Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht - The Seven Deadly Sins (Die sieben Todsünden) (1933) [Score-Video]

The Seven Deadly Sins (Die sieven Todsünden)
Composed by Kurt Weill in 1933 with a libretto by Bertolt Brecht
English translation by W. H. Auden und Chester Kallman
Recording: Portraying Passion (2018)
00:00 - Titles
0:16 - Prologue
3:50 - Faulheit / Sloth
8:07 - Stolz / Pride
12:37 - Zorn / Anger
17:19 - Völlerei / Gluttony
20:53 - Unzucht / Lust
26:24 - Habsucht / Covetousness
29:42 - Neid / Envy
35:14 - Epilogue
36:44 - Personnel
While living in Paris in 1932, Weill received a commission from wealthy Englishman Edward James to compose a piece for James' wife, ballerina Tilly Losch, to dance opposite Weill's wife, singer Lotte Lenya. Weill invited long-time collaborator playwright Bertolt Brecht to join him in Paris and work on the libretto. It was the last major collaboration between the two.
The resulting piece was 'Die Sieben Todsünden,' a 'ballet chanté.' The story was of a young girl, Anna, who left her four family members in Louisiana to travel to all the great American cities. After seven years, she would return to Louisiana with enough money to build a house for her family on the Mississippi river. Anna is represented as two performers, her passionate, artistic, and impulsive side represented by a dancer (Anna II), and her level-headed conscience by a singer (Anna I).
The work premiered on June 7th, 1933 in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, with Lotte Lenya as Anna I, and Tilly Losch as Anna II.
After Weill's death, Lenya revived the work in the 1950s, recording a version in 1997. The work has had multiple major revivals over the years, proving to be a perfect example of the genius of Weill and Brecht.
www.kwf.org/wo...

[@skitzo429]

The recording is the original version, the score is a “cabaret” version, which is lowered a fourth whenever Anna is singing. The lower version was prepared for Weill’s wife Lotte Lenya so she could still sing the role as she got older (she also originated it as a younger woman). Both versions are still used, the lower “cabaret” version is used by non-classical singers (e.g., Storm Large), while opera singers sing the original higher version. This mixup is actually pretty common, I used to be a professional orchestra librarian and we once ordered the wrong version of the sheet music that didn’t match what the soloist had prepared.

[@ziusudra970]

That's interssting context. Thank you for sharing

[@treesny]

As many viewers may not be aware, Kurt Weill died in 1950; the lowered version was prepared after his death by other hands for Lenya's performances with the New York City Ballet. She recorded this version in 1957 (NOT 1997!). Listen to her recordings from the 1920s-30s to hear the voice for which Weill conceived the role of Anna I. To my ears, Weill's original sounds infinitely better, especially in a fine performance like this.

[@lightspeed174]

I must say, this is fantastic. Just love it. The soloist are just outstanding. A magnificent recording. This is to me is the best rendition I've ever heard. I thank you so much for uploading this most beautiful recording of, The Seven Deadly Sins.

[@dianadaher9870]

Que maravilha! Amarei essa obra pra sempre ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@MaestroWenarto]

who is this wonderful singer?

[@mpcadence7572]

Tora Augestad! :)

[@lesterrocks2439]

Ok. The score is partly in a lower key. It’s a little confusing.just saying

[@mirandaaad-4285]

it's probably because Weill's wife (to whom the role of Anna I was intended) sang it in this key when she was older, even though it was initially written in a different (higher) key, which is what you hear and is how most sopranos sing it.

[@treesny]

@@mirandaaad-4285 After Kurt Weill's premature death in 1950, his widow Lotte Lenya became a passionate, active advocate for his music. This version was prepared in the 1950s so she could perform the role of Anna I with the New York City Ballet -- she had originated the role in 1933, when her vocal range was much higher. For many years, the only recordings of the ballet were in the lowered keys -- in addition to Lenya, there was a notable one by the chanteuse Gisela May -- which unfortunately established a very misleading aural picture of Weill's score. (This has continued to the present day, with another new recording of the transposed version on the new DG "Kurt Weill Album".) If you look at 0:09 on this video, you will see that the table of contents lists "Originalfassung" (=original version) followed by "Anhang / Fassung fuer tiefe Stimme" (=Appendix / Version for low voice). (Copies of the piano-vocal score published prior to the 1950s had only the original version.) Why the person who posted this performance went to the trouble of posting the wrong score version, interleaving the numbers in the appendix with the unchanged ones, is a real mystery. Did they think that because the soloist is a mezzo-soprano she had opted for the transposed version? Not so. Anyway, so nice to hear this excellent performance of the piece as Weill wrote it! ADDITIONAL NOTE: The English performing version by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman printed in the score was made for the NYCB performances. FINAL NOTE: Mezzo-soprano Tora Augestad is truly wonderful as the two Annas; altogether by far the best recording of the work I've ever heard. A really fresh interpretation, without a hint of the stereotyped "cabaret in Berlin/Germany in the 1920s" nostalgia that is NOT what this piece is about!

[@geigerbauer]

I like the singing so much.....

[@wonder-womyn]

Lenya also had an affair with Tilly Losch.

[@hannureittu4310]

👏👏👏