Kurt Weill's Street Scene in Barcelona

About the Event

Enjoy the first performance in Spain of Kurt Weill's Street Scene at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, in the heart of Barcelona.

American opera in two acts. Libretto by Elmer Rice based on his own play. Lyrics by Langston Hughes. Music by Kurt Weill. First performed on 16 December 1946 at the Schubert Theater in Philadelphia.

Midway between opera and musical, Kurt Weill launched his short but memorable American career with this work, which spans the gap between the 20th‐century European operatic tradition  -- complete with 19th‐century reminiscences -- and American popular culture, with the deep imprint of Afro‐American music. The blend of social criticism with the sound of Broadway takes the audience by surprise.

Street Scene (Philadelphia, 1946) was the first opera of Kurt Weill's American period (he himself defined it as an «American opera»). Influenced by both the Broadway musical and jazz, it features recitative, dialogue, arias, ensembles and songs.  The libretto is by the politically engaged playwright Elmer Rice, who based it on a play of his own that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929. The lyrics are by the black poet Langston Hughes. The action takes place outside an apartment block in a poverty‐ridden district of New York. The block's inhabitants are the core figures of the different tales that make up the harshly realistic plot, which is deeply pervaded by social criticism and comes to a tragic ending.

Cast:
Geof Dolton, Elena Ferrari, Paul Featherstone, Kate Nelson, Paul Curievici, Joseph Shovelton and others.

Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Cor Vivaldi‐Petits Cantors de Catalunya

Conductor: Tim Murray
Stage direction:John Fulljames
Scenography: Dick Bird
Costumes: Dick Bird
Lighting: Jon Clark
Choreography: Arthur Pita

Co‐production:
Young Vic / The Opera Group



In some areas of the Gran Teatre del Liceu it is possible to be seated with a partially obstructed view of the stage. The Gran Teatre del Liceu recommends Zone 2 for the finest and completely unobstructed view of the performance. The stage is not visable from seats starting in row 2 of Zone 8.  A monitor is provided for following the performance in this section. Only available for operas.