Recommended Threepenny Opera Recording?

I just got back from Berlin a few weeks back where I saw a production of Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) at the Bertolt Brecht founded Berliner Ensemble. Completely fell in love with the show and the specific production but of course there was no recording to buy.

Can anyone recommend a good recording of the show, either in German or in English? It's a shame the revival a few years back wasn't recorded Everything I come across on iTunes to buy just isn't doing it for me, so if anyone is partial to a specific recording, let me know!

I've always loved this recoding, possibly because it was the first one I heard, but even so, the cast is extraordinary.


1976 Public Theater revival

The Berlin RIAS under Mauceri, with Lemper, Dernesch, etc. is my favorite. The truest to the score and text, I think. And really entertaining. It has Lucy's Aria, something you almost never hear.

I've never even SEEN the 1976 recording, although the poster was everywhere when I lived in NYC.

Good to know it's out there.

Another vote for the '76.

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I would recommend the 1976 version if you can get your hands on it.


I love it. I think the orchestrations and cast both provide a fitting rendition of the piece. I heard Lenya hated that production, which is a bummer because Ellen Greene was fantastic as Jenny.

I also enjoy the Donmar version. What I don't like is how they set it in a post-apocalyptic future at the time of "King William's" coronation. Another issue is that while they may fit the original's raunchy and biting intentions, the lyrics aren't completely faithful but they do flow more lyrically than some other clunky versions. I've read both the Manheim-Willett (1976) version (different lyrics on the recording bug the hell out of me though) and the Jeremy Sams (Donmar) versions.


I wish the Frank McGuinness version from Ireland was recorded (haven't read that one, REALLY want to), with Marianne Faithfull playing Jenny. Her version on her "20th Century Blues" album are great.

I'm kind of a Threepenny nerd.

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The '76 version is available on iTunes, Gaveston.

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I don't remember "Lucy's Aria" being on the BBC radio broadcast. If it is it's not in it's usual spot. Or I'm missing it.

***Never mind it's there. Is that the only English language recording of the song?

Updated On: 8/29/13 at 12:29 AM

Yes, because the Shawn translation was the only other major production to include the Aria, and it went unrecorded.

I am partial to Lenya's contributions to it. But the rest of the recording is very mixed, to me.

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"I would recommend the 1976 version if you can get your hands on it."
You can.
The 1976 NYSF recording has been released on CD through ArkivMusic-

Release Date: 04/07/2009
Label: Sony Catalog #: 51520
Composer: Kurt Weill
Performer: Glenn Kezer, Ellen Greene, Raul Julia, Elizabeth Wilson, ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestra
Number of Discs: 1

Release Notes-
If you're looking for Brecht and Weill's Threepenny Opera in English, this 1976 Joseph Papp revival is well worth considering via Arkivmusic.com's valuable "on demand" reprint program. It boasts an English translation by Ralph Manheim and John Willett that is far truer to Brecht's gritty, uncensored German original than the better known and "cleaner" Marc Blitzstein version, as well as Weill's original orchestrations and keys, played by a lively 14-musician pit band. Likewise, tempos largely reflect Weill's markings, which explains the Overture's unusual deliberation, and the "No They Can't" song's verse and chorus in the same tempo, among other revelations.

The singers' techniques are oriented toward Broadway rather than the opera house, which is appropriate for this work, and everyone delivers the goods, big time. Indeed, I had forgotten just how well Raul Julia sang; his Macheath exudes plenty of charm along with the requisite sleaze. Listeners accustomed to Lotte Lenya's angry, edgy Pirate Jenny will be surprised by Ellen Greene's hypnotic understatement. The choral numbers are cleanly dispatched without sacrificing energy and intensity. A pity that the booklet notes do not credit Stanley Silverman's superb musical direction.

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Updated On: 8/29/13 at 12:34 PM

I was in a production of the Blitzstein version and found it quite dull. The 1976 version is more biting, but as mentioned before, the lyrics are clunky to the point of distraction. My favorite is the Donmar recording which is a very different approach to the text, but to me, is the most interesting and attractive musically. I especially love the first act finale entitled "Life's a Bitch".

Though Tara Hugo's rendition of The Moritat (annoyingly called "The Flick-Knife Song" and made an act closer in this version) is great

That is my absolute FAVORITE recording of that song. Her delivery is quite chilling. And starting the song a capella and having it slowly build from there only adds to the intensity of the number. I shudder every time I hear it, but in a good way.

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I really don't mind that so much. It is a bit odd not having the song as the opening, but the placement of the song works well for me given that it's been assigned to a different character.

And the orchestrations of that Donmar recording are my favorite as well. At turns eerie and intense.

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