Berthold Brecht's lyrics In Kurt Weill's operas
Slrdsyj
did he write both the German and the English lyrics of Kurt Weill's operas?
This question came to me after catching on TV a nightclub concert
performance of Eartha Kitt singing "Barbara Song" and "Surabaya Johnny" in
English. I thought I saw the songs' lyrics or the arias' lyrics being
credited to Brecht. So did he write the German libretto or both the German and
English libretti?
On that note, where could I find the German lyrics of these two arias/songs
- particularly the German equivalents or counterparts of the following lines? :
1.) "...Chin up high and keep your powder dry..."
2.) "...No, you can't just let a man walk over you!",
3.) "He was a fine man."
4.) "...a man who treats me like a lady, but then I turned and said, 'Sorry'."
5.) "He deceived, lied, and cheated down the line."
6.) "Now take that pipe out of your mouth, you swine."
7.) "But I do love you so."
Thanks in advance.
Mike Richter
Barbara Song is from Dreigroschen Oper, book and lyrics by Brecht;
Surabaja Jonny from Happy End, only the lyrics by Brecht. Texts and
translations (by Georg Kaiser) of both were in the Columbia LP of
"Berlin Theater Songs" (KL5056). You may find them in the CD release of
the pair of Weill discs with Lenya.
Perhaps the Dreigroschen Oper translation is from Marc Blitzstein's
long-running Broadway version. Its songs were issued on MGM E3121, but
no texts are included. I'd like to know whether that made it to CD; it
certainly should have.
Happy End was televised in 1985; again, I haven't time to check the tape
even to remind myself whether it was in English (I believe it was) or
who translated it.
I hope the clues help and I'm sorry that the research you're asking for
is more than I can offer.
Michael Bednarek
rec.music.opera:
> Did Berthold Brecht write only the German lyrics of Kurt Weill's operas, or
>did he write both the German and the English lyrics of Kurt Weill's operas?
I'm pretty sure Brecht wrote (or stole, as some say) only the German
lyrics. Also, only a small part of Weill's work is set to Brecht texts.
> This question came to me after catching on TV a nightclub concert
>performance of Eartha Kitt singing "Barbara Song" and "Surabaya Johnny" in
>English. I thought I saw the songs' lyrics or the arias' lyrics being
>credited to Brecht. So did he write the German libretto or both the German and
>English libretti?
>
> On that note, where could I find the German lyrics of these two arias/songs
>- particularly the German equivalents or counterparts of the following lines? :
You can find the German and English (by Ralph Mannheim and John Willett
(1979)) lyrics of the Dreigroschenoper at <http://mbednarek.com/tpo.php>
or directly at <http://mbednarek.com/tpo/libretto.pdf>. I don't think
the German lyrics to Surabaya Johnny are online.
[snip]
--
Michael Bednarek http://mbednarek.com/ "POST NO BILLS"
Kim Scarborough
>>did he write both the German and the English lyrics of Kurt Weill's operas?
>
> I'm pretty sure Brecht wrote (or stole, as some say) only the German
> lyrics.
One Brecht-Weill composition was only in English: "Alabama Song" from
Mahagonny Songspiel (later expanded into The Rise & Fall of the City of
Mahagonny). Lotte Lenya, who didn't know English at that time, learned it
phonetically.
--
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Kim Scarborough http://www.unknown.nu/kim/
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Peter
collaborations, i.e. "Dreigroschenoper", "Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt
Mahagonny" (including the preliminary "Kleines Mahagonny"), "Happy End",
"Die Sieben Todsuenden", and some separate songs.
However two of the songs in the "Mahagonnys" were written in English by
Brecht, the famous "Alabama Song", and the "Benares Song."