If Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum exits One third of opera–Die Dreigroschenoper For Herkunftssprechers, entering our world, he might be some sort of social media philanthropy consultant. He can charge a fee (and percentage) that can tell you what spin to pay on a GoFundMe request to cover your medical expenses. Peachum will go away as he did in his early masterpieces of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, which is easy to go away. These days, just begging for your bread will need a LLC.
Die Dreigroschenoper It's John Gay's Beggar's opera Berlin in the late 1920s. This proves that things have changed fundamentally Dreigroschenoper For the late 2020s, New York is still just One third of opera. Looking down at the barrel of a possible recession and the widening wealth gap, the similarities are easy to see. Luckily, Barrie Kosky's Berliner Ensemble Production (BAM) (with limited performances) resonates with these not so good, but rather provides sleek, charming and very fun performances in a modern part-time setup. Elaborate scaffolding takes over almost the entire stage, with sparkling black tinsels on the front and back. The set reminds you of Art Deco wallpaper: Stairs and mazes create stiff geometric forms that you get stuck and have to get out of it. It requires climbing, gliding and full athletic ability from the cast, especially the central character, anti-hero arch crime man hand Macheath.
See also: Barrie Kosky
The Berliner Ensemble was founded by Brecht himself and his wife Helene Weigel, who became the company’s artistic director, who had all the kindness that could revive one of Brecht’s most popular works: with the long history of the work, powerful actors and some excellent musicians. Weill sounds sober under Adam Benzwi’s guidance, and Weill’s dirty classical ballroom scores are very clear, highlighting the numerous musical jokes from fake arias to fake Bach Bach choir. The whole show was clarified cocktails, easily dropping. We built the mood of the sound with the most famous tune “Die Moritat von Mackie Messer” (“Mack the Knife”), sung by a character named “Soho Moon Over Soho” and built the smoky, smoky, auxiliary, paired lovely effect of the traditional street singing and the shimmering Josefin Platt.
Die Dreigroschenoper It's an opera, and singing (I mean the quality of it, not the fact that the song) is at least irrelevant. What matters is the talent for the line delivery and the personality and expressiveness of the actor's voice. In this regard, this is mostly beyond the task, with obvious comedic traits and some pretty good performances.
After a wonderful introduction to Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum (Tilo Nest, razor-sharp in a double-breasted suit) and the opera's themes—poverty, cynicism, the threadbare morality of the upper classes—we finally meet Macheath, whose wedding to Polly Peachum (Maeve Metelka, gleeful and game) incites the interpersonal conflict of the whole show.
As Macheath, Gabriel Schneider is soft and tough, full of violence and mean acting skills that fascinate him. He has an acrobat's command of his body, able to create shapes and good sounds to start. The second act begins because he is absent. Metelka's Polly is a good match for him – she sold “seeräuberjenny” with a strong man – but her character has fewer roles after the number of fireworks in the first act.
Aside from Schneider's own top class, another best performance might have to go to Kathrin Wehlisch, the corrupt police chief and former fighter Tiger Brown of Macheath's. From Wehlisch's footsteps to her raspy harrumphs to her beard, she is a master of body comedy. A last bit, she tried to feed Mackie's last meal, crispy asparagus delivered in a squeaky shopping cart, was a delicious treat for comic gold.
Celia Peachum of Constanze Becker is another valuable player. She was a stuffy, cruel and pleasing world, her long face and black eyes were like Modigliani's paintings, a Dominatrix. She and Tilo Nest Rocky Horror Picture Show, It is a slight victory. Bettina Hoppe is another former lover and prostitute of Macheath, Ginny-Jenny, whose character is the only one who has experienced something like moral conflict, but her character is a person's character – but her Salomonsong needs stronger voice or more creative gigs.
Laura Balzer's Lucy Brown is the most picky of screaming, roaring and ing feet, full of neon lights that make her look like a demented Furby or a psychotic gum machine. The performance was completely fun until it became too extensive.
Kosky has a sharp eye as a director, especially when working on scaffolding. Without it, the direction loses some focus. Too many numbers are parked and barked, like the second act of Ginny-Jenny and Lucy. Although Act 2 drags down Act 2, the final scene covering Mackie's execution is both fun and poignant, giving Schneider another chance to show off his vast emotional and comedic skills. But to avoid you feeling too much about cute rogues, Kosky in a perfect moment brings an illuminated sign that pushes opera into a desperate era of millennial man-made jokes and rejects any emotions that are unconscious at least dramatically.
Brecht and Weill learn from an endless (money-making) cynicism, just to achieve strange sympathy, while the manipulator and the manipulated person know what is going on. They certainly know that the theater is not life – the fake ending says so – but survival usually requires the theater. After all, even the clever sarcastic plea still expresses a sincere need.
