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The Threepenny Opera

by Bertolt Brecht, Elisabeth Hauptmann, Kurt Weill (Composer)

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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1,6671910,432 (3.88)37
This Student Edition of Brecht's satire on the capitalist society of the Weimar Republic features an extensive introduction and commentary that includes a plot summary, discussion of the context, themes, characters, style and language as well as questions for further study and notes on words and phrases in the text. It is the perfect edition for students of theatre and literature. Based on John Gay's eighteenth century Beggar's Opera, The Threepenny Opera, first staged in 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin, is a vicious satire on the bourgeois capitalist society of the Weimar Republic, but set in a mock-Victorian Soho. It focuses on the feud between Macheaf - an amoral criminal - and his father in law, a racketeer who controls and exploits London's beggars and is intent on having Macheaf hanged. Despite the resistance by Macheaf's friend the Chief of Police, Macheaf is eventually condemned to hang, until in a comic reversal the queen pardons him and grants him a title and land. With Kurt Weill's unforgettable music - one of the earliest and most successful attempts to introduce jazz to the theatre - it became a popular hit throughout the western world. The text is presented in the trusted translation by Ralph Manheim and John Willett.… (more)
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» See also 37 mentions

English (17)  Spanish (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (19)
Showing 1-5 of 17 (next | show all)
I saw this, in Berlin I think, and I remember pieces from class, but I'm not sure I ever sat down and read it before. ( )
  Kiramke | Jun 27, 2023 |
Phoenix Falmouth
  rogamills | Oct 8, 2022 |
Brecht, Bertolt. The Threepenny Opera. 1928. Translated by Desmond I. Vesey and Eric Bentley. Foreword by Lotte Lenya. Grove Press, 1994.
Reviewers of The Threepenny Opera often mention its indictment of capitalism. Certainly, Brecht’s notes and “Tips” to actors suggest that is part of what he was after. He also says that he wanted to distance the audience from the action and characters to encourage it to respond intellectually to what it was seeing. Certainly, one could stage the play as an anti-capitalist rant, but the play offers so many levels of satire and parody, that to do so undersells. Its source, John Gay’s Beggar’s Opera, was a satire of Italian opera. Threepenny was billed not as an opera or a musical but as a “play with music.” The hero, Macheath, is aware that he is a pop star, and comes out singing his own pop anthem, “Mack the Knife.” Jenny, originally played by composer Kurt Weill’s wife, Lotte Lenya, appears as a character in “Mack the Knife” and is the heroine of her own fantasy in the play’s other pop hit, “Pirate Jenny,” a.k.a. “The Black Freighter.” Besides the aesthetic parody, gender roles get attention, just as they did in the Gay original. Characters seem aware that they are playing to the audience, showing off their skillfulness at greed, crime, and seduction. We can enjoy it all, without ever thinking of capitalism. 4 stars. ( )
  Tom-e | Jul 18, 2022 |
To read its average to watch its a 5/5, my favourite musical. ( )
  wreade1872 | Nov 28, 2021 |
National Theatre, London. Probably more of a 3.5 as it drags in the 2nd half but when it's good, its majestic. Loved the very Brechtian staging and the general anarchism, catch it whilst you still can. ( )
  arewenotben | Jul 31, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 17 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (65 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Brecht, Bertoltprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hauptmann, Elisabethmain authorall editionsconfirmed
Weill, KurtComposermain authorall editionsconfirmed
Nydorf, CharlesTranslatormain authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bentley, EricTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Blitzstein, MarcTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Castellani, EmilioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lenye, LotteForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Manheim, RalphTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vesey, DesmondTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Willett, JohnTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Die Moritat von Mackie Messer.
Jahrmarkt in Soho.
Die Bettler betteln, die Diebe stehlen die Huren huren. Ein Moritatensänger singt eine Moritat.

Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne
Und die trägt er im Gesicht
Und Macheath, der hat ein Messer
Doch das Messer sieht man nicht.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
351810229X 2001 softcover German edition suhrkamp 229
3518221558 1994 hardcover German Bibliothek Suhrkamp 1155
351873220X 2013 eBook German suhrkamp
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This Student Edition of Brecht's satire on the capitalist society of the Weimar Republic features an extensive introduction and commentary that includes a plot summary, discussion of the context, themes, characters, style and language as well as questions for further study and notes on words and phrases in the text. It is the perfect edition for students of theatre and literature. Based on John Gay's eighteenth century Beggar's Opera, The Threepenny Opera, first staged in 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin, is a vicious satire on the bourgeois capitalist society of the Weimar Republic, but set in a mock-Victorian Soho. It focuses on the feud between Macheaf - an amoral criminal - and his father in law, a racketeer who controls and exploits London's beggars and is intent on having Macheaf hanged. Despite the resistance by Macheaf's friend the Chief of Police, Macheaf is eventually condemned to hang, until in a comic reversal the queen pardons him and grants him a title and land. With Kurt Weill's unforgettable music - one of the earliest and most successful attempts to introduce jazz to the theatre - it became a popular hit throughout the western world. The text is presented in the trusted translation by Ralph Manheim and John Willett.

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One of Bertolt Brecht's best-loved and most performed plays, The Threepenny Opera was first staged in 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, Berlin (now the home of the Berliner Ensemble). Based on the eighteenth-century The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, the play is a satire on the bourgeois society of the Weimar Republic, but set in a mock-Victorian Soho. With Kurt Weill's music, which was one of the earliest and most successful attempts to introduce the jazz idiom into the theatre, it became a popular hit throughout the western world.
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