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. Published in Methuen Drama's
Modern Classics series in a trusted translation by Ralph Manheim and
John Willett, this edition features extensive notes and commentary
including an introduction to the play, Brecht's own notes on the play,
a full appendix of textual variants, a note by composer Kurt Weill, a
transcript of a discussion about the play between Brecht and a theatre
director, plus editorial notes on the genesis of the play.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781408176641
Publisert
2015
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Methuen Drama
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter