Bertolt Brecht

The Threepenny Opera

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktdetails

• Modern Classics
• Verlag: BLOOMSBURY 3PL
• Seitenzahl: 144
• Erscheinungstermin: April 2003
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 202mm x 129mm x 12mm
• Gewicht: 166g
• ISBN-13: 9780413390301
• ISBN-10: 0413390306
• Artikelnr.: 21123194

Autorenporträt

Manheim, RalphRalph Manheim (b. New York, 1907) was an American translator of German and French literature. His translating career began with a translation of Mein Kempf in which Manheim set out to reproduce Hitler's idiosyncratic, often grammatically aberrant style. In collaboration with John Willett, Manheim translated the works of Bertolt Brecht. The Pen/Ralph Manheim Medal for translation, inaugurated in his name, is a major lifetime achievement award in the field of translation. He himself won its predecessor, the PEN translation prize, in 1964. Manheim died in Cambridge in 1992. He was 85.

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