Riccardo Chailly and Irina Brook bring Brecht and Weill back to La Scala

On March 18 at 8 pm CET, Riccardo Chailly conducts Die sieben Tosdsünden (“The Seven Deadly Sins”) and Mahagonny Songspiel in a live-streamed performance from La Scala.

The Kurt Weill double bill is directed by Irina Brook (daughter of director Peter Brook), with a cast that includes Kate Lindsey as Anna I (in Todsünden) and Betsy (in Mahagonny) and Lauren Michelle as Anna II and Jessie.

Kate Lindsey gave a recital with music by Weill, Korngold, Zemlinsky and Alma Mahler in Milan's opera house which debuted last night and is available on the Teatro all Scala site and permanently on RaiPlay.it

Chailly, who has just been reconfirmed until 2026 as director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, is a conductor with extensive knowledge of the 20th-century repertoire: from his beginnings with Hans Werner Henze, his friendship with Luciano Berio, the role he played in the rediscovery of Edgar Varèse, and his notable recordings of works by Berg, Bartók, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Hindemith and Messiaen. His curiosity and passion apply to the avant-garde (Nono, Maderna up to his friend Wolfgang Rihm) and composers such as Gershwin. This picture is completed by the double bill dedicated to Kurt Weill, a composer Chailly knows well having conducted many works by Weill (including the Berliner Requiem) during his years with the RSO Berlin.

Brecht and Weill at La Scala

The first Weill work to be performed at La Scala was the one-act opera buffa Der Zar lässt sich photographieren (The Tsar Has His Photograph Taken), which took place thanks to Bruno Maderna, who conducted it in 1962 at the Piccola Scala theatre. In 1964, again at the Piccola Scala, the Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny was staged under the baton of Nino Sanzogno and directed by Giorgio Strehler. Five years later Der Jasager (He Said Yes) was also produced at La Scala's chamber theatre, which sadly no longer exists. These three productions were all sung in Italian. When the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin visited LA Scala in 1971, Gisela May of the Berliner Ensemble was the protagonist of an evening that combined Die sieben Tosdsünden with songs from other works. Strehler returned in 1974 with an evening of songs in Italian called Io, Bertolt Brecht at the Villa Reale in Monza, which was seen in 1975 at the Piccola Scala, while again in 1975 the music of Weill concluded the evening of Canzoni come costume – Canzoni come civiltà, an evening conceived by Filippo Crivelli for the voice of Milly at the Piccola.

In 1988, La Scala and Milan's Piccolo Teatro joined forces to re-propose Der Jasager und der Neinsager, directed by Lamberto Puggelli, with sets by Josef Svoboda and conducted by Emilio Pomarico. Zoltan Peskó performed The Seven Deadly Sins in concert with Milva and the Orchestra della Scala in 1989, and in 1993 Luciano Berio included pieces by Weill in his Homage to Cathy Berberian with Ute Lemper. The Swingle Singers performed pieces by Weill in their concert in 2000, and subsequently, Weill has appeared in recital programmes sung by Karin Schmidt (2003), Anne-Sophie von Otter (2008) and Angela Denoke (2010) and in the concert of the Filarmonica conducted by Testuji Honna for the opening of the Milano Musica Festival in 2009.

DIE SIEBEN TODSÜNDEN – MAHAGONNY-SONGSPIEL

Kurt Weill
DIE SIEBEN TODSÜNDEN

Conductor Riccardo Chailly
Director Irina Brook

CAST
Anna I – Kate Lindsey
Anna II – Lauren Michelle
Bruder – Elliott Carlton Hines
Mutter – Andrew Harris
Vater – Matthäus Schmidlechner
Bruder – Michael Smallwood

Kurt Weill
MAHAGONNY-SONGSPIEL

Conductor Riccardo Chailly
Director Irina Brook

CAST
Jimmy – Andrew Harris
Bobby – Elliott Carlton Hines
Billy – Michael Smallwood
Charlie – Matthäus Schmidlechner
Jessie – Lauren Michelle
Bessie – Kate Lindsey

Top photo: Lindsey Kate, photo by Rosetta Greek

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.