A new production of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, socially relevant in these turbulent times, will premiere at the Israeli Opera on January 12, 2012, directed by Omri Nitzan, conducted by Maestro David Stern with some performances conducted by Eithan Schmeisser. “In these times in Israel, when the political agenda has changed beyond recognition, the opera The Rise and Fall of the City Mahagonny is perhaps the most important cultural work that can be presented onstage,” said director Omri Nitzan.
An indictment of modern capitalist society, composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht, the opera was first performed in Leipzig on 9 March 1930. Banned by the Nazis in 1933, it was not to be performed again until the 1960s. The story begins with three fugitives who found a city based on pleasure and profit, and ends in death and destruction.
There is a fusion of styles in the music, incorporating elements of jazz and rag-time, with two songs in English (the libretto is in German): Alabama Song and Benares Song. The nihilistic sensibility expressed in Alabama Song, and its captivating music has expressed the mood of several generations, and the song has been covered many times. Some of the best known covers are those of David Bowie:
and The Doors:
The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny will be performed from January 12, 2012 to January 29, 2012 at the Israeli Opera, 19 Shaul Hamelech Boulevard, Tel Aviv. Towards Opening – a preview presentation with the creators and some of the performers,with musical demonstrations from the opera will take place on January 7, 2012 at 11:00. Tickets may be ordered online, or call: 03-692777.
Conductor: David Stern
Assistant Conductor: Eithan Schmeisser
Director: Omri Nitzan
Set Designer: Michael Kremenko
Costume Designers: Magali Gerberon
Lighting Designer: Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi)
Choreographer: Javier de Frutos
Video Design: Shay Bonder
Music & Language Coach: Rainer Armbrust
Rehearsal Pianists: Lena Gershuni, Sasha Ivanov, Maria Nikitin
Surtitles: David Sebba
Cast:
Begbick: Tara Venditti
Begbick: Susannah Haberfeld
Fatty: Alan Woodrow
Fatty: Vicente Ombuena
Trinity Moses: Julien Tovey
Trinity Moses: Johannes von Duisburg
Jenny: Neomi Nadelmann
Jenny: Marisol Montalvo
Jim Mahoney: John Uhlenhopp
Jim Mahoney: Wolfgang Schwaninger
Jack O’brain/Tobby Higgins: Guy Manheim
Bill: Noah Briger
Joe: Vladimir Braun
Six Girls:Efrat Ashkenazi, Alla Vasilevitsky, Yael Levita, Ayala Zimbler, Limor Ilan, Na’ama Goldman
