Der Wind hat mir ein
Lied erzählt
('La Habanera')
'Made-up are the cheeks, eyes, lips and soul! Made-up is each sweet tone produced by the voice! And all that poetry ensures that the crystalline sound of irony is never revealed to you!' – Friedrich Hollaender
The songs that are characteristic for the time after Germany had lost the First World War – a time of great poverty, unemployment and political upheaval – were created in the 1920s, carried by an exhilarating feeling of 'dancing on the volcano'. The music is energetic, sometimes cheerful and sometimes melancholic, full of a life-affirming drive and irony, and still has the same effect on us today. This music also continued into the 1930s. Movie songs that became famous, such as Musik! Musik! Musik! or Ich wollt', ich wär' ein Huhn are timeless entertainment and were a distraction from everyday life in Nazi Germany. The programme traces this ambivalence by juxtaposing the buoyant and catchy melodies with songs by Weill and Eisler with lyrics by Brecht, and also includes the Norbert Glanzberg/Ilse Weber song about a suitcase that is looking for its Jewish owner.
The celebrated mezzo soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and the captivating actor Nico Holonics are staging this evening together with the conductor and pianist Adam Benzwi as well as the Komische Oper's Salon-Orchester. A selection of songs from the programme, interpreted by Anne Sofie von Otter, Adam Benzwi and the Salon-Orchester, will be released on CD later this year.