From Academic Kids"Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", was composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928. Show The Threepenny OperaA moritat is a medieval version of the murder ballad performed by strolling minstrels, from mori meaning "deadly" and tat meaning "deed". In the Threepenny Opera, the moritat singer with his street organ introduces and closes the drama with the tale of the deadly Mackie Messer, or Mack the Knife, a character based on the dashing highwayman Macheath in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. The Brecht-Weill version was less dashing and much more cruel and sinister and has been transformed into a modern anti-hero. The opera opens with the moritat singer comparing Macheath with a shark, and then telling tales of his robberies, murders, rapes, and arson: The first verse in German: Und der Haifisch, der hat Z�hne, Und die tr�gt er im Gesicht. Und Macheath, der hat ein Messer, Doch das Messer sieht man nicht.Literal translation: And the shark, he has teeth, And he wears them in his face, And Macheath has a knife But the knife one does not see.In the best known English translation, from the Marc Blitzstein 1954 version of Threepenny Opera, which introduced the song to English-speaking audiences, the words are: Oh the shark has pretty teeth dear, And he shows them pearly white Just a jacknife has Macheath dear And he keeps it out of sight.This is the version performed on popular hits by Louis Armstrong (1956) and Bobby Darin (1959), and most subsequent 'swing' versions. Weill's widow, Lotte Lenya, the star of both the original 1928 German production and the 1954 Blitzstein Broadway version, was present in the studio during Armstrong's recording. He spontaneously added her name to the lyrics, which already named several of Macheath's female victims. In 1976 the version translated by Ralph Manheim and John Willett opened on Broadway. Here is an excerpt: See the shark with teeth like razors You can read his open face And Macheath, he's got a knife, and In such an obvious placeThis is the version later performed by Sting and Nick Cave. It is also the version performed by Lyle Lovett on the soundtrack of the film Quiz Show (1994). The rarely heard final verse, which closes the opera, and expresses the theme, compares the glittering world of the rich and powerful with the dark world of the poor: In German: Denn die einen sind im Dunkeln Und die andern sind im Licht Und man siehet die im Lichte Die im Dunkeln sieht man nichtIn English: There are some who are in darkness And the others are in light And you see the ones in brightness Those in darkness drop from sightCrimes of MacheathThe song attributes many crimes to Macheath:
The arson and rape were omitted from the Blitzstein version. American popular songIn the United States, the song is most closely associated with Bobby Darin, who recorded his version in 1959. It was #1 on the US pop chart. It was introduced to the US hit parade by Louis Armstrong in 1954. Darin's version was described by Frank Sinatra, who also recorded the song, as the "definitive" version. Ella Fitzgerald made a famous live recording in which she forgot the lyrics after the first verse and successfully improvised new lyrics in a performance that earned a Grammy. Robbie Williams also recorded the song, the latter in his 2001 Swing album, Swing When You're Winning. Another version was recorded by Texas singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore. See also
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The Portrait of Kurt Weill’s and Bertold Brecht’s song MACK THE KNIFERead Interesting facts and hear great YouTube Videos about the famous Aria “MACK THE KNIFE“. If you want to hear more about the THREEPENNY OPERA, click on this link to the opera portrait The Song MACK THE KNIFE – Synopsis and background
This song stands at the beginning of this work with a background of social criticism written by Weill and Brecht. They called it “the Moritat of Mackie Messer”. Moritat (probably coming from the word
“murderous deed” or “morality”) was a horror ballad that were sung at fairs and was accompanied by violins or barrel organs. Despite the gruesome lyrics, the singer remains unmoved. This so-called “alienation effect” allows the audience to keep their distance to allow critical thinking. What counts is no longer the empathic musical drama we know from Verdi or Wagner, but Brecht’s “epic theatre”. Consequently, this spine-chilling ballade is mostly set in major key, only shortly at the beginning of the B-part Weill changes to a minor key: The Aria – the text of MACK THE KNIFEOriginal German lyrics
Darin’s American-English lyrics
Famous interpretations of MACK THE KNIFEFirst we hear the version of the first macheath, Harald Paulsen, to whom we owe the existence of the piece (see introductory text). Der Haifisch hat Zähne – Paulsen His role later in the Third Reich, however, was a sad one. He was an opportunist and notorious as an informer. Leonard Bernstein took up the opera in the 50s and asked Blitzstein to create an English version for the Broadway. Blitzstein moved the “Three Penny Opera” to the New York of 1870 and wrote the text in American slang. Lotte Lenya again sang Jenny as she die in the premiere 30 years before. The work had a huge impact in America. Many jazz musicians appreciated that Weill, unlike other European composers, really wrote in the stile of jazz and the song found many adaptations by American jazz musicians. The first one was Louis Armstrong, who, with his voice and the arrangement, made the song a great swing number. Mack the knife – Armstrong In 1960 Ella Fitzgerald brought “Mack the knife” back to Berlin and received a Grammy for it. Her interpretation turned the key chromatically one step higher with each line, 11 times in total. Breathtaking. Mack the knife – Fitzgerald Hildegard Knef, a german speaking actor, recorded the song in 1962. Ella Fitzgerald described her as the ♪ Interesting facts ♪ great YouTube Videos ♪ about Weill’s famous song MACK THE KNIFE ♪ with interpretations of Fitzgerald, Paulsen, Sinatra ♪”best singer without voice”. Und der Haifisch der hat Zähne – Knef At a mature age Frank Sinatra included the song in his concert repertoire, with resounding success. Mack the knife – Sinatra Peter Lutz, opera-inside, the online opera guide to the song “MACK THE KNIFE” from the threepenny opera from Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht 23. February 2020/ |