Bertolt Brecht

The Threepenny Opera (eBook, ePUB)

Übersetzer: Manheim, Ralph; Willett, John

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

This Student Edition of Brecht's satire on the capitalist society of the Weimar Republic features an extensive
introduction and commentary that includes a plot summary, discussion of
the context, themes, characters, style and language as well as
questions for further study and notes on words and phrases in the text.
It is the perfect edition for students of theatre and literature.
Based on John Gay's eighteenth century Beggar's Opera, The Threepenny Opera,
first staged in 1928 at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin, is a
vicious satire on the bourgeois capitalist society of the Weimar
Republic, but set in a mock-Victorian Soho. It focuses on the feud between Macheaf - an amoral criminal - and his father in law, a racketeer who controls and exploits London's beggars and is intent on having Macheaf hanged. Despite the resistance by Macheaf's friend the Chief of Police, Macheaf is eventually condemned to hang, until in a comic reversal the queen pardons him and grants him a title and land. With Kurt Weill's
unforgettable music - one of the earliest and most successful attempts
to introduce jazz to the theatre - it became a popular hit throughout
the western world.

The text is presented in the trusted translation by Ralph Manheim and John Willett.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK
• Seitenzahl: 192
• Erscheinungstermin: 10. April 2015
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781472538239
• Artikelnr.: 42519291

Autorenporträt

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) is acknowledged as one of the great dramatists whose plays, work with the Berliner Ensemble and critical writings have had a considerable influence on the theatre. His landmark plays include The Threepenny Opera, Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, The Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and Her Children and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-W0409-300 / Kolbe, Jörg / CC-BY-SA

Inhaltsangabe

Chronology Contexts
Historical, social and cultural
Political and social climate of the 1920s
Cultural context: the Roaring '20s
Significance of the play for Brecht and for political theatre
18th century context
20th century context
Britain vs. Germany; London/East London Genres
Opera/music/theatre
a new theatrical genre
Adaptation
John Gay, The Beggar's Opera
Hybridity: low
and highbrow, emphasis on fun, entertainment in Brechtian theatre
Satire Themes
Who is who? Bourgeois and/or beggar?
Role of the institutions (police, royal family, state)
Corruption, money
Exploitation, human trade, poverty
Morality, asocial vs. social
Love and sexuality, prostitution
Resistance and change
Which opportunities for change are envisioned by the play? Characters Male characters
Peachum empire
Macheath
Tigerbrown Female characters and sexual politics of the play
Mrs Peachum
Polly
Jenny Play as performance
Brechtian principles of theatre
making > emphasis on dialectical theatre > theatricality > actor
audience relationship > deus
ex
machina ending
Music > Kurt Weill's composition > Brechtian opera > The significance of the songs Academic debate
Central strands in scholarship (comparative readings, focus on music and operatic genre) Production history
German productions (Berliner Ensemble; new production announced for January 2021)
English productions
International success (and problems which ensued: misinterpretation, commercialisation, etc.)
Der Dreigroschenprozess (The Threepenny Trial by Bertolt Brecht)
Simon Stephens's recent new version at the National Theatre, UK
Joachim Lang's film Mackie Messer
Brechts Dreigroschenfilm Behind the scenes Interview with playwright Simon Stephens Further reading and viewing THE THREEPENNY OPERA Additional texts Notes