Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill - The Threepenny Opera (1954 New York Cast) (Blitzstein Adaptation)
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Free Music Notes for The Threepenny Opera (1954 New York Cast) (Blitzstein Adaptation)
Free Music Review: Still the best
Hit: 5 Stars
I read other reader's reviews that were critical of the audio, but I didn't find any problem with it. I had the LP since my college days -- 50 years ago now. I loved it then and I love it still. The sardonic lyrics can be chilling and they are delivered perfectly. Don't miss this one. It is unique.Free Music Review: excellent glimpse of the past
Hit: 5 Stars
This was a brilliant indiction of how the Threepenny Opera sounded off Broadway. The orchestrational sounds were clear and gave true atmosphere.Accompanying booklet gave excellent history of piece plus recording information. Used for 3rd year music undergraduate presentation.Free Music Review: AWESOME!!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is AWESOME!!I originally just listened to it, because my favorite actress, Charlotte Rae, is in it, but now I'm really hooked.I listen to it all the time!Free Music Review: Lotte Lenya and Bea Arthur in Kurt Weill's masterpiece!
Hit: 4 Stars
THE THREEPENNY OPERA is indeed Weill and Brecht's masterpiece. The darkly humorous, anarchic and gritty musical has influenced many works throughout the ensuing decades (a recent example being URINETOWN). The now-legendary 1954 off-Broadway revival at the Theatre de Lys is still agruably the greatest production of THREEPENNY, which featured new lyrics translated by Marc Blitzstein (JUNO).Decca Broadway's reissue of the cast album is average, though. Several dropouts and surface hiss are slightly off-putting to the ear.
Lotte Lenya plays the role of the streetwalker Jenny Diver, and her rendition of "Pirate Jenny" is one of the two major highlights from the set. The other highlight is Bea Arthur's portrayal of Lucy Brown; her reading of "Barbara Song" is full of grit and she belts it in grand style.
Jo Sullivan (who would later marry Frank Loesser) gives a sparkling performance as Polly Peachum, joining Bea Arthur for the caustic "Jealousy Duet". Scott Merrill adds his silvery voice to the menacing "Mack the Knife". The cast also features Charlotte Rae and Martin Wolfson.
Also included is a rare recording of Lotte Lenya singing "Mack the Knife", accompanied by Marc Blitzstein at the piano.
Free Music Review: Sound off!
Hit: 4 Stars
I remember when this show was playing off Broadway at the Theater de Lys on Christopher Street in NYC. I purchased the album on LP (MGM label) way back then, which I lost along the way and replaced with another LP issued on a different label. This one went the way of all discs too, so I finally located this CD.
The performance is just as wonderful as I remember it. This show is truly a landmark in American theater. In it are pre-fame appearances of Charlotte Rae and Bea Arthur and both are superb! Everybody in the cast gets into the spirit of the piece and the result is a funny and mildly caustic collection of irony and social commentary.
One negative: The sound quality is not as clear as it was on the LP versions. Especially noticeable is the loss of initial consonants and consonants generally, throughout the piece. This points up one of the shortcomings of digital remastering.
Otherwise, buy it and enjoy it! Great music, great theater!