin's critical biography, Die Dreigroschenoper
premiered on August 31, 1928, at the Theatre am Schiffbauerdamm in
Berlin. And yes, there the Pirate Jenny song does appear there, but
originally this was assigned to Polly Peachum (played by Carola Neher in
Berlin) for the wedding scene in the first act. It was given to Lenya at
some point because she and Weill felt that she didn't have enough to do
during her own scenes.
Aufsteig und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny premiered in Leipzig in March,
1930. It was based on a "songspiel" called Mahagonny, better known as
"The Little Mahagonny" (to differentiate it from an opera), which was
first produced at the music festival in Baden-Baden in 1927. There's a
good recording of this conducted by David Atherton on DG. The text of
this "Little Mahagonny" wasn't originally written as a songspiel;
essentially, they're poems by Brecht set by Weill, several of which are
indeed written in that bizarre pidgin English of Brecht's.
In the hope that this helps, in doubt that it will,
George
Robin Hamilton wrote:
>> The story about Lenya meeting Stratas is true. The latter was making
>> a specialty of Jenny in Mahagonny, Lenya created the role in
>> 1920something.
>
> I'm getting a little confused here, Ken -- I thought (Pirate) Jenny
> was what Lotte Lenya sang in +Threepenny Opera+. "Surabaya Johnny" is
> (indeed) from Mahagony -- isn't it the only song there which was
> originally written in English?
>
> The top of my head says 3dO was thirties, and Mahagony was later,
> written when Brecht/Weill had skipped to the States. I think I have a
> CD of the original performance of 3dO, and another from the fifties
> when LL's voice was virtually gone, and Mahagony on tape -- isn't the
> twenties a little early?
>
> But (almost certainly) I've managed to screw this up in my head -- can
> you uncrumple this much-crumpled thing?
>
> Robin
>
>> As I heard it she presented herself to the younger soprano backstage,
>> after a performance, and all but ordained her as a priestess of the
>> cult of Brecht & Weill. She gave Stratas access to all the
>> unpublished material her husband left in a bank vault. Stratas
>> recorded a CD called The Unknown Kurt Weill which included some
>> wonderful music as well as junk like "Schickelgruber." When Lenya
>> was in the last throes of lung cancer, a true agony, Stratas
>> cancelled chunks of her performing scheduled to nurse her, slept by
>> her bed, was with her when she died. Separate love from madness, I
>> dare you....
>>
>> Ken
>
>
--
George Hunka
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http://www.ghunka.com
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