In the 1990s an icon of the 60s recasts herself as an icon of Weimar Germany. When Marianne Faithfull Sings Kurt Weill she channels Weill-muse Lotte Lenya. Ms. Faithfull with her pianist Paul Trueblood includes 11 songs, 8 of which are from the Weill European catalogue in this hour-long cabaret act which was filmed in 1997 for the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
Among the "usual" Weill fare (Alabama Song, Pirate Jenny, Surabaya Johnny) is the haunting anti-war song "What was Sent to the Soldier's Wife" and three non-Weill songs, including a Noel Coward piece. Ms. Faithfull provides a bit of narrative to introduce the songs and string the Weill/Brecht pieces into their history, but for the most part this is a straight-forward cabaret recital, and the fans clearly love her.
In a video-taped press conference included as a DVD extra, Ms. Faithfull says she has lived with these songs her whole life, as her mother was an Austrian ballet dancer who had 78s of Weill's music when she emigrated to Britain after World War II. She sings them as if she's lived with them, as well as having lived with the emotions behind the songs. And while Faithfull might not live up to ghost of Lenya, she keeps the tradition of the whiskey-voice chanteuse (is there a German version of that word?) alive for a new generation.
Also in the press conference, Faithfull credits the translations of the German to an Irish writer friend of hers, whose name I didn't catch. The translation that srtuck me was for "Pirate Jenny" from The Three Penny Opera; it was unlike any version I had heard before and didn't flow with the music like I expected.
Another entry that's not really a Broadway musical. Points for exploring, but maybe points taken off for not very aptly managing the order of discs I watch.
Among the "usual" Weill fare (Alabama Song, Pirate Jenny, Surabaya Johnny) is the haunting anti-war song "What was Sent to the Soldier's Wife" and three non-Weill songs, including a Noel Coward piece. Ms. Faithfull provides a bit of narrative to introduce the songs and string the Weill/Brecht pieces into their history, but for the most part this is a straight-forward cabaret recital, and the fans clearly love her.
In a video-taped press conference included as a DVD extra, Ms. Faithfull says she has lived with these songs her whole life, as her mother was an Austrian ballet dancer who had 78s of Weill's music when she emigrated to Britain after World War II. She sings them as if she's lived with them, as well as having lived with the emotions behind the songs. And while Faithfull might not live up to ghost of Lenya, she keeps the tradition of the whiskey-voice chanteuse (is there a German version of that word?) alive for a new generation.
Also in the press conference, Faithfull credits the translations of the German to an Irish writer friend of hers, whose name I didn't catch. The translation that srtuck me was for "Pirate Jenny" from The Three Penny Opera; it was unlike any version I had heard before and didn't flow with the music like I expected.
Another entry that's not really a Broadway musical. Points for exploring, but maybe points taken off for not very aptly managing the order of discs I watch.
Marianne Faithfull Sings Kurt Weill
Music by Kurt Weill, Noel Coward and others
Text by Bertold Brecht and others
Filmed at the 1997 Montreal International Jazz Festival
Released on DVD
Cast: Marianne Faithfull, Paul Trueblood
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