The Three Penny Opera

One of the historic Three Penny Opera Posters

A milestone of 20th century musical theater, The Three Penny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) rolls on unstoppably into the 21st. In their opera “by and for beggars,” composer Kurt Weill (1900-1950) and playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) transformed saccharine, old-fashioned opera and operetta forms, incorporating a sharp political perspective and the sound of 1920s Berlin dance bands and cabaret. Weill’s acid harmonies and Brecht’s biting texts created a revolutionary new musical theater that inspired such subsequent hits as Cabaret, Chicago, and Urinetown. The show’s opening number, “Mack the Knife,” became one of the top popular songs of the century.

Read more at www.threepennyopera.org

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