The classic musical by Kurt Weill and Marc Blitzstein, featuring Lotte Lenya, Jo Sullivan and Gerald Price.

Die Dreigroschenoper, the groundbreaking collaboration between Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, reimagined John Gay's 18th-century operetta The Beggar's Opera and caused a sensation across Europe after its 1928 premiere in Germany. However, when The Threepenny Opera made its Broadway debut in 1933, its gritty depiction of the criminal underworld failed to resonate with American audiences, resulting in a swift closure. It wasn't until 21 years later, with Marc Blitzstein's new English adaptation, that the show found success in New York. Staged in a small Greenwich Village theater, this version ran for 2,611 performances--longer than any Broadway musical of its time--while establishing Off-Broadway as a serious theatrical platform.

The original cast album, the first ever recorded for an Off-Broadway show, captures the essence of what drew audiences downtown. Featuring an eight-piece ensemble--keyboards, clarinets, trumpets, trombone, percussion, and banjo/guitar--the arrangements are minimalistic, highlighting Brecht's razor-sharp, literate lyrics that offer biting social commentary. The cast includes a standout Polly Peachum, sung by soprano Jo Sullivan, and Lotte Lenya (Weill's widow) as Jenny Towler, delivering the chilling 'Pirate Jenny.' Gerald Price handles 'The Ballad of Mack the Knife' with confidence, foreshadowing its later rise as an unlikely pop standard.

Track Listing

• Prologue
• Overture
• The Ballad of Mack the Knife
• Morning Anthem
• Instead-Of-Song
• Wedding Song
• Pirate Jenny
• Army Song
• Love Song
• Ballad of Dependency
• Melodrama / Polly's Song
• Ballad of the Easy Life
• The World Is Mean
• Barbara Song
• Tango Ballad
• Jealousy Duet
• How to Survive
• The Socrates Song (Solomonsong)
• Useless Song
• Solomon Song
• A Call from the Grave
• Death Message
• Finale: the Mounted Messanger
• Act III Finale

Additional Details

Label: JAY Records

Genre: Musical/Broadway

Run Time: 60 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 06/07/24

UPC: 5015062110128