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The Partnership: Brecht, Weill, Three Women, and Germany on the Brink
This fascinating portrait of two of the most brilliant theater artists of the twentieth century—and the women who made their work possible—is set against the explosive years of the Weimar Republic.
Among the most outsized personalities of the sizzling, decadent period between the Great War and the Nazis’ rise to power were the renegade poet Bertolt Brecht and the avant-garde composer Kurt Weill. These two young geniuses and the three women vital to their work—actresses Lotte Lenya and Helene Weigel and writer Elisabeth Hauptmann—joined talents to create the theatrical masterworks The Threepenny Opera and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny , only to split in rancor as their culture cracked open and their differences became irreconcilable. The Partnership is the first book to tell the full story of one of the most important creative collaborations of the last century, and the first to give full credit to the women who contributed their enormous gifts. Theirs is a thrilling story of artistic daring entwined with sexual freedom during the Weimar Republic’s most fevered years, a time when art and politics and society were inextricably mixed.
Among the most outsized personalities of the sizzling, decadent period between the Great War and the Nazis’ rise to power were the renegade poet Bertolt Brecht and the avant-garde composer Kurt Weill. These two young geniuses and the three women vital to their work—actresses Lotte Lenya and Helene Weigel and writer Elisabeth Hauptmann—joined talents to create the theatrical masterworks The Threepenny Opera and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny , only to split in rancor as their culture cracked open and their differences became irreconcilable. The Partnership is the first book to tell the full story of one of the most important creative collaborations of the last century, and the first to give full credit to the women who contributed their enormous gifts. Theirs is a thrilling story of artistic daring entwined with sexual freedom during the Weimar Republic’s most fevered years, a time when art and politics and society were inextricably mixed.
498 pages, Paperback
First published January 6, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 4, 2017
Weill and Brecht have been intriguing to me since I realized they are the team that brought forth “Mac the Knife”. I knew snatches of their lives such as the “Beggars/Three Penny Opera”, “Mother Courage”, the HUAC , Hollywood, Broadway and East Germany. This book put it together for me.
Pamela Katz focuses on the “Partnership” which was only a part, but a pivotal part, of their respective careers and on the three women who made their work possible. The “Beggars/Three Penny Opera” is the centerpiece of this partnership. Its development and first production commands ¼ or more of the text and is woven into all that follows.
Brecht, as described here, fits the spoiled ego-centered director-producer stereotype. He rails at the actors and re-writes their lines even up to minutes before an opening. He has children by 3 different women.
Actress Helene Weigel takes responsibility for her two children with Brecht and Brecht’s son by another despite Brecht’s marriage to the mother of another daughter. Elizabeth Hauptmann (at points she seems homeless but for his office) gives up all for him. While he sees her as a translator, she is at minimum an anonymous collaborator. She most likely wrote “Alabama Moon” and probably many other Brecht pieces. While emotionally unsatisfying (and often degrading), these may have been the best career situations the two women could have attained given the male driven culture of the time. Hauptmann received 12.5% royalties on many works and was able to make connections for her other work; Through Brecht, Weigel was well connected when she needed to re-start her acting career and became the “official” widow with a sizable estate.
Weill has an altogether different personality and uncomplicated life style. He is fiercely loyal to Lottie Lenya (despite both her and his affairs), writing songs to feature her and negotiating her roles. His lifestyle is conventional (likes home and garden) and he works well with others.
The book takes you from Brecht's and Weill's very different childhoods, to their meeting, to their collaborations to their legal issues and their parting. After death, there is a description of the “war of the widows”. There are pieces of how the Nazi’s took over in the streets (demonstrations and violence), in theaters (shouting and letting rats loose before ultimately shutting them down) and in private offices (burning private papers and works of artists). Neither Weill not Brecht wanted to leave Germany but both had to and both went in ways characteristic of their personalities. Weill found artistic freedom in the US. Brecht, who could not so easily bombast his way in the US, did not adjust and became, essentially,a man without a country until he left and settled in East Germany.
The author’s research shows in the book's detail which is more than many readers would want. General readers will find it wordy and might not appreciate the extensive artistic criticism. At points the writer changes styles from reportorial, to journalistic and to something like a novel’s narrative. For Brecht and Weill fans, it is a must read. Others with an interest in these artists or a desire to know more about the principals will find a lot of information.
Pamela Katz focuses on the “Partnership” which was only a part, but a pivotal part, of their respective careers and on the three women who made their work possible. The “Beggars/Three Penny Opera” is the centerpiece of this partnership. Its development and first production commands ¼ or more of the text and is woven into all that follows.
Brecht, as described here, fits the spoiled ego-centered director-producer stereotype. He rails at the actors and re-writes their lines even up to minutes before an opening. He has children by 3 different women.
Actress Helene Weigel takes responsibility for her two children with Brecht and Brecht’s son by another despite Brecht’s marriage to the mother of another daughter. Elizabeth Hauptmann (at points she seems homeless but for his office) gives up all for him. While he sees her as a translator, she is at minimum an anonymous collaborator. She most likely wrote “Alabama Moon” and probably many other Brecht pieces. While emotionally unsatisfying (and often degrading), these may have been the best career situations the two women could have attained given the male driven culture of the time. Hauptmann received 12.5% royalties on many works and was able to make connections for her other work; Through Brecht, Weigel was well connected when she needed to re-start her acting career and became the “official” widow with a sizable estate.
Weill has an altogether different personality and uncomplicated life style. He is fiercely loyal to Lottie Lenya (despite both her and his affairs), writing songs to feature her and negotiating her roles. His lifestyle is conventional (likes home and garden) and he works well with others.
The book takes you from Brecht's and Weill's very different childhoods, to their meeting, to their collaborations to their legal issues and their parting. After death, there is a description of the “war of the widows”. There are pieces of how the Nazi’s took over in the streets (demonstrations and violence), in theaters (shouting and letting rats loose before ultimately shutting them down) and in private offices (burning private papers and works of artists). Neither Weill not Brecht wanted to leave Germany but both had to and both went in ways characteristic of their personalities. Weill found artistic freedom in the US. Brecht, who could not so easily bombast his way in the US, did not adjust and became, essentially,a man without a country until he left and settled in East Germany.
The author’s research shows in the book's detail which is more than many readers would want. General readers will find it wordy and might not appreciate the extensive artistic criticism. At points the writer changes styles from reportorial, to journalistic and to something like a novel’s narrative. For Brecht and Weill fans, it is a must read. Others with an interest in these artists or a desire to know more about the principals will find a lot of information.
December 27, 2017
A must for anyone interested in the time of The Weimar Republic. A book about the collaboration of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. 'The Partnership: Brecht, Weill, Three Women, and Germany on the Brink.' by Pamela Katz
The three women, Helene Weigel, Elizabeth Hauptmann, Lotte Lenya.
•
'When Hauptmann first read The Beggar's Opera, she quickly realized that the acerbic portrayal of a society devoted to money, one in which everyone - whether lord or thief - was equally corrupt.' 'It was a tale, as Brecht was quick to realize, that also exposed the fact that most bandits are bourgeois in nature. And conversely, a bourgeois man is also a bandit. It is impossible, Brecht believed, to desire and achieve material wealth without some form of theft. The Beggar's Opera revealed the dangers of a society that valued money over equality and justice.'
•
Referring to The Beggar's Opera, 'In a profit-driven world, misery has indeed been transformed into a commodity. By portraying man's fate as a function of economic and social structures, Brecht displayed a quintessentially twentieth-century perspective.'
•
'The melodic, even romantic, rhythms underscoring the harshly unromantic text - was the product of two men with a profoundly shared goal. It was not that Weill was more romantic and Brecht more cynical, so that the natural contrast between them created an interesting effect. They both wanted to expose the hypocrisy of society and its institutions, they both wanted to reflect mankind in a satirical mirror, and they both consciously used textual and musical means to heighten the power of their work.'
•
'Fortunately for Brecht, Weigel also believed that a woman's freedom was impossible to achieve without a total rejection of bourgeois morality.'
•
'In a trully democratic society, no one had the right to preach from on high.'
•
Kurt Weill referring to Brecht, said "For the more powerful the writer, the more he is able to adapt himself to music, and so much the more is he stimulated to create genuine poetry for music."
•
Chapter 8: The Bourgeois Bandit
"The bourgeoisie's fascination with bandits rests on a misconception: that a bandit is not a bourgeois. This misconception is the child of another misconception: that a bourgeois is not a bandit." Bertolt Brecht. 'Notes to the Threepenny Opera.'
The three women, Helene Weigel, Elizabeth Hauptmann, Lotte Lenya.
•
'When Hauptmann first read The Beggar's Opera, she quickly realized that the acerbic portrayal of a society devoted to money, one in which everyone - whether lord or thief - was equally corrupt.' 'It was a tale, as Brecht was quick to realize, that also exposed the fact that most bandits are bourgeois in nature. And conversely, a bourgeois man is also a bandit. It is impossible, Brecht believed, to desire and achieve material wealth without some form of theft. The Beggar's Opera revealed the dangers of a society that valued money over equality and justice.'
•
Referring to The Beggar's Opera, 'In a profit-driven world, misery has indeed been transformed into a commodity. By portraying man's fate as a function of economic and social structures, Brecht displayed a quintessentially twentieth-century perspective.'
•
'The melodic, even romantic, rhythms underscoring the harshly unromantic text - was the product of two men with a profoundly shared goal. It was not that Weill was more romantic and Brecht more cynical, so that the natural contrast between them created an interesting effect. They both wanted to expose the hypocrisy of society and its institutions, they both wanted to reflect mankind in a satirical mirror, and they both consciously used textual and musical means to heighten the power of their work.'
•
'Fortunately for Brecht, Weigel also believed that a woman's freedom was impossible to achieve without a total rejection of bourgeois morality.'
•
'In a trully democratic society, no one had the right to preach from on high.'
•
Kurt Weill referring to Brecht, said "For the more powerful the writer, the more he is able to adapt himself to music, and so much the more is he stimulated to create genuine poetry for music."
•
Chapter 8: The Bourgeois Bandit
"The bourgeoisie's fascination with bandits rests on a misconception: that a bandit is not a bourgeois. This misconception is the child of another misconception: that a bourgeois is not a bandit." Bertolt Brecht. 'Notes to the Threepenny Opera.'
March 8, 2015
I was provided a copy of this book free of charge as part of the Goodreads Firstreads program.
Many years ago, I saw the movie version of "The Beggar's Opera" with Laurence Olivier and Stanley Holloway. When I learned that it was based on a "ballad opera" dating from 1728, I came interested in the history of the play. In 1928, the 200th anniversary of "The Beggar's Opera," Bertolt Brech and Kurt Weill staged their classic adaptation, "The Threepenny Opera." This is the source of the classic song, "Mack the Knife" or "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer," to use its original title. You could probably write a book alone on just that one song and its numerous incarnations.
I was delighted when I received a free copy of this book. I was interested in learning more about Brecht, Weill, and their work. I am a fan of the singer, Ute Lemper, who has recorded many of Weill's songs, including the original version of "Mack the Knife." However, my knowledge of Brecht and Weill was almost nil, and I was interested in learning more about them. I was not disappointed.
Katz presents a fascinating history of Brecht, Weill, and "The Threepenny Opera." The book is easy to read and draws you in right away. The level of detail is amazing. (I admit, though, I could have done without some of the remarks about Brecht's infamous lack of cleanliness. A bit too much information there.) Katz also does not forget the important women in Brecht's and Weill's lives, especially Lotte Lenya, the legendary Austrian actress and singer, who is a fascinating character in her own right (and deserves her own book). Brecht and Weill came from such disparate backgrounds and had such totally different personalities, yet they managed to create outstanding work such as "The Threepenny Opera" and "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny."
If you want to learn anything about Brecht, Weill, Lenya, or "The Threepenny Opera," then this is the book to start with. You will not find such detailed information anywhere else. I know - I looked. I especially liked the portrait of Lotte Lenya. I wish she had made more English-language movies.
Highly recommended.
Many years ago, I saw the movie version of "The Beggar's Opera" with Laurence Olivier and Stanley Holloway. When I learned that it was based on a "ballad opera" dating from 1728, I came interested in the history of the play. In 1928, the 200th anniversary of "The Beggar's Opera," Bertolt Brech and Kurt Weill staged their classic adaptation, "The Threepenny Opera." This is the source of the classic song, "Mack the Knife" or "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer," to use its original title. You could probably write a book alone on just that one song and its numerous incarnations.
I was delighted when I received a free copy of this book. I was interested in learning more about Brecht, Weill, and their work. I am a fan of the singer, Ute Lemper, who has recorded many of Weill's songs, including the original version of "Mack the Knife." However, my knowledge of Brecht and Weill was almost nil, and I was interested in learning more about them. I was not disappointed.
Katz presents a fascinating history of Brecht, Weill, and "The Threepenny Opera." The book is easy to read and draws you in right away. The level of detail is amazing. (I admit, though, I could have done without some of the remarks about Brecht's infamous lack of cleanliness. A bit too much information there.) Katz also does not forget the important women in Brecht's and Weill's lives, especially Lotte Lenya, the legendary Austrian actress and singer, who is a fascinating character in her own right (and deserves her own book). Brecht and Weill came from such disparate backgrounds and had such totally different personalities, yet they managed to create outstanding work such as "The Threepenny Opera" and "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny."
If you want to learn anything about Brecht, Weill, Lenya, or "The Threepenny Opera," then this is the book to start with. You will not find such detailed information anywhere else. I know - I looked. I especially liked the portrait of Lotte Lenya. I wish she had made more English-language movies.
Highly recommended.
October 29, 2025
It's more accurately a history of Three Penny Opera.
January 9, 2015
Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This copy was a bound galley, and changes have been made in the published edition (most notably, a proper index.)
The Weimar Republic, Germany after World War One and before the rise of the Nazis, was a time of great change. The Kaiser had been dethroned, militarism had been discredited with large sections of the population, and social movement was greater than ever before. But at the same time, the economy was dreadful, many in Germany felt they could have won the war if they weren’t “betrayed”, and political extremists rioted in the streets. This was the crucible in which the partnership of playwright Berthold Brecht and composer Kurt Weill was born.
The two men, brilliant on their own, inspired each other to greatness in their two most famous collaborations, The Threepenny Opera and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, as well as a handful of lesser works. This volume concentrates on the years of their partnership and how it was facilitated by three important women, actors Lotte Lenya and Helene Weigel, and writer Elisabeth Hauptmann.
The partnership only lasted a few years, with brief reprises necessitated by their joint ownership of their plays. While there were many factors involved in the breakup (political differences, diverging artistic aims, Weill becoming independently successful in America), the author posits that the main reason the team splintered was that neither man could stand not being in charge. They hadn’t quite realized this during their initial creative period, but as the political climate changed, and each had his own goals in mind, it became obvious.
Brecht comes across as a deeply unpleasant person, the type of man who has three children by three different women before he even had a proper career. It feels like the biographer bends over backwards to excuse Brecht’s behavior towards his wives and mistresses (especially as he hypocritically expected them to be faithful to him.) He seems to have believed that his superior creativity and artistic vision gave him license to run roughshod over anyone in his path. It didn’t go over so well in America, where no one was impressed by his European reputation and he didn’t speak the language.
Weill, by contrast, though he had his flaws, seems to have known how to adapt his desire for creative control to the demands of Broadway, working with many excellent writers.
The book goes into great detail about the production of Threepenny; rehearsals were disastrous, entire parts had to be cut at the last minute, and it took several scenes in before the audience figured out which play they were watching. The song “Mack the Knife” was written and scored in 24 hours as a simultaneous concession to and dig at the actor playing MacHeath, as he’d demanded a song about how awesome his character was.
There’s also quite a bit of focus on the women; Lenya and Weigel brought their husbands’ work to life on the stage, and after they became widows truly kept the legacies alive as well as coming into their own careers. Hauptmann is a bit harder to read; as the translator who brought Brecht many of the works he freely adapted, and probably much more involved in his writing than was ever acknowledged by either of them, she’s a shadowy figure. The Weimar Republic gave women new freedom, but it was still in relation to powerful or creative men.
The book skimps on the parts of Brecht and Weill’s careers that did not involve each other; you’ll need to read their separate biographies for those. The writing gets a bit pompous at times, and there’s some use of gratuitous mind-reading, along the lines of “Weill would have enjoyed the breezes.”
There are extensive end-notes with bits that didn’t fit into the main text, and a good bibliography. I’d recommend this book to fans of Brecht, Weill and theater in general.
The Weimar Republic, Germany after World War One and before the rise of the Nazis, was a time of great change. The Kaiser had been dethroned, militarism had been discredited with large sections of the population, and social movement was greater than ever before. But at the same time, the economy was dreadful, many in Germany felt they could have won the war if they weren’t “betrayed”, and political extremists rioted in the streets. This was the crucible in which the partnership of playwright Berthold Brecht and composer Kurt Weill was born.
The two men, brilliant on their own, inspired each other to greatness in their two most famous collaborations, The Threepenny Opera and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, as well as a handful of lesser works. This volume concentrates on the years of their partnership and how it was facilitated by three important women, actors Lotte Lenya and Helene Weigel, and writer Elisabeth Hauptmann.
The partnership only lasted a few years, with brief reprises necessitated by their joint ownership of their plays. While there were many factors involved in the breakup (political differences, diverging artistic aims, Weill becoming independently successful in America), the author posits that the main reason the team splintered was that neither man could stand not being in charge. They hadn’t quite realized this during their initial creative period, but as the political climate changed, and each had his own goals in mind, it became obvious.
Brecht comes across as a deeply unpleasant person, the type of man who has three children by three different women before he even had a proper career. It feels like the biographer bends over backwards to excuse Brecht’s behavior towards his wives and mistresses (especially as he hypocritically expected them to be faithful to him.) He seems to have believed that his superior creativity and artistic vision gave him license to run roughshod over anyone in his path. It didn’t go over so well in America, where no one was impressed by his European reputation and he didn’t speak the language.
Weill, by contrast, though he had his flaws, seems to have known how to adapt his desire for creative control to the demands of Broadway, working with many excellent writers.
The book goes into great detail about the production of Threepenny; rehearsals were disastrous, entire parts had to be cut at the last minute, and it took several scenes in before the audience figured out which play they were watching. The song “Mack the Knife” was written and scored in 24 hours as a simultaneous concession to and dig at the actor playing MacHeath, as he’d demanded a song about how awesome his character was.
There’s also quite a bit of focus on the women; Lenya and Weigel brought their husbands’ work to life on the stage, and after they became widows truly kept the legacies alive as well as coming into their own careers. Hauptmann is a bit harder to read; as the translator who brought Brecht many of the works he freely adapted, and probably much more involved in his writing than was ever acknowledged by either of them, she’s a shadowy figure. The Weimar Republic gave women new freedom, but it was still in relation to powerful or creative men.
The book skimps on the parts of Brecht and Weill’s careers that did not involve each other; you’ll need to read their separate biographies for those. The writing gets a bit pompous at times, and there’s some use of gratuitous mind-reading, along the lines of “Weill would have enjoyed the breezes.”
There are extensive end-notes with bits that didn’t fit into the main text, and a good bibliography. I’d recommend this book to fans of Brecht, Weill and theater in general.
April 28, 2015
When I first picked up this book, I nearly put it down like a hot potato because it seemed too dense, too intellectual, too detailed for what I wanted. But because I hate borrowing a library book and returning it unread, I decided to skim the first chapter to see if there was anything I could 'easily' glean from it. By the time the second chapter started, I was hooked.
It is a fascinating, scholarly, absorbing discussion of the partnership between Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill, two collaborators of four major works, all of which have resonnated deeply with me (and millions of others) when seeing them in live performances.(I was lucky enough to see Lotta Lenya, Weill's wife, sing the role of Anna I in NYC Ballet's production of The Seven Deadly Sins in 1959, which hooked me forever as a huge fan of Weill and Brecht's musical collaboration.)
The partnership between the two men was turbulent and ended very badly, but their collaborative work (Threepenny Opera, Happy End, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny--plus the Seven Deadly Sins), which they created together has lasted nearly ninety years.
What Katz does outstandingly well is to keep the richly footnoted and documented story moving, including the roles played by their wives and lovers. Despite the chemistry of the collaboration, the men had such little regard for each other it can, by the end, be characterized as hatred. If you like theatre history or curious about the way these two men were affected by the rise of the Third Reich, this book is outstanding.
It is a fascinating, scholarly, absorbing discussion of the partnership between Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill, two collaborators of four major works, all of which have resonnated deeply with me (and millions of others) when seeing them in live performances.(I was lucky enough to see Lotta Lenya, Weill's wife, sing the role of Anna I in NYC Ballet's production of The Seven Deadly Sins in 1959, which hooked me forever as a huge fan of Weill and Brecht's musical collaboration.)
The partnership between the two men was turbulent and ended very badly, but their collaborative work (Threepenny Opera, Happy End, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny--plus the Seven Deadly Sins), which they created together has lasted nearly ninety years.
What Katz does outstandingly well is to keep the richly footnoted and documented story moving, including the roles played by their wives and lovers. Despite the chemistry of the collaboration, the men had such little regard for each other it can, by the end, be characterized as hatred. If you like theatre history or curious about the way these two men were affected by the rise of the Third Reich, this book is outstanding.
February 5, 2016
a 'nan talese' book. dense history of weimar in germany and the collaborations, partnerships, and strifes of kurt weill, bertolt bracht, lotte lenya, helene weigel, and elisabeth hauptmann. bohemian artists all, struggling and flourishing during this unsettled time in germany and europe and usa. dense? sometimes reading, seems a minute by minute history. extensive, if kinda boring endnotes, lots of pictures, bibliography, index.
well written and interesting even while sharply focused on day to day berlin, and the workings of these writers and musicians.
well written and interesting even while sharply focused on day to day berlin, and the workings of these writers and musicians.
December 4, 2014
Bertolt Brecht (poet and lyricist) and Kurt Weill (composer) collaborative (B&W) relationship; the three women in their lives – Helene Weigl (Brecht's actor-wife),; Elisabeth Hauptmann (Brecht's mistress and collaborator) and Lotta Lenya, Weill's actor-wife. Pamela Katz tells the story of these five people, their friends and other collaborators that produced an amazing body of work during the interwar (Weirmar Republic) years in Germany.
Probably their two most famous (and remembered) operas were “Off to Mahagonny” and the “Three Penny Opera”. “Mahagonny” was written first and was ready for the stage in 1927 as a “Songspiel” (or concert work) that included the songs “Alabama Song” and “Benares Song”. The full opera was first presented in 1929, with Lotte Lenya the main soprano part of “Jenny-the whore”; it was banned by the Nazis in 1933 .
Unlike traditional operas of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, love doesn’t conquer all nor does divine intervention enter to save the day. Corruption and vice prosper as do the criminal elements. Brecht presented it as a satire on the “Weimar Republic” where behind the façade of normalcy, Germany was degenerating into a cesspool of corruption. As a tip of the hat to Marx, B&W see prostitution as a result of society and lawlessness, not of poverty.
B&W’s masterpiece, “The Threepenny Opera” is based on the 1728 opera (“The Beggar’s Opera”) by the Englishman, John Gay. Gay wrote the play in opposition to the current French and Italian romantic style. It was the first “satirical ballad” opera, using popular music, folk tunes and church chants as its’ musical basis. B&W decided to write a modern version in honor of its’ 200th anniversary.
Set in Victorian London, the play focuses on Macheath (Mackie Messer or Mack the Knife), an amoral, anti-hero. He marries Polly Peachum, whose father controls the beggars of London. Her father isn’t happy about the marriage and tries to get rid of Mack. But Mack’s old Army buddy (Tiger Brown) is now the Chief of Police. But Peachum manages to get Mack arrested and sentenced to hang. But at the last minute (in a deus ex machia moment) is given a pardon by the Queen. The score was one of the first operas to use jazz as an influence on the music.
Katz does a marvelous job in explaining how the details of the opera mimic much of what goes on between B&W and their own lives. All of the women are given a thorough and honest biography including their involvements with both men, each other and the rest of the Weimar “Cabaret” crowd.
Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com
Probably their two most famous (and remembered) operas were “Off to Mahagonny” and the “Three Penny Opera”. “Mahagonny” was written first and was ready for the stage in 1927 as a “Songspiel” (or concert work) that included the songs “Alabama Song” and “Benares Song”. The full opera was first presented in 1929, with Lotte Lenya the main soprano part of “Jenny-the whore”; it was banned by the Nazis in 1933 .
Unlike traditional operas of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, love doesn’t conquer all nor does divine intervention enter to save the day. Corruption and vice prosper as do the criminal elements. Brecht presented it as a satire on the “Weimar Republic” where behind the façade of normalcy, Germany was degenerating into a cesspool of corruption. As a tip of the hat to Marx, B&W see prostitution as a result of society and lawlessness, not of poverty.
B&W’s masterpiece, “The Threepenny Opera” is based on the 1728 opera (“The Beggar’s Opera”) by the Englishman, John Gay. Gay wrote the play in opposition to the current French and Italian romantic style. It was the first “satirical ballad” opera, using popular music, folk tunes and church chants as its’ musical basis. B&W decided to write a modern version in honor of its’ 200th anniversary.
Set in Victorian London, the play focuses on Macheath (Mackie Messer or Mack the Knife), an amoral, anti-hero. He marries Polly Peachum, whose father controls the beggars of London. Her father isn’t happy about the marriage and tries to get rid of Mack. But Mack’s old Army buddy (Tiger Brown) is now the Chief of Police. But Peachum manages to get Mack arrested and sentenced to hang. But at the last minute (in a deus ex machia moment) is given a pardon by the Queen. The score was one of the first operas to use jazz as an influence on the music.
Katz does a marvelous job in explaining how the details of the opera mimic much of what goes on between B&W and their own lives. All of the women are given a thorough and honest biography including their involvements with both men, each other and the rest of the Weimar “Cabaret” crowd.
Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com
October 25, 2015
Some annoying moments, usually when the author would write something along the lines of, "Weill must have thought..." or something like that. The only other Weill biography that I've read was way too "just the facts", but this one swings a little hard the other way. Still, the story is interesting enough to survive almost any biographer (Mack the Knife was written less than 48 hours before the curtain rose!?!), and I bought the author's theory that the two men's bigger goals were closer than they may appear.
March 12, 2015
Genuinely outstanding. Exhaustively researched and eminently readable. Marred only by the occasional dangling modifier or faulty comparison. A vivid and balanced portrait of two theatrical legends. A terrific read.
June 29, 2015
I'm a big fan of Kurt Weill's Street Scene and Lost in the Stars, but it was fascinating to read about his early work with Brecht. The book is long and I wasn't sure it would sustain my interest, but it did, partly because it give a look at Germany between the two world wars.
June 24, 2020
Pamela Katz’ ‘The Partnership’ is a fascinating exploration of the lives of Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and three women who exerted a profound influence on them in very different ways. This trio consisted of Weill’s wife Lotte Lenya and Brecht’s Helene Weigel plus one of Brecht’s many lovers Elisabeth Hauptmann.
The febrile political atmosphere of the Weimar years in Germany led to Brecht and Weill’s greatest collaboration The Threepenny Opera despite the fraught rehearsals and near disastrous opening night. However personal, political and artistic differences meant that they never quite achieved this level of success in subsequent works made together and the rise of the Nazis meant they had to flee their native country.
The three women played important roles too both on and off stage with the astute Lenya often seeing through the irascible Brecht and Weigel putting up with his many affairs in order to remain part of his circle. Hauptmann seems the most enigmatic of the three being one of Brecht’s mistresses but she also wrote much that is credited to him yet she appeared to remain content to stay in the shadows. As Katz reveals there were complex motives for her behaviour.
Katz recounts their convoluted and conflicted partnership placing it in the context of the times in a highly erudite but readable manner and the book wears her obvious extensive research lightly. It’s a fascinating and illuminating read about the pressures of creating art against a backdrop of constant political upheaval.
The febrile political atmosphere of the Weimar years in Germany led to Brecht and Weill’s greatest collaboration The Threepenny Opera despite the fraught rehearsals and near disastrous opening night. However personal, political and artistic differences meant that they never quite achieved this level of success in subsequent works made together and the rise of the Nazis meant they had to flee their native country.
The three women played important roles too both on and off stage with the astute Lenya often seeing through the irascible Brecht and Weigel putting up with his many affairs in order to remain part of his circle. Hauptmann seems the most enigmatic of the three being one of Brecht’s mistresses but she also wrote much that is credited to him yet she appeared to remain content to stay in the shadows. As Katz reveals there were complex motives for her behaviour.
Katz recounts their convoluted and conflicted partnership placing it in the context of the times in a highly erudite but readable manner and the book wears her obvious extensive research lightly. It’s a fascinating and illuminating read about the pressures of creating art against a backdrop of constant political upheaval.
March 8, 2018
I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway.
As a reader of Brecht’s plays, I can appreciate his linguistic and poetic brilliance. What I was unaware, however, were his collaborators. Very importantly, as I have never had the opportunity to see one of his plays performed live, I have not had the opportunity to understand the importance of music in his work. The collaboration between Brecht and Weill revolutionized modern drama. Their partnership started early. Weill was greatly impressed by Brecht’s work. “Weill was immediately tantalized by the ‘whip-driven rhythms of his sentences’ that offered just the type of lyrics for which he’d been yearning. The play was broadcast for the public a week later, and Weill had recently finished an even more enthusiastic review for the next edition. He extended Brecht his highest compliment, calling him ‘a poet, a true poet…with a bold grasp and wonderful empathetic power.’ Brecht had done what no one had done before: He had caught the sound of everyday speech without sacrificing the power of great poetry. Weill’s metaphorical airplane took off immediately.” “Together, they would create a new approach to musical drama, one that would mirror the transformation of politics and society. In a democracy where all citizens are equal, it followed that all artistic elements, whether words, music, stage design, or performance, would be equal as well. For a composer and a writer to attempt working together in this way was the cultural equivalent of overthrowing the monarchy. They were both convinced that hierarchy itself had to abdicate its role in the arts.” At times, their collaboration produced unintended consequences. Did the popular appeal of Threepenny heighten or dilute the social satire? Had Brecht and Weill’s intentions triumphed or simply been misunderstood? What was Brecht to think when he noticed, with dismay, that in Berlin it quickly became fashionable to dress like a pimp? It was not only Macheath’s clothes that were imitated but also his swagger and his cane. The gangster was being co-opted as a masculine hero instead of becoming an unflattering metaphor for the bourgeoisie. Hannah Arendt shared Brecht’s disappointment: ‘The effect of the work was exactly the opposite of what Brecht had sought by it. The bourgeoisie could no longer be shocked; it welcomed the exposure of its hidden philosophy, whose popularity proved they had been right all along.’” Their relationship was often turbulent. The conductor Maurice Abravanel remembered that Weill often complained openly about Brecht’s distracted behavior: ‘Here, I need lines. I want to compose…And that idiot is taking Marxist classes every afternoon instead of writing his stuff.’ But despite his frequent frustration with Brecht, Weill was nevertheless always happy with the results of their collaboration on the opera. Brecht’s poetry was inextricably intertwined with Weill’s musical conception, and since Brecht couldn’t imagine working with another composer, he continued to respond, if sporadically, to Weill’s ardent requests. Their mutual respect was in full force. What had changed was their vision of how art should interact with their increasingly turbulent world.” Ultimately, the two broke with each other. “Weill wanted to transform the operatic genre, and Brecht wanted to destroy it. Music remained important to the playwright, but it is telling that after departing from Weill, Brecht wrote very few plays in which the music played a dominant role.”
Brecht was highly dependent on the actress, Helene Weigel, and his collaborator, Elizabeth Hauptmann. “Brecht reveled in the exotic names and places that Hauptmann’s translation skills brought to him, and her first critical contribution to his work was her ability to read and translate Rudyard Kipling. This process goes to the heart of Brecht’s collective approach to writing. He worked with those who could contribute ideas and information that he didn’t have, and he freely borrowed from published works as well. Hauptmann’s language skills, her dramaturgical precision, her gift for organization, and, not least, her ability to type were all essential to the development of A Man’s a Man.” Brecht’s habitual infidelities were quite well known. Weigel took responsibility for his two children after his separation from his wife. Later, she anticipated further infidelities. “When Rudolf Schlichter painted Weigel’s portrait—once again confirming her importance as an actress who was respected by the radical artists in Berlin—she hung it boldly in Brecht’s attic Kraal. If women, including Hauptmann, wanted to sleep with Brecht, they would do so under her portrait. Weigel didn’t lack a sense of humor.”
All were forced into exile. Surprisingly, exile helped repair their relationships. “Exile forced forgiveness on all of them. Compared to the sins of the Nazis, even the largest of personal sins seemed to disappear. When it came to women, 1924 sealed the fate of both Brecht and Weill: despite everything, their relationships—Brecht’s with Weigel and Hauptmann, Weill’s with Lenya—survived and became even stronger. Weill and Lenya would reconcile and leave for America together. Weigel remained with Brecht despite the increasingly painful nature of his infidelities in Denmark. Hauptmann would remain devoted to Brecht’s work for her entire life. As strained as these relationships were before Hitler came to power, it was ironically the bonds of exile that made them impossible to sever.”
This is a really interesting book. Both an artistic analysis of the driving forces of some of the twentieth century’s best drama, poetry and music, as well as a history of a pivotal time in Germany – Katz offers a very welcome glimpse into a bygone age.
See my other reviews here!
As a reader of Brecht’s plays, I can appreciate his linguistic and poetic brilliance. What I was unaware, however, were his collaborators. Very importantly, as I have never had the opportunity to see one of his plays performed live, I have not had the opportunity to understand the importance of music in his work. The collaboration between Brecht and Weill revolutionized modern drama. Their partnership started early. Weill was greatly impressed by Brecht’s work. “Weill was immediately tantalized by the ‘whip-driven rhythms of his sentences’ that offered just the type of lyrics for which he’d been yearning. The play was broadcast for the public a week later, and Weill had recently finished an even more enthusiastic review for the next edition. He extended Brecht his highest compliment, calling him ‘a poet, a true poet…with a bold grasp and wonderful empathetic power.’ Brecht had done what no one had done before: He had caught the sound of everyday speech without sacrificing the power of great poetry. Weill’s metaphorical airplane took off immediately.” “Together, they would create a new approach to musical drama, one that would mirror the transformation of politics and society. In a democracy where all citizens are equal, it followed that all artistic elements, whether words, music, stage design, or performance, would be equal as well. For a composer and a writer to attempt working together in this way was the cultural equivalent of overthrowing the monarchy. They were both convinced that hierarchy itself had to abdicate its role in the arts.” At times, their collaboration produced unintended consequences. Did the popular appeal of Threepenny heighten or dilute the social satire? Had Brecht and Weill’s intentions triumphed or simply been misunderstood? What was Brecht to think when he noticed, with dismay, that in Berlin it quickly became fashionable to dress like a pimp? It was not only Macheath’s clothes that were imitated but also his swagger and his cane. The gangster was being co-opted as a masculine hero instead of becoming an unflattering metaphor for the bourgeoisie. Hannah Arendt shared Brecht’s disappointment: ‘The effect of the work was exactly the opposite of what Brecht had sought by it. The bourgeoisie could no longer be shocked; it welcomed the exposure of its hidden philosophy, whose popularity proved they had been right all along.’” Their relationship was often turbulent. The conductor Maurice Abravanel remembered that Weill often complained openly about Brecht’s distracted behavior: ‘Here, I need lines. I want to compose…And that idiot is taking Marxist classes every afternoon instead of writing his stuff.’ But despite his frequent frustration with Brecht, Weill was nevertheless always happy with the results of their collaboration on the opera. Brecht’s poetry was inextricably intertwined with Weill’s musical conception, and since Brecht couldn’t imagine working with another composer, he continued to respond, if sporadically, to Weill’s ardent requests. Their mutual respect was in full force. What had changed was their vision of how art should interact with their increasingly turbulent world.” Ultimately, the two broke with each other. “Weill wanted to transform the operatic genre, and Brecht wanted to destroy it. Music remained important to the playwright, but it is telling that after departing from Weill, Brecht wrote very few plays in which the music played a dominant role.”
Brecht was highly dependent on the actress, Helene Weigel, and his collaborator, Elizabeth Hauptmann. “Brecht reveled in the exotic names and places that Hauptmann’s translation skills brought to him, and her first critical contribution to his work was her ability to read and translate Rudyard Kipling. This process goes to the heart of Brecht’s collective approach to writing. He worked with those who could contribute ideas and information that he didn’t have, and he freely borrowed from published works as well. Hauptmann’s language skills, her dramaturgical precision, her gift for organization, and, not least, her ability to type were all essential to the development of A Man’s a Man.” Brecht’s habitual infidelities were quite well known. Weigel took responsibility for his two children after his separation from his wife. Later, she anticipated further infidelities. “When Rudolf Schlichter painted Weigel’s portrait—once again confirming her importance as an actress who was respected by the radical artists in Berlin—she hung it boldly in Brecht’s attic Kraal. If women, including Hauptmann, wanted to sleep with Brecht, they would do so under her portrait. Weigel didn’t lack a sense of humor.”
All were forced into exile. Surprisingly, exile helped repair their relationships. “Exile forced forgiveness on all of them. Compared to the sins of the Nazis, even the largest of personal sins seemed to disappear. When it came to women, 1924 sealed the fate of both Brecht and Weill: despite everything, their relationships—Brecht’s with Weigel and Hauptmann, Weill’s with Lenya—survived and became even stronger. Weill and Lenya would reconcile and leave for America together. Weigel remained with Brecht despite the increasingly painful nature of his infidelities in Denmark. Hauptmann would remain devoted to Brecht’s work for her entire life. As strained as these relationships were before Hitler came to power, it was ironically the bonds of exile that made them impossible to sever.”
This is a really interesting book. Both an artistic analysis of the driving forces of some of the twentieth century’s best drama, poetry and music, as well as a history of a pivotal time in Germany – Katz offers a very welcome glimpse into a bygone age.
See my other reviews here!
July 24, 2018
Ever since Trump got elected, my interest and fascination with Germany in the Twenties and Thirties has intensified. CAn it happen here? This book gave a picture of the wild Wiemar Republic of the late Twenties- with all its decadence, cultural ferment, political extremism - through the lens of these two artistic geniuses who wrote Threepenny Opera. Since I am not that familiar with Brecht's plays and Weil's music, there was too much detail on their work for me. But the book it did give the feel of that fleeting moment (kind of like the BAy area in the Sixties but on steroids)before the Nazis arrived to turn out the lights. If you want to see the Weimar Republic in action, there is a wonderful German TV show on Netflix- Berlin Babylon.
August 27, 2021
Very in depth look at 5 artists and Germany after World War I & during the Weimar Republic. At times it was hard reading emotionally given the historical facts presented. Other times it was slow going, as the book felt in places slow and repetitive. I felt Hauptmann got short schrift in the book, wanted more on her.
Read
December 20, 2021I wanted to read this because I thought it would be about under-appreciated women-behind-the-men. But I couldn't get past how it begins with the bad behavior by one of the men (Brecht) and makes excuses for that bad behavior and even talks admiringly about how he cared equally for all the women he was ignoring, lying to, and cheating on. Give me a break.
June 5, 2021
great look at Brecht and Weill and the women they collaborated with, it was Elisabeth Hauptmann who suggested the Three-Penny Opera story and wrote words for the Alabama song . . . A bit too much imagined/fictionalized dialogue for my liking but still recommend.
January 29, 2019
Sounded really interesting but that interest didn't make to the first 100 pages.
June 3, 2023
This is a fascinating look at these complicated relationship--great artists and great egos. It is, of course, also about the rise of Hitler as seen from the inside.
November 29, 2014
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Oh Moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We've lost our good old mama
And must have whiskey
Oh you know why
These lyrics are from the "Alabama Song," one of the well-known songs from the collaboration of poet Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill. Pamela Katz provides an in-depth look at the complicated relationship between these two great artists and the three women in their lives - Helene Weigl, Brecht's wife and a powerful actress; Elisabeth Hauptmann, one of Brecht's many lovers and an important collaborator on his work; and Lotta Lenya, Weill's wife and another important actress. Together, with many other writers, composers, directors, and other contemporary figures, the book tells the story of the fertile partnership between Brecht and Weill in Germany between two world wars.
The Partnership: Brecht, Weill, Three Women, and Germany on the Brink is a bit like a river - there are several streams that come together to form one larger run, which then splits again into individual courses. Katz tells Brecht's and Weill's early biographies in an almost mirror-like way at the beginning - highlighting and contrasting their experiences, their health, their early influences. Then the stories combine when the two men meet and there is this strongly pulsating creativity between them that results in their largest success, The Threepenny Opera. And, like so many creative relationships, the success of this work ultimately leads to the demise of their relationship and bitter feelings between the two men. Katz expertly details this falling-apart and how their lives diverge and occasionally meet up again.
This is a wonderfully detailed book. I think if you don't have an interest in Brecht/Weill's works, it might come across as too tedious in all the small back-and-forth revisions of works or adjustments to productions. But if you have just a passing interest, or would like to know more about Germany between the wars, or are interested in how two intensely creative people work together, or want to read interesting biographies, then this is a wonderful book. Katz has a very fluid writing style and is able to illuminate dry facts to feel more like current events - she especially has a flair for describing the performances she describes, so that you feel like an actor and patron at the same time.
Oh Moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We've lost our good old mama
And must have whiskey
Oh you know why
These lyrics are from the "Alabama Song," one of the well-known songs from the collaboration of poet Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill. Pamela Katz provides an in-depth look at the complicated relationship between these two great artists and the three women in their lives - Helene Weigl, Brecht's wife and a powerful actress; Elisabeth Hauptmann, one of Brecht's many lovers and an important collaborator on his work; and Lotta Lenya, Weill's wife and another important actress. Together, with many other writers, composers, directors, and other contemporary figures, the book tells the story of the fertile partnership between Brecht and Weill in Germany between two world wars.
The Partnership: Brecht, Weill, Three Women, and Germany on the Brink is a bit like a river - there are several streams that come together to form one larger run, which then splits again into individual courses. Katz tells Brecht's and Weill's early biographies in an almost mirror-like way at the beginning - highlighting and contrasting their experiences, their health, their early influences. Then the stories combine when the two men meet and there is this strongly pulsating creativity between them that results in their largest success, The Threepenny Opera. And, like so many creative relationships, the success of this work ultimately leads to the demise of their relationship and bitter feelings between the two men. Katz expertly details this falling-apart and how their lives diverge and occasionally meet up again.
This is a wonderfully detailed book. I think if you don't have an interest in Brecht/Weill's works, it might come across as too tedious in all the small back-and-forth revisions of works or adjustments to productions. But if you have just a passing interest, or would like to know more about Germany between the wars, or are interested in how two intensely creative people work together, or want to read interesting biographies, then this is a wonderful book. Katz has a very fluid writing style and is able to illuminate dry facts to feel more like current events - she especially has a flair for describing the performances she describes, so that you feel like an actor and patron at the same time.
October 10, 2015
I saw "The Three Penny Opera" when I was in high school, and have seen at least four or five other productions over the years. It was a sea change for me in forming my preferences for styles of theater. So, I was going to enjoy this book anyway, and I did.
This is a scholarly work, and that sometimes results in somewhat stiff prose, an abundance of footnotes (many of which have interesting content), too much information at times, and some small bits of repetition. But through all that, Brecht and Weill comes through as very real human beings, with difficult lives and diverging paths after their initial collaboration. Weill is in general likable (perhaps because Adler likes him better), and Brecht is really a pretty egocentric and generally awful guy, but their work can speak (powerfully) for itself.
There is a lot of social history here. Interestingly, I read a history of Dada recently, which while a bit earlier than the time frame of this book, did for art what Brecht and Weill did for theater. It's interesting that there is no connection drawn in the book, but I am no scholar, and perhaps I'm off base in this. The rise of Nazi Germany is handled compellingly, and you can follow the steps towards that historical era.
There is also a lot of soap opera in the lives of each man. Brecht most of the time was sleeping with several women (three, most of the time) and Weill has a fling for many years with the wife of a very close friend. Not my cup of tea, but hey, maybe it was the era.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book a great deal. It's got depth and is written interesting people in an interesting time.
This is a scholarly work, and that sometimes results in somewhat stiff prose, an abundance of footnotes (many of which have interesting content), too much information at times, and some small bits of repetition. But through all that, Brecht and Weill comes through as very real human beings, with difficult lives and diverging paths after their initial collaboration. Weill is in general likable (perhaps because Adler likes him better), and Brecht is really a pretty egocentric and generally awful guy, but their work can speak (powerfully) for itself.
There is a lot of social history here. Interestingly, I read a history of Dada recently, which while a bit earlier than the time frame of this book, did for art what Brecht and Weill did for theater. It's interesting that there is no connection drawn in the book, but I am no scholar, and perhaps I'm off base in this. The rise of Nazi Germany is handled compellingly, and you can follow the steps towards that historical era.
There is also a lot of soap opera in the lives of each man. Brecht most of the time was sleeping with several women (three, most of the time) and Weill has a fling for many years with the wife of a very close friend. Not my cup of tea, but hey, maybe it was the era.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book a great deal. It's got depth and is written interesting people in an interesting time.
January 13, 2015
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I was very excited to read this book. Pamala Katz is one of my favorite screenwriters.
She has this way of illuminating the partnership among the talents of The Threepenny Opera, and Brecht/Weill very poetically.
I appreciated this book for its German history, which I am fond of as well as the history of these men Brecht and Weill. I lived in German for sometime and anything I read a book that begins me back has essentially won me over. This book is very well researched. Katz researched and defined the lives of all five individuals which this book is again. You read their relationship with each other, their relationship with production, and their life. IT's a hell hole of a mess and Pamala Katz gives us insight of this working "beautiful" relationship of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill!
I was very excited to read this book. Pamala Katz is one of my favorite screenwriters.
She has this way of illuminating the partnership among the talents of The Threepenny Opera, and Brecht/Weill very poetically.
I appreciated this book for its German history, which I am fond of as well as the history of these men Brecht and Weill. I lived in German for sometime and anything I read a book that begins me back has essentially won me over. This book is very well researched. Katz researched and defined the lives of all five individuals which this book is again. You read their relationship with each other, their relationship with production, and their life. IT's a hell hole of a mess and Pamala Katz gives us insight of this working "beautiful" relationship of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill!
March 3, 2015
The true story of the tempestuous relationship between Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill in this meticulously researched book held me fascinated from beginning to end. The saga of these two supremely talented egos and the gifted women who devoted much their own lives to supporting (in many ways) their work and success may be a revelation to many readers, as a lot of it was to me.
The book might have benefitted from some trimming and occasionally the writing was a little clumsy, but the story of these extraordinary talents as they launched their epic-making careers during the volatile 1920s in Germany and through the Nazi years of the 1930s and finally in the United States and Europe during and after World Wart II continued to engage and often surprise me. Sometimes, it seemed amazing that they accomplished as much as they did--even with the devotion and help of these talented women.
The book might have benefitted from some trimming and occasionally the writing was a little clumsy, but the story of these extraordinary talents as they launched their epic-making careers during the volatile 1920s in Germany and through the Nazi years of the 1930s and finally in the United States and Europe during and after World Wart II continued to engage and often surprise me. Sometimes, it seemed amazing that they accomplished as much as they did--even with the devotion and help of these talented women.
July 23, 2016
I didn't finish this book. I gave it a good try and lasted for about one third of it, but then put it aside. I really was interested to know more about Brecht and Weill, but instead, found that I was drowning in the author's repetitive words and learning very little about them. I may go back and finish it later, but I doubt it.
She does present good information about the post-WWI German culture in which they both lived and the societal and political pressures that were building towards Naziism. She tried to flesh out the characters of the two men and succeeds to a degree but the book is self-indulgently wordy and meandering. Brecht is not a character I would ever want to meet. Weill is the portrayed as quite the opposite.
She does present good information about the post-WWI German culture in which they both lived and the societal and political pressures that were building towards Naziism. She tried to flesh out the characters of the two men and succeeds to a degree but the book is self-indulgently wordy and meandering. Brecht is not a character I would ever want to meet. Weill is the portrayed as quite the opposite.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2024
This book represents an attempt to examine how collaborative fire is captured in a bottle and then how it fizzles out as Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya (foremost of the three women of the subtitle) had an almost delirious experience creating "The Three Penny Opera" but could never quite recreate the moment, which one is inclined to blame on the instrumental mentality towards other individuals that Brecht seemed to cultivate almost effortlessly. Apart from that one also has to be struck by how flat-footed the rise of the Nazi Party caught these folks, as one might have thought that their affected cynicism towards German society would have left them more astute about real-life politics.
Originally written: April 28, 2017.
Originally written: April 28, 2017.
August 2, 2016
This is not particularly well written - it is dense and repetitive but the subject matter is fascinating - not just the relationship between Brecht and Weill but the important women in their life. Hauptmann remains kind of cipher, unfortunately, but I did gain understanding of how Lenya and esp Weigel fit in to both men's careers.
There are tons of cool facts though and very detailed descriptions of rehearsal processes and opening nights. The screenplay for the dress rehearsal of Threepenny Opera remains to be written - it would make a delicious movie.
Also, a very timely read, the Weimar republic and all.
There are tons of cool facts though and very detailed descriptions of rehearsal processes and opening nights. The screenplay for the dress rehearsal of Threepenny Opera remains to be written - it would make a delicious movie.
Also, a very timely read, the Weimar republic and all.
Read
April 2, 2015The subject is fascinating and the author has clearly done a ton of research. I have to say that I found the style of the book--and admittedly I am a style snob--to be...well..sort of clunky, full of sentences like "If Lenya felt the same way, she did not tell Weill." and speculative stuff about who was thinking what when, which occasionally borders on the preposterous. But the story of the creation of Threepenny opera, one of my favorite works of modern theater, is pretty interesting in spite of questionable stylistics.
November 10, 2014
Brecht and Weill were two towering figures in the world of music, theater, and literature, yet they could never have stood so tall if they weren't supporting one another. Pamela Katz illuminates their partnership through the lens of three women with whom they closely collaborated, and in doing so turns an academic study into a brilliant narrative of collaborators and cohorts. A must-read for those interested in this vital and precarious era of European creativity.
December 21, 2014
I received a free copy of this book from a First Reads giveaway.
Katz does a brilliant job of bringing to life Brecht, Weil, and the women who were crucial to their lives and works. She presents some astute insights into their personalities and artistic careers. A fascinating read for those interested in Brecht and Weil, or the artistic climate if post WWI Germany.
Katz does a brilliant job of bringing to life Brecht, Weil, and the women who were crucial to their lives and works. She presents some astute insights into their personalities and artistic careers. A fascinating read for those interested in Brecht and Weil, or the artistic climate if post WWI Germany.
July 2, 2015
The Partnership, by Pamela Katz, is as complex and stirring as her subjects. I once considered myself fairly well-informed about Weill and Brecht, but I certainly learned a tremendous amount from reading this book. Written in a novelistic way in parts, the book completely engages with the spirit of Weimar and the later years of her subjects. Absolutely first rate.
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