THE THREEPENNY OPERA

To be a good man – what a nice idea!
But there’s the little problem of subsistence:
Supplies are scarce and human beings base.

The Threepenny Opera (1928), translation Eric Bentley

Who hasn’t heard of Mackie’s lament, that penetrating refrain, smooth as a sharpened razor blade? This year, the opening of the Festival takes an exceptional twist: after Mahagonny’s success (2019), the Archevêché will host, for the first time, the troupe of the Comédie-Française under the stage direction of Thomas Ostermeier for Weill and Brecht's other world-famous hit – The Threepenny Opera. A colourful anarchistic revue, a dark collage of haunting songs and danceable rhythms, this parody of opera demystifies a genre deemed bourgeois at a time when mass music is on the rise, and sarcastically describes the Weimar Republic – a period of moral confusion which is reminiscent of our own. Maxime Pascal will lead a dozen virtuoso multi-instrumentalists from his ensemble Le Balcon to perform the original version, for the first time on stage since its creation – a version that is more forceful and in line with Weill’s wishes. A few unpublished pages will be added, and a new translation will be made in close collaboration with the artistic team.