(c) Neda Navaee Die sieben Todsünden: Théâtre des Champs‐Elysées
Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées — Main Hall
About the Event
All the acerbic irony of Kurt Weill served up with flair by Ninna Stemme.
Like The Rite of Spring, Kurt Weill’s Sieben Todsünden (Seven Deadly Sins) is inextricably associated with the history of the Théâtre. This sung ballet was premiered on 7 June 1933 by the singer Lotte Lenya with choreography by Balanchine. The work was commissioned by a wealthy young Englishman to be performed by the Ballets 33 company which had just been formed by George Balanchine and Boris Kochno. Cocteau was considered for the libretto at one point, but it was eventually written by Brecht (who later denounced his own work). The score is informed by a variety of popular genres (waltz, foxtrot, etc.) in a symphonic structure in the grand manner of the cantata. Nina Stemme, the finest Isolde of her generation, is also an outstanding recitalist, equally at ease with the visionary modernism of Mahler and the ironic detachment of Weill.
Cast / Production
Nina Stemme | soprano
Jennifer France | soprano
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
H. K. Gruber | direction
Address
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 15, Avenue Montaigne, Paris, France — Google Maps
