Rundfunk Archive

WEILL/BRECHT: Die Sieben Todsünden – Gisela May (sop.), Peter Schreier (tenor)/ Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orch. Leipzig – Brilliant Classics

by Audiophile Audition | Apr 12, 2016 | Classical Reissue Reviews

WEILL/BRECHT: Die Sieben Todsünden – Gisela May (sop.)/ Peter Schreier (tenor)/ Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orch. Leipzig – 95126, 70:33 – Brilliant Classics (Distr. by Naxos) ****½: What a difference the right style makes. A short while ago I listened to the DVD release of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (2007), the performance with Patty Lupone and Audra McDonald. It had won two Emmys and features elaborate sets, polished singing, highly stylized acting, and peppy dance numbers. It was performed in operetta style, like another musical Lupone was in: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita. But what it did not have was grit. Irony. That decadent Weimar aura. It did not have Gisela May. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that they got it all wrong, despite those shiny American awards. May, on the other hand, does get it right, with a classic cabaret style that would have made Brecht & Weill proud. You can almost smell the cigar smoke. In every piece, she belts out the famous songs from their four most notable collaborations, and in one case, performs the entire book. (Die Sieben Todsünden). From the moment audiences hear the languid woodwind opening, they may never […]