Music theatre, opera & musicals

The Threepenny Opera

Friday, 22/12/2023 / 07:30 PM - 09:20 PM / Theater Freiburg - Large House

Intermission catering Rain or shine Wheelchair-accessible

Never before and never since has social criticism been packaged in such wonderful music as in Brecht-Weill's DREIGROSCHENOPER. From the "Moritat von Mackie Messer" to the "Kanonensong" and the "Ballade der Seeräuber-Jenny" to the "Eifersuchtsduett": the exciting blend of Kurt Weill's fusion of jazz, operetta and fairground music and Bertolt Brecht's irony-soaked texts still has an electrifying effect. Because the moon is still shining over Soho, soldiers are living on the cannons again and the shark still has sharp teeth! "What is breaking into a bank compared to founding a bank?" Brecht has his charismatic and charming villain Macheath ruminate on a capitalist society in which crooks behave like (philistine) citizens and everyone is the enemy of everyone else. In this shark tank, the law of the jungle rules: No one can afford morality, decency or Christian faith here. All relationships are subject to the laws of the market. Taking a pleasurable drag on his cigar, Brecht observes with a cynical eye how his characters try to assert themselves in this hamster wheel and assert their interests - whatever the cost! - to assert their interests. Even at the premiere in 1928, the upper and lower bourgeoisie that the author was targeting were amused by the characters' own double standards and selfishness as well as the "inadequacy of human endeavor". The criticism of the system was no match for the culinary nature of the work. At the time, there was still a powerful socialist utopia as a counter-model. What does it look like today, where we have internalized the prevailing capitalist world order and accept and endure it as having no alternative? Tips for educators: We recommend the production for school groups from grade 9 upwards. A collection of materials to prepare for or follow up the performance visit is available here: https://media02.culturebase.org/data/docs-theater-freiburg/theater_freiburg_dreigroschenoper.pdf