![]() ![]() In the early 1700s, the Beggar's Opera-which poked light fun at London's bourgeois classes-became wildly popular as the first comic opera. It was also historically fascinating because it was actually a re-write of a musical composed a full 200 years before, John Gay's Beggar's Opera. It also integrated contemporary trends like tango and foxtrot. Die Dreigroschenoper was revolutionary because it was a fun musical that doubled as biting satire, throwing stone after stone at the corruption of the German government and its supporters without naming any names. In some ways, The Threepenny Opera, tagged by Brecht and Weill as a show "by and for beggars," revolutionized musical theater. Little did Weill and Brecht know it would be one of their most well-known legacies. Macheath or Mack the Knife, suggested that a whole song should be written to introduce his character before he comes on stage.Īs one columnist recently wrote, "the essence of the song is: Oh, look who's coming onstage, it's Mack the Knife-a thief, murderer, arsonist, and rapist." ( Source) The song, which became the opening number, was composed in less than 24 hours and added to the show at the final hour. As the story goes, the diva-esque tenor who was playing the part of Mackie Messer, a.k.a. "Mack the Knife" was composed on a whim by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill while they were putting the finishing touches on Die Dreigroschenoper in 1928. The idea of a "bad guy" who is also a charming protagonist is the theme of "Mack the Knife," which rather miraculously went from being a sassy show-tune in a leftist German opera to becoming one of the most popular songs in the 20th-century United States. We see the same thing in the show The Sopranos, in which murderous mobsters are the protagonists, and in countless other mobster films that have struck a chord in popular culture. What's more, they're portrayed as human beings: they have charm, wit, humor, and complexity. ![]() In The Wire, the gang leaders and drug-lords often display more moral consistency than the cops and state representatives. But like The Wire, The Threepenny Opera ultimately paints a picture in which the corruption of so-called criminals is only as bad as the corruption of those in power-and sometimes a little more heroic. It focuses on the members of society who are supposed to be the worst-of-the-worst: In 1920s Germany, this meant beggars, thieves, and killers. The Threepenny Opera is a lot like the television show The Wire. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |