That Kurt Weill (1900-1950) had an exceptionally good nose for music theater is evident not only from his world-famous contribution to the Threepenny Opera, but from his entire oeuvre. In 1926 he had already reaped great success with Der Protagonist and wrote an extremely successful comic opera, Der Zar läßt sich photographieren. The two works recorded here were created between these two pieces,
… which are particularly striking because they both stage a completely different kind of musical theater. Der neue Orpheus is a kind of solo cantata, in which Orpheus walks around modern Berlin and notices that no one wants to listen to his voice anymore. Royal Palace also harks back to ancient myths, moved to the present. The focus is on Dejanira, the wife of Heracles, who stays in a luxury hotel in the Alps. Striking about both pieces is the strongly alienating atmosphere, which would later be gratefully adopted by Brecht, and the strong emphasis on the role of dance - during the suicide of the protagonist at the end, a sensual tango sounds. These are partly recording premieres, because the score of Royal Palace was lost and here it sounds in reconstructed form. Weill's infectious music is more than worthwhile and this CD is therefore highly recommended to all opera lovers. (JvG) Weill's catchy music is well worth the effort and this CD is therefore highly recommended to all opera lovers. (JvG) Weill's catchy music is well worth the effort and this CD is therefore highly recommended to all opera lovers. (JvG)more
