The Seven Deadly Sins

Composed by Kurt Weill

Texts by Bertolt Brecht

Directed by David Walsh

Thursday, November 8, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 9, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 10, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 11, 1:30 p.m.

Ted Mann Concert Hall

Synopsis

Seven Deadly Sins depicts the rags-to-riches tale of Anna, a young girl from a small town in Louisiana who rises through the ranks from stripper/cabaret dancer to show-girl to model/actress. In the process of making a career, her natural charm and beauty are ruthlessly expunged and replaced with a kind of cold, hard and artificial glamour. It is the kind of journey that Hollywood makes famous or infamous depending on your point of view.

In the original version, the story takes place in the early 1930s. It is the time of the Great Depression, when the so-called American Dream (in which wealth plus material success equals happiness) has gone belly up. Nevertheless, even today the myth persists. America continues to be fascinated and tempted by the idea of “making it.” This delusion has its parallel in the world of theatre by the idea of “making it” as a showbiz star. So these two worlds—the “real” world and the “artistic” world—mirror each other and, indeed, merge in this story.

This is a story of the destruction of innocence, idealism and romance. The best instincts of human nature—for example, openness, generosity, and sensuality—are perverted or discredited in a highly cinical way. The moral of the story is this: if you want to “make it,” you have to learn to “play the game,” often through blatant hypocrisy and exploitation of everyone with whom you come in contact. Although the different cities mentioned in this opera (properly it should be characterized as a “ballet with song”) represent different stations on this delusory pilgrimage, in fact every city contains all of the vices.

Our production will treat the material in a contemporary fashion but, frankly, the clichés are timeless. Plus ca change!

—David Walsh