Opera's message shines through today

It’s been more than 80 years since the Bertold Brecht/Kurt Weill team premiered The Three Penny Opera, a pull-no-punches political commentary on the plight of the poor and disenfranchised.

But Curtis Knecht, director for the upcoming remount at Walterdale Theatre opening Wednesday, April 6, doesn’t see much change in the 21st century.

“It’s unfortunate, but it fits quite well in our world. Just turn on the TV and you see war, famine and corruption. What the characters go through — crime, violence, hunger — it almost flows out of the news. Nothing has changed. Hopefully this will make people think.”

When the curtain rose at the musical’s debut in 1928 no one knew what to expect. But Brecht’s savaging text and Weill’s acid harmonies coated in German cabaret jazz elicited rave reviews.

It later inspired mega Broadway hits such as Cabaret and Chicago, and the show’s opening number, Mack the Knife, went on to become one of the most recorded jazz standards of the 20th century.

Having said that, Knecht warns that every single character is a horrible person. “Brecht doesn’t pull any punches. He’s very blunt. The police are corrupt. The women are exploited. Men are brutish. It’s a dark and dingy world.”

In this tale of the downtrodden, love somehow blooms. Polly Peachum marries London gang leader Macheath. However, Polly’s father, the boss of London’s beggars, refuses to accept a thief as a son-in-law.

And by hook and by crook, Peachum tries to have Macheath imprisoned. “He bribes Mack’s former girlfriend. As a character he’s so queasy and oily. He’s an amalgam of all the bad things you can think of.”

Peachum’s greed really shines when accepting Filch, a miserable wreck of a person, into his crew of beggars. He displays his generosity by demanding 80 per cent of Filch’s alms.

St. Albert actor David Johnston takes on the role of the scruffy Filch. “I see him as an inept guard. He’s the pinnacle of ineptness. He’s the closest thing to a henchman and he’s not very good at it.”

A second St. Albert actor to carry a role is Josh Languedoc, namely Bob the Saw, one of Macheath’s gang. “He’s a quieter member of the gang. Bob looks up to Mack and tries to please him,” says Languedoc, who disappears as Bob after the first act only to resurface as a street beggar.

Knecht, who has a background in opera and loves to direct, took on the project when he heard Sally Hunt was on board as musical director. “What makes it so easy to work with her is we share a common musical language.”

Few musicals have enjoyed the longevity of Three Penny Opera. Maybe it’s the political message or catchy tunes. Or as Languedoc simply says, “It’s such a quirky kind of show. It’s fun, gritty, nasty and raw.”