Kurt Weill - Die Sieben Todsünden; etc. (Gisela May)

Information

Composer: Kurt Weill

• (01-09) Die Sieben Todsünden
• (10) Berliner Requiem: Vom ertrunkenen Mädchen
• (11-14) from Happy End
• (15-16) from Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny
• (17-19) from Die Dreigroschenoper
• (20) Berliner Requiem: Zu Potsdam unter den Eichen

Gisela May, soprano

Peter Schreier, tenor (1-9)
Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, tenor (1-9)
Günther Leib, baritone (1-9)
Hermann Christian Polster, bass (1-9)
Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra (1-9)
Herbert Kegel, conductor

Studio-Männerchor (10)
Studio-Orchester (10-20)
Henry Krtschil, conductor (10 & 20)
Heinz Rögner, conductor (11-19)

Recording Date: 1965, 1966, 1968
Compilation: 2015
Label: Brilliant Classics

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Review

A short while ago I listened to the DVD release of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (2007), the performance with Patty Lupone and Audra McDonald. It had won two Emmys and features elaborate sets, polished singing, highly stylized acting, and peppy dance numbers. It was performed in operetta style, like another musical Lupone was in: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita. But what it did not have was grit. Irony. That decadent Weimar aura.

It did not have Gisela May.

In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that they got it all wrong, despite those shiny American awards. May, on the other hand, does get it right, with a classic cabaret style that would have made Brecht & Weill proud. You can almost smell the cigar smoke. In every piece, she belts out the famous songs from their four most notable collaborations, and in one case, performs the entire book. (Die Sieben Todsünden). From the moment audiences hear the languid woodwind opening, they may never doubt they are experiencing work by a master. The pieces are even sung ragged at times. The second one, “Faulheit” (“Sloth”) is performed call-and-response style, with Peter Schreier’s bold voice answered by a quavering male chorus in the background. May’s portamento is spot-on in “Stolz” (“Pride’), imparting a louche sheen to all her plaints. The fifty-year old recording isn’t perfect and the male chorus is miked a little lopsidedly. But when the singing is most effective, it plunks May into a high-contrast audio spotlight.

The Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Leipzig is tough and tight at all times. They adapt to the challenges of these works with spirit and imagination; for example, they hone in on the two quite different songs from Eisler’s Berliner Requiem (text also by Brecht) and tackle their idiosyncrasies.  The chorus in the first is so subtle it works like sympathetic strings on a viola d’amore. Listen to May’s chilling last notes on this one. Of the final nine cuts, the most notable are “Surabaya Johnny” (from Happy End) and “Seerauber-Jenny” (“Pirate Jenny” from Die Dreigroschenoper).  I also think that her two renditions from  The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny outdo Lupone’s. By far.

I would have given this disc five stars for the redoubtable Gisela May, the best interpreter of Weill/Brecht since Lotte Lenya. But alas, the booklet disappoints. Its text is poorly written, it has no libretto, and worst of all, no pictures! It is a minor flaw though, easily resolved by a two-minute search on the web.

-- Peter Bates, AUDIOPHILE AUDITION

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Kurt Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950) was a German composer, who became a United States citizen in 1943. Weill held the ideal of writing music that served a socially useful purpose. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht, such as Weill's best-known work The Threepenny Opera, which included the ballad "Mack the Knife". Weill's music was admired by Berg, Zemlinsky, Milhaud and Stravinsky, but was also criticised Schoenberg and Webern. Sixty years after his death, Weill's music continues to be performed both in popular and classical contexts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Weill

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Gisela May (31 May 1924 in Wetzlar – 2 December 2016 in Berlin) was a German actress and singer, who made a name especially as an interpreter in Bertolt Brecht's plays. She studied at the drama school in Leipzig from 1942 to 1944 and employed at various theatres. In 1962, May moved to Bertolt Brecht's theatre group, the Berliner Ensemble, stayed for 30 years, and played a variety of roles. May was known as a diverse performer performing in musicals, television series and also solo concerto concerts internationally, including at New York's Carnegie Hall and the Milan Scala.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gisela_May

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