#1
Posted: 11/14/05 at 12:06pm
I'd love to see this, but it's in LA, unfortunately. Oh well. It'll be interesting to see how how McDonald handles this music. It's a songspiel that Lenya did to perfection originally, but in recent years has been done mostly by opera singers -- notably Teresa Stratas. The role is very difficult, shifting frequently between most singers' chest and head registers, but given her training and all the amplification, McDonald should be fine.
From Playbill:
"Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald, who most recently shared the stage in the Ravinia Festival's production of Anyone Can Whistle, will reteam for a production of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
LuPone, who recently received rave reviews for her portrayal of Mrs. Lovett in the hit Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd, told Playbill.com, "I am doing Mahagonny . . . with Audra [McDonald] with the L.A. Opera in 2007, directed by Tim Robbins, conducted by James Conlon." The opera, which features the classic tune "Moon of Alabama," will feature LuPone as Mrs. Begbick, a madame, and McDonald as Jenny, a prostitute.
The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny was originally presented in Leipzig in 1930. In 1931 Lotte Lenya, Weill's wife, starred in a production in Germany. The opera was subsequently banned by the Nazis and did not play Germany again until the 1950's."
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/96245.html
From Playbill:
"Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald, who most recently shared the stage in the Ravinia Festival's production of Anyone Can Whistle, will reteam for a production of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
LuPone, who recently received rave reviews for her portrayal of Mrs. Lovett in the hit Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd, told Playbill.com, "I am doing Mahagonny . . . with Audra [McDonald] with the L.A. Opera in 2007, directed by Tim Robbins, conducted by James Conlon." The opera, which features the classic tune "Moon of Alabama," will feature LuPone as Mrs. Begbick, a madame, and McDonald as Jenny, a prostitute.
The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny was originally presented in Leipzig in 1930. In 1931 Lotte Lenya, Weill's wife, starred in a production in Germany. The opera was subsequently banned by the Nazis and did not play Germany again until the 1950's."
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/96245.html
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Updated On: 11/14/05 at 12:06 PM
