Interpretation

One of the things I have been neglecting in the Rachel Opera Project is comparing different performances of the same work. Generally I just pick up whichever recording happens to be on the library shelves. This is, of course, lazy, because I think you can hardly say you know a work until you've listened to all the definitive recordings and formed an opinion on which tempi you like best, whose voice you think works for the role, etc. Because opera is a sung dramatic form, it has even more room for interpretation than orchestral music.

Here is an example of an aria that has had a particularly interesting performance history: "Seerauber Jenny," or "Pirate Jenny," from Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera. The work is a 1928 socialist opera (!), and the aria is about--well, you'll see.

Here is what you could call the definitive early version, sung by Kurt Weill's wife, Lotte Lenya, in the original 1931 film. It's sung in German, but it has (clunky, literal) English subtitles. Take a look:



What do you think? I'm still a little unsure of the director's decision to shoot the entire song with her standing still, devoid of facial expression. And when I first listened to it, I was underwhelmed by the song as a soprano aria; her voice seems tinny and shaky, and not only because of poor sound quality. That said, the more I listen, the more I like it. Her totally straight-faced, low-key delivery makes it somehow more serious and terrifying. When she says "alle" at the end, I am totally convinced. And scared.

Now here's a live performance by Hildegard Knef. She recorded versions of both this and "Mack the Knife," the other most famous song from the Threepenny Opera, but I chose the live version instead because--well, take a look:



This is a very different song all of a sudden! Her performance in the live is infinitely rawer and wilder than in the recorded version. I love the spoken sections, I love the freedom she takes with the tempi, I love love love love the way she makes the chorus stand out--when she starts in with "Und ein Schiff!", it's amazing, every time! Also, frankly, I think the aria works better for a lower voice.

It's possible to go too far to this extreme, I think; several other recordings (including amateur ones!) that I've heard have consisted mostly of fortissimo belting and shouting, of which I disapprove on principle. But I think the Knef performance is spot-on perfect and probably my favorite recording of all the ones I've heard.

But "Pirate Jenny" has another incarnation in Nina Simone. She was a jazz musician and civil rights activist. Listen to what she does with it:



Pretty awesome, right? (Also, isn't that an incredible translation? So good!) This performance should be credited for what it did to transform the song's social setting in the US. I admit that there are a lot of things I'm not crazy about in this recording: I don't think the song needs her vocal embellishments, I don't actually like her voice, and I think something feels weird about her pacing/pronunciation/something. But to me, all of that is totally erased when we get to the end and she's rasping, "And as they pile up the bodies, I say... that'll learn ya." Ah! Amazing!

Which Pirate Jenny is your favorite? Do you think any of these recordings are taking too much freedom with what's on the page? Or does what's on the page not matter?