''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

, adapted from a translation by

Elisabeth Hauptmann Elisabeth Hauptmann (20 June 1897, Peckelsheim, Westphalia, German Empire – 20 April 1973, East Berlin) was a German writer who worked with fellow German playwright and director Bertolt Brecht. She got to know Brecht in 1922, the same year sh ...

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peach ...

's 18th-century English

ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of England, English ''comic opera'' stage play that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier ''comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Sings ...

, ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sati ...

'', and four ballads by

François Villon François Villon (; Modern French: ; ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...

, with music by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

. Although there is debate as to how much, if any, contribution Hauptmann might have made to the text, Brecht is usually listed as sole author of the text. The work offers a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

critique of the

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

world. It opened on 31 August 1928 at Berlin's

Theater am Schiffbauerdamm The ''Theater am Schiffbauerdamm'' () is a theatre building at the ''Schiffbauerdamm'' riverside in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, opened on 19 November 1892. Since 1954, it has been home to the Berliner Ensemble theatre company, founded ...

. With influences from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and German dance music, songs from ''The Threepenny Opera'' have been widely covered and become

standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...

, most notably "" ("The Ballad of

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" () is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld n ...

") and "" ("

Pirate Jenny "Pirate Jenny" (German: "") is a song from ''The Threepenny Opera'' by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. The English lyrics are by Marc Blitzstein. It is one of the best known songs in the opera, along with "Mack the Knife". Content and c ...

"). ''The Threepenny Opera'' has been performed in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Russia, Italy, and Hungary. It has also been adapted to film and radio. The German-language version from 1928 entered the public domain in the US in 2024.

Background

Origins

In the winter of 1927–28,

, Brecht's lover at the time, received a copy of Gay's play from friends in England and, fascinated by the female characters and its critique of the condition of the London poor, began translating it into German. Brecht at first took little interest in her translation project, but in April 1928 he attempted to interest the impresario

Ernst Josef Aufricht Ernst Josef Aufricht (31 August 1898 – 24 July 1971) was a German actor and theater director. Life Ernst Aufricht was born on 31 August 1898 in Beuthen, Upper Silesia (now Bytom, Poland). He was the eldest son of a wealthy timber wholesaler. I ...

in a play he was writing called ''Fleischhacker'', which he had, in fact, already promised to another producer. Aufricht was seeking a production to launch his new theatre company at the

in Berlin, but was not impressed by the sound of ''Fleischhacker''. Brecht immediately proposed a translation of ''The Beggar's Opera'' instead, claiming that he himself had been translating it . He delivered Hauptmann's translation to Aufricht, who immediately signed a contract for it. Brecht proposed Weill to write the music, and spent the next four months writing the libretto. Brecht used four songs by the French poet

. Rather than translate the French himself, he used the translations by (), the same source he had been using since his earliest plays. The first act of both works begins with the same melody ("Peachum's Morning Chorale"/"An Old Woman Clothed In Gray"), but that is the only material Weill borrowed from the melodies

Johann Christoph Pepusch Johann Christoph Pepusch (; 1667 1752), also known as John Christopher Pepusch () and Dr Pepusch, was a German-born composer who spent most of his working life in England. He was born in Berlin, son of a vicar, and was married to Margherita de ...

arranged for ''The Beggar's Opera''. The title ''Die Dreigroschenoper'' was determined only a week before the opening; it had been previously announced as simply ''The Beggar's Opera'' (in English), with the subtitle "Die Luden-Oper" ("The

Pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...

's Opera"). Writing in 1929, Weill made the political and artistic intents of the work clear:

With the ''Dreigroschenoper'' we reach a public which either did not know us at all or thought us incapable of captivating listeners ... Opera was founded as an aristocratic form of art ... If the framework of opera is unable to withstand the impact of the age, then this framework must be destroyed ... In the ''Dreigroschenoper'', reconstruction was possible insofar as here we had a chance of starting from scratch.

Weill claimed at the time that "music cannot further the action of the play or create its background", but achieves its proper value when it interrupts the action at the right moments."

Music

Weill's score shows the influence of

and German dance music of the time. The orchestration involves a small ensemble with a good deal of doubling-up on instruments (in the original performances, for example, some 7 players covered a total of 23 instrumental parts, though modern performances typically use a few more players). Dreigroschenoper program notes 1928

Premieres

Germany

''The Threepenny Opera'' was first performed at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in 1928 on a set designed by

Caspar Neher Caspar Neher (born Rudolf Ludwig Caspar Neher; 11 April 1897 – 30 June 1962) was an Austrian-German scenographer and Libretto, librettist, known principally for his career-long working relationship with Bertolt Brecht. Neher was born in Augs ...

. Despite an initially poor reception, it became a great success, playing 400 times in the next two years. The performance was a springboard for one of the best known interpreters of Brecht and Weill's work,

Lotte Lenya Lotte Lenya (born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer; 18 October 1898 – 27 November 1981) was an Austrian-American singer, diseuse, and actress, long based in the United States. In the German-speaking and classical music world, she is be ...

, who was married to Weill. The production became a great favourite of Berlin's "smart set" – Count Harry Kessler recorded in his diary meeting at the performance an ambassador and a director of the

Dresdner Bank Dresdner Bank AG () was a German bank, founded in 1872 in Dresden, then headquartered in Berlin from 1884 to 1945 and in Frankfurt from 1963 onwards after a postwar hiatus. Long Germany's second-largest bank behind Deutsche Bank, it was eventually ...

(and their wives), and concluded "One simply has to have been there." Critics did not fail to notice that Brecht had included the four Villon songs translated by Ammer. Brecht responded by saying that he had "a fundamental laxity in questions of literary property." By 1933, when Weill and Brecht were forced to leave Germany by the

Nazi seizure of power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

, the play had been translated into 18 languages and performed more than 10,000 times on European stages.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the first fully staged performance was given on 9 February 1956, under

Berthold Goldschmidt Berthold Goldschmidt (18 January 190317 October 1996) was a German Jewish composer who spent most of his life in England. The suppression of his work by Nazi Germany, as well as the disdain with which many modernist critics elsewhere dismissed hi ...

, although there had been a concert performance in 1933, and a semi-staged performance on 28 July 1938. In between, on 8 February 1935 Edward Clark conducted the first British broadcast of the work. It received scathing reviews from

Ernest Newman Ernest Newman (30 November 1868 – 7 July 1959) was an English music critic and musicologist. ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most celebrated British music critic in the first half of the 20th century." His ...

and other critics. But the most savage criticism came from Weill himself, who described it privately as "the worst performance imaginable … the whole thing was completely misunderstood". But his criticisms seem to have been for the concept of the piece as a Germanised version of ''

'', rather than for Clark's conducting of it, of which Weill made no mention.

United States

America was introduced to the work by the film version of

G. W. Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...

, which opened in New York in 1931. The first American production, adapted into English by Gifford Cochran and Jerrold Krimsky and staged by

Francesco von Mendelssohn Francesco von Mendelssohn (born Franz von Mendelssohn; 6 September 1901 – 22 September 1972) was a German cellist and art collector. He also became known during the 1920s as a stage actor and theater director. He acquired additional notability w ...

, featured Robert Chisholm as Macheath. It opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

at the Empire Theatre, on April 13, 1933, and closed after 12 performances. Mixed reviews praised the music but slammed the production, with the critic

Gilbert Gabriel Gilbert Alexander Gabriel (born 16 November 1956) is a songwriter, film composer, producer and lecturer. He studied piano and clarinet at Dartington College of Arts and Goldsmiths before forming the British folk rock trio The Dream Academy, wh ...

calling it "a dreary enigma".''The Threepenny Opera'' in America
"The Threepenny Opera" website, accessed 19 September 2016

France

A French version produced by

Gaston Baty Gaston Baty (; 26 May 1885 – 13 October 1952), whose full name was Jean-Baptiste-Marie-Gaston Baty, was a French playwright and theatre director. He was born in Pélussin, Loire, France. Career In 1921, Baty formed his own company ''Les Compa ...

and written by Ninon Steinhof and

André Mauprey André Mauprey (19 August 1881 – 3 February 1939) was a French writer, composer, librettist, and actor. He helped to popularize ''The Three Penny Opera,'' and was the first to translate many of its songs into French. Working with Robert de M ...

was presented in October 1930 at the

Théâtre Montparnasse The Théâtre Montparnasse () is a theatre at 31, rue de la Gaîté in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. History After the death of famed Paris theatre builder and artistic director Henri Larochelle (1826-1884), his widow, along with former ac ...

in Paris. It was rendered as '; (', or ''four pennies'' being the

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...

atically equivalent French expression for '' Threepenny'').

Russia

In 1930 the work premiered in Moscow at the

Kamerny Theatre The Kamerny Theatre was a chamber theatre in Moscow, founded in 1914 by director Alexander Tairov (1885–1950). Over the next 35 years, this small, intimate theater became "recognized as a major force in Russian theater". Considered among the be ...

, directed by

Alexander Tairov Alexander Yakovlevich Tairov (; ; 6 July 1885 – 5 September 1950) was a leading innovator and theatre director in Russia before and during the Soviet era. Biography Childhood Aleksandr Tairov was born Aleksandr Yakovlevich Korenblit on July 6, ...

. It was the only one of Brecht's works to be performed in Russia during his lifetime. ''

Izvestia ''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, r=Izvestiya, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in February 1917, ''Izvestia'', which covered foreign relations, was the organ of the Supreme Soviet of th ...

'' disapproved: "It is high time that our theatres ceased playing homage to petit-bourgeois bad taste and instead turned to more relevant themes."

Italy

The first Italian production, titled ''L'opera da tre soldi'' and directed by

Giorgio Strehler Giorgio Strehler (; ; 14 August 1921 – 25 December 1997) was an Italian stage director, theatre practitioner, actor, and politician. Strehler was one of the most significant figures in Italian theatre during his lifetime, described by Mel Gu ...

, premiered at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan on 27 February 1956 in the presence of Bertolt Brecht. The cast included:

Tino Carraro Agostino Carraro (1 December 1910 – 12 January 1995) was an Italian stage, television and film actor. Life and career Born in Milan, Carraro started acting at young age in several amateur stage companies. Carraro then graduated at the , ...

(Mackie),

Mario Carotenuto Mario Carotenuto (30 June 1916 – 14 April 1995) was an Italian actor of film and theatre. Biography Carotenuto is the son of Nello Carotenuto, a silent film actor, and younger brother of the actor Memmo Carotenuto. After the 1943 Armistic ...

(Peachum), (Polly), Milly (Jenny), (Chief of Police). The conductor was

Bruno Maderna Bruno Maderna (born Bruno Grossato, 21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian composer, conductor and academic teacher. Life Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but later decided to take the name of his mother, Caterina Carolina M ...

. Set designs were by

Luciano Damiani Luciano Damiani (14 July 1923 – 20 June 2007) was an Italian stage and costume designer, who worked both for theatre and opera productions. Theatre and opera productions Damiani studied painting and only by chance started working for the stage. ...

and

Teo Otto Teo Otto (1904–1968) was a Swiss Scenographer, stage designer.Banham (1998, 830). He trained in Kassel and Paris and in 1926 taught at the Bauhaus in Weimar.Baugh (1994, 252). In 1928 he became an assistant at the Berlin Staatsoper. Followin ...

; costume design by Ezio Frigerio.

Hungary

The first Hungarian performance of the play was at the

Comedy Theatre of Budapest The Comedy Theatre of Budapest () is a theatre in Budapest. Starting in the late 19th century as an opposition to the conservative National Theatre, it became a pioneer institution of Hungarian drama, and one of the oldest theatres of the city st ...

(Vígszínház), on 6 September 1930. It was titled ''A koldus operája'', which is a reference to Gay's original opera. The play was translated by Jenő Heltai, who mixed Weill and Pepusch' s music, and also Brecht and Gay's texts too. The director was Ernő Szabolcs, the cast included: Pál Jávor (Mackie),

Franciska Gaal Franciska Gaal (born Franciska Silberspitz, 1 February 1903 – 13 August 1972) was a Hungarian cabaret artist and film actress of Jewish heritage. Gaal starred in a popular series of European romantic comedies during the 1930s. After attracting ...

(Polly),

Gerő Mály Gerő Mály (1884–1952) was a Hungarian film actor who appeared in over sixty films during his career, generally in supporting roles. Mály starred in the 1929 German film ''Melody of the Heart'', the first sound film released by the German stu ...

(Peachum),

Ella Gombaszögi Ella Gombaszögi (born Erzsébet Grün; 27 December 1894 – 12 November 1951) was a Hungarian actress. Selected filmography * '' Vorrei morir'' (1918) * ''Romance in Budapest'' (1933) * ''Miss Iza'' (1933) * '' The Ghost Train'' (1933) * ' ...

(Mrs. Peachum).

Roles

Synopsis

Overview

Set in

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

London, the play focuses on Macheath, an amoral

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

who leads a criminal gang, committing robbery, arson, rape and murder. Macheath ("Mackie," or "Mack the Knife") marries Polly Peachum. This displeases her father, who controls the beggars of London, and he endeavours to have Macheath hanged. His attempts are hindered by the fact that the Chief of Police, Tiger Brown, is Macheath's old army comrade. Still, Peachum exerts his influence and eventually gets Macheath arrested and sentenced to hang. Macheath escapes this fate via a ''

deus ex machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( ; ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; 'God from the machine') is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function is general ...

'' moments before the

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

when, in an unrestrained

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

of a happy ending, a messenger from the Queen arrives to

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

Macheath and grant him the title of baron. The details of the original 1928 text have often been substantially modified in later productions. A draft narration by Brecht for a concert performance begins: "You are about to hear an opera for beggars. Since this opera was intended to be as splendid as only beggars can imagine, and yet cheap enough for beggars to be able to watch, it is called the ''Threepenny Opera''."

Prologue

A street singer entertains the crowd with the illustrated murder ballad or Bänkelsang, titled "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" ("Ballad of Mack the Knife"). As the song concludes, a well-dressed man leaves the crowd and crosses the stage. This is Macheath, alias "Mack the Knife".

Act 1

The story begins in the shop of Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum, the boss of London's beggars, who outfits and trains the beggars in return for a slice of their takings from begging. In the first scene, the extent of Peachum's iniquity is immediately exposed. Filch, a new beggar, is obliged to bribe his way into the profession and agree to pay over to Peachum 50 percent of whatever he made; the previous day he had been severely beaten up for begging within the area of jurisdiction of Peachum's protection racket. After finishing with the new man, Peachum becomes aware that his grown daughter Polly did not return home the previous night. Peachum, who sees his daughter as his own private property, concludes that she has become involved with Macheath. This does not suit Peachum at all, and he becomes determined to thwart this relationship and destroy Macheath. The scene shifts to an empty stable where Macheath himself is preparing to marry Polly once his gang has stolen and brought all the necessary food and furnishings. No vows are exchanged, but Polly is satisfied, and everyone sits down to a banquet. Since none of the gang members can provide fitting entertainment, Polly gets up and sings " Seeräuberjenny", a revenge fantasy in which she is a scullery maid turning pirate queen to order the execution of her bosses and customers. The gang becomes nervous when the Chief of Police, Tiger Brown, arrives, but it's all part of the act; Brown had served with Mack in England's colonial wars and had intervened on numerous occasions to prevent the arrest of Macheath over the years. The old friends duet in the "Kanonen-Song" ("Cannon Song" or "Army Song"). In the next scene, Polly returns home and defiantly announces that she has married Macheath by singing the "Barbarasong" ("Barbara Song"). She stands fast against her parents' anger, but she inadvertently reveals Brown's connections to Macheath which her parents subsequently use to their advantage.

Act 2

Polly warns Macheath that her father will try to have him arrested. He is finally convinced that Peachum has enough influence to do it and makes arrangements to leave London, explaining the details of his bandit "business" to Polly so she can manage it in his absence. Before he leaves town, he stops at his favorite brothel, where he sees his ex-lover, Jenny. They sing the "Zuhälterballade" ("Pimp's Ballad", one of the Villon songs translated by Ammer) about their days together, but Macheath doesn't know Mrs Peachum has bribed Jenny to turn him in. Despite Brown's apologies, there's nothing he can do, and Macheath is dragged away to jail. After he sings the "Ballade vom angenehmen Leben" ("Ballad of the Pleasant Life"), another Villon/Ammer song, another girlfriend, Lucy (Brown's daughter) and Polly show up at the same time, setting the stage for a nasty argument that builds to the "Eifersuchtsduett" ("Jealousy Duet"). After Polly leaves, Lucy engineers Macheath's escape. When Mr Peachum finds out, he confronts Brown and threatens him, telling him that he will unleash all of his beggars during

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

parade, ruining the ceremony and costing Brown his job.

Act 3

Jenny comes to the Peachums' shop to demand her money for the betrayal of Macheath, which Mrs Peachum refuses to pay. Jenny reveals that Macheath is at Suky Tawdry's house. When Brown arrives, determined to arrest Peachum and the beggars, he is horrified to learn that the beggars are already in position and only Mr Peachum can stop them. To placate Peachum, Brown's only option is to arrest Macheath and have him executed. In the next scene, Macheath is back in jail and desperately trying to raise a sufficient bribe to get out again, even as the gallows are being assembled. Soon it becomes clear that neither Polly nor the gang members can, or are willing to, raise any money, and Macheath prepares to die. He laments his fate and poses the '

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

' questions: "What's picking a lock compared to buying shares? What's breaking into a bank compared to founding one? What's murdering a man compared to employing one?" (These questions did not appear in the original version of the work, but first appeared in the musical '' Happy End'', another Brecht/Weill/Hauptmann collaboration, in 1929 – they may in fact have been written not by Brecht, but by Hauptmann). Macheath asks everyone for forgiveness ("Grave Inscription"). Then a sudden and intentionally comical reversal: Peachum announces that in this opera mercy will prevail over justice and that a messenger on horseback will arrive ("Walk to Gallows"); Brown arrives as that messenger and announces that Macheath has been pardoned by the queen and granted a title, a castle and a pension. The cast then sings the Finale, which ends with a plea that wrongdoing not be punished too harshly as life is harsh enough.

Musical numbers

Prelude

1. Ouverture
2. Die Moritat von Mackie Messer ("The Ballad of

" – Street singer)

Act 1

3. Morgenchoral des Peachum (Peachum's Morning Choral – Peachum, Mrs Peachum)
4. Anstatt dass-Song (Instead of Song – Peachum, Mrs Peachum)
5. Hochzeits-Lied (Wedding Song – Four Gangsters)
6. Seeräuberjenny (

– Polly)
7. Kanonen-Song (Cannon Song – Macheath, Brown)
8. Liebeslied (Love Song – Polly, Macheath)
9. Barbarasong (Barbara Song – Polly)
10. I. Dreigroschenfinale (First Threepenny Finale – Polly, Peachum, Mrs Peachum)

Act 2

11. Melodram (Melodrama – Macheath)
11a. Polly's Lied (Polly's Song – Polly)
12. Ballade von der sexuellen Hörigkeit (Ballad of Sexual Dependency – Mrs Peachum)
13. Zuhälterballade (Pimp's Ballad or Tango Ballad – Jenny, Macheath)
14. Ballade vom angenehmen Leben (Ballad of the Pleasant Life – Macheath)
15. Eifersuchtsduett (Jealousy Duet – Lucy, Polly)
15b. Arie der Lucy (Aria of Lucy – Lucy)
16. II. Dreigroschenfinale ( Second Threepenny Finale – Macheath, Mrs Peachum, Chorus)

Act 3

17. Lied von der Unzulänglichkeit menschlichen Strebens (Song of the Insufficiency of Human Struggling – Peachum)
17a. Reminiszenz (Reminiscence)
18. Salomonsong (Solomon Song – Jenny)
19. Ruf aus der Gruft (Call from the Grave – Macheath)
20. Grabschrift (Grave Inscription – Macheath)
20a. Gang zum Galgen (Walk to Gallows – Peachum)
21. III. Dreigroschenfinale (Third Threepenny Finale – Brown, Mrs Peachum, Peachum, Macheath, Polly, Chorus)

Reception

Opera or musical theatre?

The ambivalent nature of ''The Threepenny Opera'', derived from an 18th-century

but conceived in terms of 20th-century

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

, has led to discussion as to how it can best be characterised. According to critic and musicologist

Hans Keller Hans (Heinrich) Keller (11 March 19196 November 1985) was an Austrian-born British musician and writer, who made significant contributions to musicology and music criticism, as well as being a commentator on such disparate fields as psychoana ...

, the work is "the weightiest possible lowbrow opera for

highbrow Used colloquially as a noun or adjective, "highbrow" is synonymous with intellectual; as an adjective, it also means elite, and generally carries a connotation of high culture. The term, first recorded in 1875, draws its metonymy from the pseud ...

s and the most full-blooded highbrow musical for lowbrows". The Weill authority

Stephen Hinton Stephen Hinton (born 1955, London, England) is a British-American musicologist at Stanford University. A leading authority on the composer Kurt Weill, he has published widely on many aspects of modern German music history, with contributions to ...

notes that "generic ambiguity is a key to the work's enduring success", and points out the work's deliberate hybrid status:

For Weill 'The Threepenny Opera''was not just 'the most consistent reaction to ichardWagner'; it also marked a positive step towards an operatic reform. By explicitly and implicitly shunning the more earnest traditions of the opera house, Weill created a mixed form which incorporated spoken theatre and popular musical idioms. Parody of operatic convention – of Romantic lyricism and happy endings – constitutes a central device.

"Mack the Knife"

The work's opening and closing lament, "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer," was written just before the Berlin premiere, when actor

Harald Paulsen Harald Paulsen (26 August 1895 – 4 August 1954) was a German stage and film actor and director. He appeared in 125 films between 1920 and 1954. Career Paulsen first appeared on stage at age sixteen. He then studied under Leopold Jessner, who ...

(Macheath) threatened to quit if his character did not receive an introduction; this creative emergency resulted in what would become the work's most popular song, later translated into English by

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and Libretto, librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-Trade union, union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, ...

as "

", and now a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

that

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

and countless others have performed. In 2015, the Library of Congress added the recordings of "Mack the Knife" by Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin to the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

. It has been named one of the hundred most popular songs of the twentieth century. In 1986, American fast-food chain

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

launched an

advertising campaign An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ide ...

featuring a new mascot "

Mac Tonight Mac Tonight is a character that was used in marketing for McDonald's restaurants during the late 1980s. Known for his crescent moon head, sunglasses and piano-playing, the character played the song "Mack the Knife", which was made famous in t ...

" loosely based on the lyrics "Mack the Knife" featuring a parody of the song. The advert, which was associated with a 10% increase in later diners in some Californian restaurants at the time, led to a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

's son, Dodd Mitchell Darin. The lawsuit concerned the parody created by McDonald's stated that it was in violation of

copyright law A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, e ...

. The case was settled outside of court without requiring a court hearing. Following this the mascot was mostly dropped from McDonalds marketing.

"Pirate Jenny"

" is another well-known song from the work, which has since been recorded by

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning rec ...

Tania Tsanaklidou Soultana (Tania) Tsanaklidou (, born 9 April 1952) is a Greek artist, both singer and actress, who represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978. Biography Tania was born in Drama, Greece on 9 April 1952 and was raised in Thessalonik ...

, and

Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...

, among others. In addition,

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, ...

recorded it under the alternative title "The Black Freighter". Recently, the drag queen

Sasha Velour Alexander "Sasha" Hedges Steinberg (born June 25, 1987), known professionally as Sasha Velour, is an American drag queen, artist, actor, and stage and television producer, based in Brooklyn, New York. Velour is known for winning the ninth seaso ...

has made an adaptation by the same name for an installment of One Dollar Drags, an anthology of short films.

"The Second Threepenny Finale"

Under the title " What Keeps Mankind Alive?", this number has been recorded by the

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

on the B-side of their 1993 single "

Can You Forgive Her? ''Can You Forgive Her?'' is a novel by Anthony Trollope, first published in serial form in 1864 and 1865. It is the first of six novels in the Palliser novels, Palliser series, also known as the Parliamentary Novels. The novel follows three pa ...

", and on two albums.

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

covered it on two albums, and

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

performed it in a 1994 documentary.

Revivals

Germany

After World War II the first stage performance in Berlin was a rough production of ''The Threepenny Opera'' at the

. Wolf Von Eckardt described the 1945 performance where audience members climbed over ruins and passed through a tunnel to reach the open-air auditorium deprived of its ceiling. In addition to the smell of dead bodies trapped beneath the rubble, Eckardt recollects the actors themselves were "haggard, starved, ndin genuine rags. Many of the actors ... had only just been released from concentration camp. They sang not well, but free."

Barrie Kosky Barrie Kosky (born 18 February 1967) is an Australian theatre and opera director. Based at the Komische Oper Berlin, he has worked internationally. Biography Kosky was born in Melbourne, the grandson of Jewish emigrants from Europe. He attended ...

produced the work again at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in 2021. The production travelled to the

Ruhrfestspiele Ruhrfestspiele (Ruhr Festival) in Recklinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is one of the oldest theatre festivals in Europe. Founded after World War II, the festival is a major annual cultural event for the Ruhr area. It always starts on ...

in 2022, the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam,

Teatro Argentina The Teatro Argentina (directly translating to "Theatre Argentina") is an opera house and theatre located in Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. One of the oldest theatres in Rome, it was constructed in 1731 and inaugurated on 31 ...

, Rome, the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

in 2023, to the 2024

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

and the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

in 2025.

France

The

Pabst Pabst is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adolf Pabst (1899–1990), American mineralogist and geologist *Daniel Pabst (1826–1910), American furniture maker *Frederick Pabst (1836–1904), American brewer *Georg Wilhelm ...

film ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'' was shown in its French version in 1931. In 1937 there was a production by

at the Théâtre de l'Étoile which failed, though Brecht himself had attended rehearsals. The work was not revived in France until after World War II.

United Kingdom

In London, West End and

Off-West End Off West End refers to theatres in London which are not included as West End theatres. The term is a relatively recent one, coined after the similar American term "off-Broadway" (though without the same strict definition). It is usually used synon ...

revivals include: *

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

, 9 February to 20 March 1956 and

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

, from 21 March 1956. Directed by

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker (born Samuel Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director, whose career on stage and in film and television spanned five decades. He began his career on Broadway theatre, Broadway, but sp ...

. With Bill Owen as Macheath,

Daphne Anderson Daphne Anderson (née Scrutton; 27 April 1922 – 15 January 2013) was an English stage, film, and television actress, as well as a dancer and singer. She made her London theatre debut in 1938 at the Windmill Theatre. Anderson appeared in such ...

as Polly. *

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

and

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at the junction of Denman Street and Sherwood Street, near Piccadilly Circus, in the City of Westminster, London. It opened in 1928. In its early years the theatre presented a wide range of ...

, opening 10 February 1972. With

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress. In her career spanning over six decades, she has garnered List of awards and nominations received by Vanessa Redgrave, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony A ...

Diana Quick Diana Marilyn Quick (born 23 November 1946) is an English actress. Early life and family background Quick was born on 23 November 1946 in London, England. She grew up in Dartford, Kent, the third of four children. Her father was Leonard Quic ...

and

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''.

. * National Theatre (Olivier Theatre), 13 March 1986. New translation by

Robert David MacDonald Robert David MacDonald (27 August 1929 – 19 May 2004) was a Scottish playwright, translator and theatre director. Early life Robert David MacDonald was born in Elgin, in Morayshire, Scotland on 27 August 1929, the son of a doctor and a toba ...

, directed by Peter Wood. With

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London, 1974 L ...

as Macheath,

Sally Dexter Sally Julia Dexter is an English actress of stage and screen. She won the 1987 Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer for '' Dalliance''. Her other West End stage credits include the musicals ''Oliver!'' (1994), '' Sister Act'' (2010) and ...

as Polly,

Joanna Foster Joanna Foster is a British actress active in theatre and television since 1978. On stage, she created roles in the world premieres of Andrew Davies's ''Diary of A Desperate Woman'' (1979), Anthony Burgess's '' The Eve of Saint Venus'' (1979), ...

as Lucy and Eve Polycarpou (Adam) as Jenny. *

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

, 1994. Translation by Robert David MacDonald (book) and

Jeremy Sams Jeremy Sams (born 12 January 1957) is a British theatre director, composer, and lyricist. Early life and education Sams is the son of the Shakespearean scholar and musicologist Eric Sams. He read music, French, and German at Magdalene Colleg ...

(lyrics). With

Tom Hollander Thomas Anthony Hollander (; born 25 August 1967) is a British actor. He trained with National Youth Theatre and won the Ian Charleson Award in 1992 for his performance as Witwoud in ''The Way of the World''. He made his Broadway debut in the ...

as Macheath and

Sharon Small Sharon Small is a Scottish actress known for her work in film, radio, theatre, and television. Perhaps best known for her portrayal of Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers in the BBC television adaptation of ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'' b ...

as Polly. This production released a cast recording as was nominated for Best Musical Revival and Best Supporting Performance in a Musical (for Tara Hugo as Jenny) at the 1995 Laurence Olivier Awards. * National Theatre (Cottesloe Theatre) and UK Tour, February 2003. Translation by Jeremy Sams (lyrics) and Anthony Meech (book), directed by Tim Baker. * National Theatre (Olivier Theatre), 18 May to 1 October 2016. New adaptation by

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is a British-Irish playwright, musician and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is ...

, directed by

Rufus Norris Sir Rufus John Norris (born 16 January 1965) is a British theatre and film director, who was the artistic director and chief executive of the National Theatre from 2015 to 2025. He received the Society of London Theatre Special Award in 2025 f ...

. With

Rory Kinnear Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor. He won two Olivier Awards, both at the National Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter in ''The Man of Mode'', and for playing the William Shakespeare villain ...

as Macheath,

Rosalie Craig Rosalie Mae Craig (born May 30, 1980) is an English actress, noted for her performances in musical theatre. In 2013, she received her first major award, a London Evening Standard Award for Best Performance in a Musical. Life and career Craig ...

as Polly, Nick Holder as Peachum,

Haydn Gwynne Haydn Gwynne (; 21 March 195720 October 2023) was an English actress. She was nominated for the 1992 BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance for the comedy series '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1991), and won the 2009 Drama ...

as Mrs Peachum (nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical at the

2017 Laurence Olivier Awards The 2017 Laurence Olivier Awards were held on 9 April 2017 at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Jason Manford. A highlights show was shown on ITV shortly after the live event ended. Eligibility Any new prod ...

as Jenny,

Peter de Jersey Peter de Jersey (born 1965) is a British actor. He has played roles in television, including the long-time recurring role of "Jerome Taylor" in ''The Bill'', and roles in ''Broadchurch'' and ''Warrior Nun''. Career From 2000 to 2003, de Jerse ...

as Brown. This production was broadcast live to cinemas worldwide through NT Live on 22 September. In 2014, the Robert David MacDonald and Jeremy Sams translation (previously used in 1994 at the

) toured the UK, presented by the

Graeae Theatre Company Graeae Theatre Company, often abbreviated to Graeae (pronounced "grey-eye"), is a British organisation composed of deaf and disabled artists and theatre makers. As well as producing theatre which it tours nationally and internationally to tradition ...

with

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and F ...

New Wolsey Theatre The New Wolsey Theatre is a producing theatre with a café & bar in Ipswich, Suffolk. It is a midsized regional theatre, with a seating capacity of 400. History It replaced The Arts Theatre, the town's much loved and respected Repertory Theat ...

Ipswich,

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

and

West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1990 in the Quarry Hill area of the city as the West Yorkshire Playhouse, successor to the original Leeds Playhouse, and was rebranded in June 2018 ...

United States

In 1946, four performances of the work were given at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in Urbana, and

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

gave six performances in 1948 in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

. In 1952,

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

conducted a concert performance of the work at the Brandeis University Creative Arts Festival in the Adolph Ullman Amphitheatre,

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

, to an audience of nearly 5,000.

, who translated the work, narrated. At least five

and

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

revivals have been mounted in New York City. * In 1956,

won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for her role as Jenny, the only time an

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

performance has been so honored, in Blitzstein's somewhat softened version of ''The Threepenny Opera'', which played Off-Broadway at the

Theater de Lys The Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse at 121 Christopher Street in Manhattan's West Village. It was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse. The interior design is largel ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

for a total of 2,707 performances, beginning with an interrupted 96-performance run in 1954 and resuming in 1955. Blitzstein had translated the work into English, and toned down some of its acerbities. Over the course of its run, the production featured Scott Merrill as Macheath;

Edward Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor. He is most notable for portraying Lou Grant on the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977) and drama '' Lou Grant'' (1977–1982), making him one of the few ...

as Mr. Peachum;

Charlotte Rae Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned sixty-six years. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-o ...

(later

Carole Cook Mildred Frances Cook (January 14, 1924 – January 11, 2023), known professionally as Carole Cook, was an American actress, active on screen and stage, best known for appearances on Lucille Ball's comedy television series ''The Lucy Show'' and ...

, billed as Mildred Cook, then

Jane Connell Jane Sperry Connell (pronounced con-NELL, née Bennett; October 27, 1925 – September 22, 2013) was an American actress and singer. Connell is best known for originating the role of Agnes Gooch in the 1966 stage musical and 1974 film musical ...

) as Mrs. Peachum;

Jo Sullivan Loesser Elizabeth Josephine Sullivan Loesser (née Sullivan; August 28, 1927 – April 28, 2019) was an American actress and high lyric soprano singer. She became a musical theatre star with her performance in the original production of ''The Most Happy ...

as Polly;

Bea Arthur Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress, comedienne and singer. She began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work o ...

as Lucy;

Jerry Orbach Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical and global celebrity on te ...

as PC Smith, the Street Singer and Mack;

John Astin John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles, primarily in character roles. He is widely known for his role as patriarch Gomez Addams in ''The Addams Famil ...

as Readymoney Matt/Matt of the Mint; and

Jerry Stiller Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American comedian and actor. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 20 ...

as Crookfinger Jake. * A nine-month run in 1976–77 had a new translation by

Ralph Manheim Ralph Frederick Manheim (April 4, 1907 – September 26, 1992) was an American translator of German and French literature, as well as occasional works from Dutch, Polish and Hungarian. He was one of the most acclaimed translators of the 20th ...

and

John Willett John William Mills Willett, MBE (24 June 1917 – 20 August 2002) was a British translator and scholar, who is remembered for translating the work of Bertolt Brecht into English. Early life Willett was born in Hampstead and was educated ...

for

Joe Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp is a pioneering figure in American theater, known for creating Shakespeare in the Park, which aimed to make classi ...

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions are ...

at the

Vivian Beaumont Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, directed by

Richard Foreman Richard Foreman (born Edward L. Friedman; June 10, 1937 – January 4, 2025) was an American avant-garde experimental playwright and the founder of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater. Though highly original and singular, his work was influenced by ...

, with

Raul Julia Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. He was known for his intense and varied roles on stage and screen. He started his career in the Public Theater before transitioning to film. He ...

as Macheath,

Blair Brown Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play ''Copenhagen'' on Broadway (for which she won a Tony Award in 2000), the leading ...

as Lucy, and

Ellen Greene Ellen Greene is an American actress and singer. She has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actress and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many ...

as Jenny. The production rescinded some of Blitzstein's modifications. Critics were divided:

Clive Barnes Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, the ''New York Post''. Barnes had sign ...

called it "the most interesting and original thing that Joe Papp ... has produced" whilst John Simon wrote "I cannot begin to list all the injuries done to Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's masterpiece." * A 1989 Broadway production, billed as ''3 Penny Opera'', translated by

Michael Feingold Michael E. Feingold (May 5, 1945 – November 21, 2022) was an American critic, translator, lyricist, playwright and dramaturg. He was the lead theater critic of ''The Village Voice'' from 1982 to 2013, for which he was twice named a Pulitzer Pri ...

, starred

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

as Macheath. Its cast also featured Georgia Brown as Mrs Peachum,

Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from ' ...

as Polly,

Kim Criswell Kim Criswell (born July 19, 1957) is an American musical entertainer and actress. Life and career Criswell was born in Hampton, Virginia, United States, and grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After she graduated from Hixson High School in subu ...

as Lucy,

KT Sullivan KT Sullivan is an American singer and actress known for her performances in cabaret and musical theatre. Early years Born Kathleen Sullivan in Coalgate, Oklahoma to Elizabeth, a poet and composer, and James A. Sullivan, a director of the Agricult ...

as Suky Tawdry and

Ethyl Eichelberger Ethyl Eichelberger (July 17, 1945 – August 12, 1990) was an Obie Award-winning American drag performer, playwright, and actor. He became an influential figure in experimental theater and writing, and wrote nearly forty plays portraying women s ...

as the Street Singer. The production was unsuccessful. * Liberally adapted by playwright

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Mr. Hall in '' Clueless'' (1995), Dr. John Sturgis in '' Young Sheldo ...

, the work was brought back to Broadway by the

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization, non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fr ...

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

in March 2006 with

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor, writer and presenter. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and an Olivier Award. He re ...

playing Macheath,

Nellie McKay Eleanora Marie McKay (born April 13, 1982) is an English–American singer and songwriter. She made her Broadway debut in ''The Threepenny Opera#United States 2, The Threepenny Opera'' (2006). Early life and education McKay was born in London ...

as Polly,

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

as Jenny,

Jim Dale Jim Dale (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, composer, director, narrator, singer and songwriter. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In British ...

as Mr Peachum,

Ana Gasteyer Ana Kristina Gasteyer (; born May 4, 1967) is an American actress, comedian and singer. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's ''Suburgatory ...

as Mrs Peachum, Carlos Leon as Filch,

Adam Alexi-Malle Adam Alexi-Malle is an Italian actor, singer, dancer and musician. Life and career Alexi-Malle was born in Siena, Italy. His father is from Italy ( Sardinian) and his mother is Palestinian-Spanish. They emigrated to London, England first, and la ...

as Jacob and

Brian Charles Rooney Brian Charles Rooney is an American actor and singer. Technically a sopranist (sopranista or male soprano), he has also sung high tenor roles in theatrical productions in the United States, Canada, and Europe. He made his Broadway debut in The ...

as a male Lucy. Included in the cast were drag performers. The director was Scott Elliott, the choreographer

Aszure Barton Aszure Barton is a Canadian-born choreographer. Career Aszure Barton was born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She received her formal training at the National Ballet School in Toronto, where, as a student, she helped originate the ongoing Steph ...

, and, while not adored by the critics, the production was nominated for the "Best Musical Revival" Tony award. Jim Dale was also Tony-nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The run ended on June 25, 2006. * The

presented a production directed by Robert Wilson and featuring the

Berliner Ensemble The Berliner Ensemble () is a German theatre company established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. In the time after Brecht's exile, the company first worked at Wolfgang Langh ...

for only a few performances in October 2011. The play was presented in German with English supertitles using the 1976 translation by

. The cast included Stefan Kurt as Macheath, Stefanie Stappenbeck as Polly and Angela Winkler as Jenny. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' review said the production "turn dBrecht and Weill's middle-class wake-up call into dead entertainment for rich people. His gelid staging and pallid, quasi-abstract recollections of Expressionist-era design suggested that the writers might have been trying to perpetrate an artsified remake of

Kander and Ebb Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander (born March 18, 1927) and lyricist Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004). Known primarily for their stage musical theatre, musicals, whi ...

's ''Cabaret''. Regional productions include: * Boston's

Charles Playhouse The Charles Playhouse is a theater at 74 Warrenton Street Boston in the Boston Theater District. The venue comprises an approximately 500-seat mainstage, which hosts the long-running Blue Man Group, and a 200-seat second stage branded as the com ...

, April 27 through June 6, 1982. Adapted by

and directed by

Geraldine Fitzgerald Geraldine Mary Fitzgerald (November 24, 1913 – July 17, 2005) was an Irish actress. She received the Daytime Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. She was a member of the American T ...

, the production starred

Elly Stone Elly Stone (May 30, 1927 – June 11, 2020) was an American singer and actress best known for her interpretations of the music of Jacques Brel. Biography Stone was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended the High School of Music & Art in Man ...

, Timothy Landfield, Jessica James, and

Maryann Plunkett Maryann Plunkett is an American actress and singer. Plunkett made her Broadway debut playing Sister Agnes in '' Agnes of God''. In 1987, she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as Sally Smith in ''Me and ...

. * The

Williamstown Theatre Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. ...

, Massachusetts, in June and July 2003. Directed by

Peter Hunt Peter Hunt may refer to: *Peter Hunt (British Army officer) (1916–1988), Chief of the General Staff of the British Army * Peter H. Hunt (1938–2020), American film, television and stage director * Peter R. Hunt (1925–2002), film editor on many ...

, the musical starred Jesse L. Martin as Mack,

Melissa Errico Melissa Errico (born March 23, 1970)"Melissa Errico"
profile,

as Polly, David Schramm as Peachum,

Karen Ziemba Karen Ziemba (born November 12, 1957) is an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her work in musical theatre. In 2000, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in '' Contact''. Biography Zie ...

as Lucy Brown and

Betty Buckley Betty Buckley (born July 3, 1947)LuKanic, Steven A (1995). Film Actors Guide'. Los Angeles, CA: Lone Eagle Publishing. p. 55. . is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for an additional Ton ...

as Jenny. The production received favorable reviews.

Film adaptations

German director

made a 1931 German- and French-language version simultaneously, a common practice in the early days of sound films. Another version, , was directed by

Wolfgang Staudte Wolfgang Staudte (9 October 1906 – 19 January 1984), born Georg Friedrich Staudte, was a German film director, script writer and actor. He was born in Saarbrücken. After 1945, Staudte also looked at German guilt in the cinema. Alongside ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in 1963, starring

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in ''Des Teufels Gener ...

as Macheath,

Hildegard Knef Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (; 28 December 19251 February 2002) was a German actress, singer, and writer. She was billed in some English-language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff. Early years Hildegard Knef was born in Ulm in 19 ...

as Jenny,

Gert Fröbe Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was known in English-speaking countries for his work as the title character in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Opera ...

as Peachum, and

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

as Moritat singer. In 1989 an American version (renamed ''

'') was released, directed by

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...

, with

as Macheath,

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

as Peachum,

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Go ...

as Mrs Peachum,

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Known for his work in numerous stage, television and film productions, he has received several awards including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, and ...

as Tiger Brown,

Julia Migenes Julia Migenes (born March 13, 1949) is an American soprano working primarily in musical theatre repertoire. She was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Juan and Julia Migenes, parents of Puerto Rican and Irish descent, respectively. (He ...

as Jenny, and

Roger Daltrey Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...

as the Street Singer.

Radio adaptations

In October 1978,

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

broadcast a complete radio production of the Ralph Manheim/John Willett translation directed by Ian Cotterell and Elaine Padmore to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ''The Threepenny Opera'' 's publication. The cast included Paul Bentley as Macheath,

Sarah Badel Sarah M. Badel (born 30 March 1943) is a retired British stage and film actress. She is the daughter of actors Alan Badel and Yvonne Owen. Life and career Badel was born in London to actor Alan Badel and actress Yvonne Owen. She was educat ...

as Polly (with her songs being sung by Elaine Padmore), Johanna Peters as Mrs Peachum,

Harold Kasket Harold Kasket (26 July 1926 – 20 January 2002) was an English actor in theatre, films and later television from the 1940s. Kasket usually played Arabs or mainland European types in many films and TV programmes such as '' Maigret'', '' The Sai ...

as Mr. Peachum, Jan Waters as Lucy,

Julia McKenzie Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie (born 17 February 1941) is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFT ...

as Jenny,

Peter Pratt Peter Pratt (21 March 1923 – 11 January 1995) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his comic roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. Pratt started his career in the chorus of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1945, ...

as Tiger Brown, Roderick Horn as the Ballad Singer and

John Hollis John Hollis (12 November 1927 – 18 October 2005) was a British actor of TV and film. He is known for his uncredited appearance as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the ''James Bond'' film '' For Your Eyes Only'', as well as for his appearances in the ...

as The Narrator. In 2009,

in collaboration with the

BBC Philharmonic The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Media ...

broadcast a complete radio production of the Michael Feingold translation directed by Nadia Molinari with the music performed by the BBC Philharmonic. The cast included

Joseph Millson Joseph Millson (born 27 April 1974) is an English actor, writer, director and singer. He trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup, London. He gained a master's degree in screenwriting from Falmouth University in 2023. ...

as Macheath,

Elen Rhys Elen Rhys (born 2 September 1983) is a Welsh actress, known for her roles as Gwen in the 2011 film ''Panic Button'' and Miranda Blake in the BBC drama ''The Mallorca Files ''The Mallorca Files'' is a British police procedural television drama ...

as Polly/Whore, Ruth Alexander-Rubin as Mrs Peachum/Whore, Zubin Varla as Mr. Peachum/Rev. Kimball,

as Lucy/Whore, Ute Gfrerer as Jenny,

Conrad Nelson Conrad Nelson (born 1963) is a British actor, composer and musical director, and he was the Artistic Director of the Northern Broadsides company until 2019. His acting roles have included Iago in the Northern Broadsides production of ''Othello'' ...

as Tiger Brown and

HK Gruber Heinz Karl "Nali" Gruber (born 3 January 1943), who styles himself HK Gruber professionally, is an Austrian composer, conductor, double bass player and singer. He is a leading figure of the so-called Third Viennese School. Career Gruber is said ...

(who also conducted the orchestra) as the Ballad Singer.

English Translations

* Gifford Cochran and Jerrold Krimsky, 1933

* Desmond Vesey (book) and Eric Bentley (lyrics), 1949: *

, 195

* John Willett and Ralph Manheim, 1976

*

(lyrics) and Robert David Macdonald (book), 199

*

, 200

* Brian Vinero, 2024

Recordings

Recordings are in German, unless otherwise specified. * ''Die Dreigroschenoper'', 1930, on

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the ''AEG (German company), Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ("General electricity company"). Prior to ...

. Abridged/incomplete.

(Jenny), Erika Helmke (Polly), Willy Trenk-Trebitsch (Macheath),

Kurt Gerron Kurt Gerron (born Kurt Gerson; 11 May 1897 – 30 October 1944) was a German Jewish actor and film director. He had a very successful career in cabaret and film before World War II, but was then forbidden to work and was sent to Theresienstadt ...

(Moritatensänger; Brown), and

Erich Ponto Erich Johannes Bruno Ponto (14 December 1884 – 14 February 1957) was a German film and stage actor. Career Erich Ponto was born in Lübeck as the son of a textile merchant. After his family had moved to Hamburg- Eimsbüttel, he attended the g ...

(Peachum). Band, conducted by

Theo Mackeben Relief from Mackeben's tombstone Theo Mackeben, born 5 January 1897 in Preußisch Stargard, Westpreußen, died 10 January 1953 in Berlin, was a German pianist, conductor, and composer, particularly of film music.Lamb A. ''Theo Mackeben.'' In: ''T ...

. Released on CD by

Teldec Teldec (Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH) is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group. History Teldec was a producer of (first) shellac and (later) vinyl records. The Teldec manufacturing ...

Classics in 1990. * ''The Threepenny Opera'', 1954, on

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

Broadway 159 463. In English. Lyrics by Marc Blitzstein. The 1950s Broadway cast, starring

Jo Sullivan Elizabeth Josephine Sullivan Loesser (née Sullivan; August 28, 1927 – April 28, 2019) was an American actress and high lyric soprano singer. She became a musical theatre star with her performance in the original production of '' The Most Happ ...

(Polly Peachum),

(Jenny),

(Mrs Peachum), Scott Merrill (Macheath), Gerald Price (Street Singer), and Martin Wolfson (Peachum).

sings Lucy, normally a small role, here assigned an extra number. Complete recording of the score, without spoken dialogues. Conducted by Samuel Matlowsky. * ''Die Dreigroschenoper'', 1955, on

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

8057, with

Anny Felbermayer Anny Felbermayer (21 July 1924 – 5 September 2014) was an Austrian soprano in opera and concert. The lyric soprano was a long-term member of the Vienna State Opera. She appeared in many operas by Richard Strauss, including the premiere of his ...

, , Jenny Miller,

Rosette Anday Piroska Anday (12 December 1899, in Budapest – 22 December 1977, in Vienna) known as Rosette Anday, was a leading Hungarian mezzo-soprano. Life On 23 September 1921, Bizet's opera ''Carmen'' was performed at the Vienna State Opera and a hith ...

Helge Rosvaenge Helge Rosvaenge (born Helge Anton Rosenvinge Hansen, 29 August 189717 June 1972) was a Danish-born operatic tenor whose career was centred on Germany and Austria, before, during and after World War II. His last name is sometimes spelled Roswaenge ...

Alfred Jerger Alfred Jerger (9 June 1889 – 18 November 1976) was an Austrian operatic bass-baritone, who began his career as a conductor of operettas, and was also an interim director of the Vienna State Opera and a professor of the Vienna Music Academy. ...

, and

Liane Augustin Liane Augustin (18 November 1927 – 30 April 1978) was a German-Austrian singer and actress. Biography Liane Augustin was born in Berlin, Germany in 1927. Her postwar successes as a nightclub singer in the Viennese Boheme Bar led to numerous ...

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

Orchestra conducted by F. Charles Adler. * ''Die Dreigroschenoper'', 1958, on CBS MK 42637. Lenya, who also supervised the production,

Johanna von Koczian Johanna von Koczian (, née von Kóczián-Miskolczy, 30 October 1933 – 10 February 2024) was a German actress. She grew up in Salzburg where Gustaf Gründgens offered her a role at the 1951 Salzburg Festival, and she played at several German ...

Trude Hesterberg Trude Hesterberg (2 May 1892 – 31 August 1967) was a German film actress. She appeared in 89 films between 1917 and 1964. Selected filmography * ''Ein Schwerenöter'' (1916) – Liddy * ''Die Eheschule'' (1917) * ''Die Reise ins Jenseits ...

, Erich Schellow,

Wolfgang Neuss Wolfgang Neuss (3 December 1923 – 5 May 1989) was a German actor and Kabarett artist. Wolfgang Neuss and (1922–1960) were a popular double act. Beginning in the mid-1960s, Neuss also became famous for his political engagement, first for ...

, and Willy Trenk-Trebitsch, Arndt Chorus,

Sender Freies Berlin Sender Freies Berlin (; abbreviated SFB ; ) was the ARD public radio and television service for Berlin from 1 June 1954 until 30 April 2003. On 1 January 1992, SFB became the public broadcaster for the whole of reunited Berlin. However, SFB had ...

Orchestra, conducted by

Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg (15 April 1906, in Stuttgart – 1 April 1985, in Hamburg) was a German conductor. He began his career in Munich as an assistant to Hans Knappertsbusch at the Bavarian State Opera. After several appointments in Essen, ...

. Complete recording of the score, without spoken dialogues. * ''Die Dreigroschenoper'', 1966, conducted by

Wolfgang Rennert Wolfgang Rennert (1 April 1922 – 24 March 2012) was a German conductor. He focused on opera, at the Oper Frankfurt, Staatsoper Berlin, Mannheim National Theatre and the Semperoper, among others. He premiered operas, such as Louise Talma's '' D ...

on Philips. With

Karin Hübner Karin Hübner (; 16 September 1936 – 25 July 2006) was a German stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in more than forty films from 1955 to 1977. Her name is sometimes given as Karin Huebner. Hübner was born in Gera in Thuringia a ...

, , , Hans Korte, , and

Franz Kutschera Franz Kutschera (22 February 1904 – 1 February 1944) was an Austrian Nazi politician and government official. He held numerous political and administrative offices with the Nazi Party and the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) both before and after ...

. * ''The Threepenny Opera'', 1976, on Columbia PS 34326. Conducted by

Stanley Silverman Stanley Silverman (born July 5, 1938, in New York City) is an American composer, arranger, conductor and guitarist. Silverman's diverse career covers music theatre, film, television, classical and pop music. His work has featured on stages acros ...

. In English, new translation by

and

. Starring the

cast, including

(Macheath),

(Jenny), Caroline Kava (Polly),

(Lucy), C. K. Alexander (Peachum) and

Elizabeth Wilson Elizabeth Welter Wilson (April 4, 1921 – May 9, 2015) was an American actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years, including memorable roles in film and television. In 1972 she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for ...

(Mrs Peachum) * ''Die Dreigroschenoper'', 1968, on

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

00289 4428349 (2 CDs). Hannes Messemer (MM),

Helmut Qualtinger Helmut Gustav Friedrich Qualtinger (; 8 October 1928 – 29 September 1986; also spelled Helmuth Qualtinger) was an Austrian actor, cabaret performer, writer and reciter. Biography Qualtinger was born in Vienna, First Austrian Republic, to a se ...

(P),

Berta Drews Berta Emilie Helene Drews (; 19 November 1901 – 10 April 1987) was a German stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films from 1933 to 1983. She was married to actor Heinrich George. The couple had two sons, including actor ...

(MsP),

Karin Baal Karin Blauermel (19 September 1940 – 26 November 2024), known professionally as Karin Baal, was a German film actress. She appeared in more than 90 films since 1956. Baal died on 26 November 2024, at the age of 84. Filmography Films *1956: ' ...

(Polly),

Martin Held Martin Held (1908–1992) was a German television and film actor. Partial filmography * '' Dark Eyes'' (1951) - Alexander Grabner * ''Homesick for You'' (1952) - Direktor Petermann * '' Canaris Master Spy'' (1954) - Obergruppenfuehrer Heydrich ...

(B),

Hanne Wieder Hanne Wieder (May 8, 1925 – May 11, 1990) was a German television and film actress. Selected filmography * ''Rosemary'' (1958) * '' Heiße Ware'' (1959) * ''Labyrinth'' (1959) * '' Marili'' (1959) * '' The Haunted Castle'' (1960) * ' (1961) * ...

(J),

Franz Josef Degenhardt Franz Josef Degenhardt (3 December 193114 November 2011) was a German poet, satirist, novelist, and – first and foremost – a folksinger/songwriter (Liedermacher) with decidedly left-wing politics. He was also a lawyer, bearing the academic d ...

(Mor). Conducted by

James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015) was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist, his trademark "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and ...

. The only recording, up to the present, that contains the complete spoken dialogue. * ''Die Dreigroschenoper'', 1988, on Decca 430 075.

René Kollo René Kollo (born 20 November 1937) is a German operatic tenor, especially known for his Wagnerian Heldentenor roles. He also performed a wide variety of operas and operettas, and made several recordings. Biography Born René Kollodzieyski in ...

(Macheath),

Mario Adorf Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, am ...

(Peachum),

Helga Dernesch Helga Dernesch (born 3 February 1939) is an Austrian soprano and mezzo-soprano. Her career has taken her through four successive phases: from mezzo-soprano to lyric soprano to dramatic soprano, and after about 1980 back to mezzo again. "Her voice ...

(Mrs Peachum),

Ute Lemper Ute Gertrud Lemper (; born 4 July 1963) is a German singer and actress. Her roles in musicals include playing Sally Bowles in the original Paris production of ''Cabaret'', for which she won the 1987 Molière Award for Best Newcomer, and Vel ...

(Polly),

Milva Maria Ilva Biolcati, (; 17 July 1939 – 23 April 2021), known as Milva (), was an Italian singer, stage and film actress, and television personality. She was also known as ''La Rossa'' (Italian for "The Redhead"), due to the characteristic co ...

(Jenny), Wolfgang Reichmann (Tiger Brown), (Lucy), (Herald). RIAS Berlin Sinfonietta,

John Mauceri John Francis Mauceri (born September 12, 1945) is an American conductor, actor, producer, arranger, voice actor, educator, writer and music composer. Since making his professional conducting debut almost half a century ago, he has appeared with ...

. * ''Die Dreigroschenoper'', 1990, on Koch International Classics 37006. Manfred Jung (Macheath), Stephanie Myszak (Polly), Anelia Shoumanova (Jenny), Herrmann Becht (Peachum), Anita Herrmann (Mrs Peachum), Eugene Demerdjiev (Brown),

Waldemar Kmentt Waldemar Kmentt (Vienna, 2 February 1929 Vienna, 21 January 2015) was an Austrian operatic tenor, who was particularly associated with the German repertory, both opera and operetta. Born in Vienna, Kmentt studied at the Vienna Music Academy, fi ...

(Street Singer); Bulgarian Television and Radio Mixed Choir and Symphony Orchestra, Victor C. Symonette * ''The Threepenny Opera'', 1994, on CDJAY 1244. In English. Donmar Warehouse (London) production. Translated by Robert David Macdonald (lyrics translated by

). Conducted by Gary Yershon. With

(Polly Peachum), Tara Hugo (Jenny), Natasha Bain (Lucy Brown),

(Macheath),

Simon Dormandy Simon Dormandy is an English theatre director, teacher and actor. As an actor, he worked with Cheek by Jowl and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), as well as at The Donmar Warehouse, The Old Vic, Chichester Festival Theatre and The Royal Exc ...

(Tiger Brown), Beverley Klein (Mrs Peachum) and

Tom Mannion Tom Mannion is a Scottish actor. He was trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.''Cyrano de Bergerac'' theatre programme, Communicado Theatre Company in association with the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh, A ...

(Mr Peachum). * ''Die Dreigroschenoper'', 1997, on

Capriccio Capriccio may refer to: __NOTOC__ Music * Capriccio (music), a piece of music which is fairly free in form * Fantasia in C major (Haydn), "Capriccio", a 1789 piano composition by Joseph Haydn * Capriccio (Janáček), a chamber music composition by ...

. Conducted by Jan Latham-König, with Ulrike Steinsky, Gabriele Ramm, Jane Henschel, , Rolf Wollrad, and Peter Nikolaus Kante. * ''Die Dreigroschenoper'', 1999, BMG Classics 74321-66133,

Ensemble Modern Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of contemporary composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countri ...

(conductor, Mr Peachum),

Max Raabe Max Raabe (born Matthias Otto, 12 December 1962) is a German jazz singer. He is best known as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester. Career Raabe developed an interest in the sound of German dance and film music of the 1920s and 193 ...

(Macheath), Sona MacDonald (Polly),

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rise to prominence during the punk and Neue Deutsche Welle movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is ...

(Mrs Peachum),

Timna Brauer Timna Brauer (; born 1 May 1961) is an Austrian-Israeli singer-songwriter who represented Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986. Career She represented Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, singing " Die Zeit ist einsam" (). Braue ...

(Jenny), (Tiger Brown)

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

* *
''Die Dreigroschenoper''
Kurt Weill Foundation for Music
Information on ''The Threepenny Opera'' English version
marc-blitzstein.org * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Threepenny Opera, The 1928 musicals Plays by Bertolt Brecht Broadway musicals West End musicals Operas by Kurt Weill German-language operas Operas 1928 operas Ballad operas Fiction set in 1838 Operas set in London Plays based on other plays German musicals Tony Award–winning musicals Musicals about gangs Musicals set in London Musicals set in stores Satirical musicals Adaptations of works by François Villon Works based on The Beggar's Opera

Background

Origins

Music

Premieres

Germany

United Kingdom

United States

France

Russia

Italy

Hungary

Roles

Synopsis

Overview

Prologue

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Musical numbers

Prelude

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Reception

Opera or musical theatre?

"Mack the Knife"

"Pirate Jenny"

"The Second Threepenny Finale"

Revivals

Germany

France

United Kingdom

United States

Film adaptations

Radio adaptations

English Translations

Recordings

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links