Released by Sony, this CD is a reissue of recordings made by the legendary Lotte Lenya in the 1950s of Kurt Weill's "Die sieben Todesünden" on lyrics by Brecht and Weill's "Berlin theater songs" on lyrics by Brecht and Georg Kaiser. The first-mentioned work, a ballet sung in nine scenes, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful that Weill has written. The story is about two sisters, both named
… Anna, who try to earn money on a trip through various American cities to build a house for their families. Of the two Anna's (essentially two sides of one person) the practically-minded Anna has to bring the innocence of the other Anna back to reality again and again. During this journey they are confronted with the seven deadly sins: laziness, pride, anger, gluttony, lust, avarice and envy. After seven years, they return with the money, but at what cost? This publication, which was very welcome in the Brecht year, was awarded a 9/10 in Listen. (HJ) _more
