Die sieben Todsünden
(1933)

Ballet chanté in nine scenes.
Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht.

Synopsis
List of Movements
Performance Information
Principal Productions
Recordings

Tilly Losch and Lotte Lenya as Anna II and Anna I,
from the original production, Paris, 1933.

Synopsis

Anna I (who sings) and Anna II (who dances) are two facets of one personality. At the behest of her family, they travel to seven different American cities in order to make enough money to build a little house on the banks of the Mississippi. In each city, she/they encounter a different deadly sin, and Anna I (the practical side) rebukes Anna II (the artistic side) for engaging in sinful behavior--that is, behavior which hinders the accumulation of wealth. After each sin is repented in turn, they return to their new house.

List of Movements

• Introduktion
• 1) Faulheit
• 2) Stolz
• 3) Zorn
• 4) Völlerei
• 5) Unzucht
• 6) Habsucht
• 7) Neid
• Finaletto

Cast: Anna I (soprano), Anna II (dancer), the Family (2 tenors, baritone, bass), corps de ballet.
Orchestra: 2 (2 picc).1.2.1; 2.2.1.1; harp, piano, banjo (guitar), timp, perc; strings.
Duration: 35 minutes
Authorized Translations:
English -- W.H. Auden & Chester Kallman; Michael Feingold
French -- Edouard Pfrimmer
 

Principal productions

• June 7, 1933, Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, George Balanchine, chor., Maurice Abravanel, cond.
• December 4, 1958, New York, New York City Ballet, George Balanchine, chor., Robert Irving, cond. (in English)
• June 15, 1976, Wuppertal, Wuppertaler Tanzwoche, Pina Bausch, chor., Frank Meiswinkel, cond.
• December 23, 1987, Lyon, Lyon Opéra-Ballet, Maguy Marin, chor., Kent Nagano, cond.
• March 15, 1997, New York City Opera, Ann Bogart, dir., Derrick Inouye, cond.

CBS MK 44529		Julia Migenes,  Michael Tilson Thomas, cond.
EMI Classics 7 64739 2		Elise Ross,  Simon Rattle, cond.  [original keys]
LP Columbia CKL 5175 LP Philips B 07 186 CBS MP K 45886 Sony MHK 63222 BEAR FAMILY 16019  Sony 78754		Lotte Lenya, Katona, Gollnitz, Poettgen, Roth Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg, cond. 1956
Capriccio 60 028-1		Doris Bierett,  Kölner Rundfunkorchester,  Lothar Zagrosek, cond.
DG SLPM 139 308 Polydor 429 333-2 Berlin Classics BC 2069-2.		Gisela May,  Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig,  Herbert Kegel, cond.
Decca 430168-2		Ute Lemper,  RIAS Berlin Sinfonietta,  John Mauceri, cond.
Harmonia Mundi HMC 901420 Harmonia Mundi HMA1951420		Brigitte Fassbaender,  Radio Philharmonie Hannover des NDR,  Cord Garben, cond. [original keys]
The Cleveland Orchestra  Seventy-Fifth Anniversary  Musical Arts Association Compact Disc Edition TCO 93-75.		Anja Silja,  Cleveland Orchestra,  Christopher von Dohnányi, cond.  [original keys]
DG 439 894-2		Anne Sofie von Otter, Norddeutscher Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, John Eliot Gardiner, cond.  [original keys]
Teldec 4509-95029-2 Teldec 0927-40699-2		Angelina Réaux,  New York Philharmonic,  Kurt Masur, cond.  [original keys]
Deutsche Schallplatten DSB 1048-2		Pascal von Wroblewsky,  Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin,  Mario Vencago, cond.
Erato 0630-17068-2		Teresa Stratas, Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Lyon,  Kent Nagano, cond.  [original keys]
RCA / Reverso 74321 60119-2		Marianne Faithfull,  Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra,  Dennis Russell Davies, cond.  [original keys, one octave lower; sung in English]
Hänssler Classic- 93.109		Anja Silja (soprano) Julius Pfeiffer Alexander Yudenkov (ténor) Bernard Hartmann (baryton) Torsten Müller (basse) Orchestre de la Radio SWR de Kaiserslautern Grzegorz Nowak