From the podium

The Three Penny Opera has entranced me since childhood. My mother owns an original copy of the 10 inch thirty-three-and-a-third LP of extracts from the original Berlin production. She would only play this cherished recording on request and I distinctly remember the strange sounds of the German and startling music that emanated there from. I did not discover that much more about Kurt Weill until later years when I began collecting records in earnest. I purchased the CBS recording (now available on CD) with Lotte Lenya and conducted by Brückner-Rüggerberg. I consumed this recording listening to it repeatedly until every note became embedded in my memory. The style of the work, the use of language, the directness of the complex tonalities spoke to me directly. I collected every other available recording of Weill and now have a complete set of all the recorded works - including the original release of Lost in the Stars, Weill's musical based upon Allan Paton's bestseller about South Africa, Cry the Beloved Country. Considering the direction my own creativity would take over the next few years, the fact that Weill could concern himself with the racial problems we were forced to live with, was and remains an inspiration to me.

More research into Weill's life and work brought me to the abstract works, the two symphonies (1921, 1933) and the Violin Concerto, Lindburgh Flight, Berliner Requiem and others. I found an intensity and honesty in the writing that made me want to perform these works. However, time and money have so far not permitted the realization of this particular goal. I have been very fortunate though, to have accompanied almost every one of Weill's songs with some accomplished singers. This hands on experience has had its advantages and in conjunction with careful and comprehensive study of Weill's fascinating output I feel fully equipped to deal with the subtleties and demands of the Three Penny Opera score.

The brilliance of this work lies in its immediacy. Although dealing with the darker side of human nature, Brecht and Weill never fail to entertain us. Their message is blunt their manner of delivery direct and consequently the audience is in no doubt as to what has happened. However, what has really happened? We have seen and heard a morality play with toe-tapping rhythms and intelligently wrought lyrics. We have undoubtedly experienced good theatre. Most of all, we have been in touch with the most elegant of muses, music and its ability to communicate the mystery of emotive language. The Three Penny Opera is difficult to categorize, but it is definitely not a musical. This is not to make light of the musical genre, but rather that the term musical is today even more in the realms of light entertainment.

Based on John Gay's The Beggars' Opera of 1722 (incidentally there is version of the same by Benjamin Britten) Weill and Brecht recreated the peace, unlike Britten who remain mainly faithful to the original.. Kate and I recently had the opportunity of visiting the Handel House Museum in London (newly opened) where we were able to trace some of the history surrounding The Beggars' Opera, John Gay and his friendship with Handel. What impressed Kate I think, was her link as Mrs. Peacham with so an historic a work. The Three Penny Opera has been such a part of our cultural heritage that it has achieved the same status of other masterpieces. There is a continuum stretching from John Gay to the present along which many actors, conductors, musicians and audience have traveled which links our common experience.

I have chosen to use the newest edition of The Three Penny Opera that has a new translation by Michael Feinstein and for the first time, a complete orchestral score prepared by the Kurt Weill Foundation in New York. The translation maintains as close a link as possible with the original German text, and although the air is a little blue at times, it is all within the bounds of good theatrical taste. Much detail has gone into the editing and publication of the score, and all possible sources painstakingly researched.

These include the original manuscript with Weill's and Brückner-Rüggerberg's corrections and suggestions as well as various publications of the piano vocal score over the years. In 1928 the work was one of the most avant-garde pieces about and caused a sensation in Berlin. Today, the song Mack the Knife enjoys a status well beyond the confines of the piece itself and in recent years many performers from Lotte Lenya herself, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra to Sting and Robbie Williams have popularized the ballad even more. Other songs have now achieved there position in the common repertoire and can be heard on most cabaret and concert stages throughout the modern world.

I have waited and hoped patiently for some twenty years to be able to conduct this work. When the opportunity arose to do The Three Penny Opera with the English Theatre Group of Zug, I was thrilled to help make it all happen. No stranger to the group myself, and having had a hand in Mother Goose and Oklahoma! I knew that the talents, efforts and dedication of the members would make this a memorable and succesful production. My colleagues Dorothee Roth, Charlie Lucarotti, and I have assembled a motley crew of very talented individuals whose various capabilities - both physical and thespan - are ideally suited to our needs! Our musicians are young professionals drawn from that great pool of peripatetic players from London's West End who add their knowledge and competence to our efforts. Our seasoned back stage team in the capable hands of Kate Morgan and Fiona Schaller and Linda Schuerpf as well as our competent Front-of-House Team, all come together to create some theatre magic. I would like to thank the Executive Committee and all those I have not thanked for making this possible, and I would especially like to thank Kate and my family for their strength and belief in me.

David Hönigsberg