Synopsis

Macheath (Mack the Knife), notorious bandit and womanizer, runs afoul of Jonathan Peachum when he marries Peachum's daughter Polly in a ceremony of doubtful legality. Peachum's resolve to have Mack sent to the gallows is complicated by the fact that Mack's old army buddy is the chief of police, Tiger Brown. Peachum and his wife commence a series of strategems to ensnare Mack: bribing prostitutes to turn him in, exercising their influence over the police, and ultimately threatening to ruin the coronation of Queen Victoria by having all the beggars in London (whom Peachum controls) line the parade route. Mack is imprisoned, escapes, and is imprisoned again. When his hour of execution arrives, however, a mounted messenger appears with the Queen's reprieve, which includes a baronetcy and an annual pension of 10,000 pounds.

Song list

• Ballad of Mack the Knife
• Morning Anthem
• Instead Of Song
• Wedding Song
• Pirate Jenny
• Army Song
• Love Song
• Ballad of Dependency
• First Threepenny Finale - The World is Mean
• Polly's Song
• Tango Ballad
• Ballad of the Easy Life
• Barbara Song
• Jealousy Duet
• Second Threepenny Finale - How to Survive
• Useless Song
• Solomon Song
• Call from the Grave
• Death Message
• Third Threepenny Finale - Mounted Messenger

Cast: Singing roles -- Street Singer (tenor or high baritone), Macheath (high baritone), Mr. J.J. Peachum (bass baritone), Mrs. Peachum (contralto), Polly Peachum (soprano), Tiger Brown (baritone), Lucy Brown (mezzo), Jenny (mezzo), Smith, ensemble.
Speaking roles -- Filch, the Rev. Kimball, the gang of thieves, beggars, prostitutes, policemen.
Orchestra: Reed 1 (cl, alto sax), Reed 2 (cl, ten. sax); 2 tpt, tbn; banjo (gtr, Hawaiian gtr,) timp & perc, piano (harmonium and celesta).
Duration: full evening, 55 minutes music

Principal productions

• March 10, 1954, New York, Theater de Lys, Carmen Capalbo, dir., Samuel Matlovsky, cond.
• February 9, 1956, London, Royal Court Theatre, Sam Wanamaker, dir., Berthold Goldschmidt, cond.
• June 1983, Minneapolis, Guthrie Theater, Liviu Ciulei, dir., Dick Whitbeck, cond.
• May 15, 1996, Tokyo (in Japanese)

Polydor 820 260-2. CD TER 1101 LP MGM SE 3121 Decca Broadway 012 159 463-2 Line Music (Cantus Classics) CACD 500991		Original Off-Broadway Cast Scott Merrill Martin Wolfson Jo Sullivan Charlotte Rae Lotte Lenya Samuel Matlowsky, cond. Theatre de Lys, New-York
CD JAY 1244 CD TER 1227		Tom Hollander, Sharon Small, Tom Mannion, Beverley Klein, Gary Yershon, cond. (in English, lyrics translated by Jeremy Sams)

Also see Die Dreigroschenoper, for original version in German.

L'Opéra de 4 sous
(Adaptation Française de Jean Claude Hemmery)
Play with music.
Text by Bertolt Brecht and Elisabeth Hauptmann,
after John Gay's The Beggar's Opera.

Collection Jacques Canetti CD 202 422-2 CD 589 706-2

T.E.P. Oswald D'Anndrea Maurice Barrier Maxime Casa Sabine Lods Albert Médina Marie-Claude Mestral Pierre Santini Arlette Téphany Rose Thiéry

1. Complainte de Mackie   2. Cantique matinal de peachum   3. Au lieu de…   4. Jenny des corsaires   5. Le chant des canons   6. Le chant de Barbara   7. Chanson de Polly   8. Ballade de l' esclavage des sens   9. Ballade du souteneur 10. Ballade de la bonne vie 11. Duo de la jalousie 12. L' inanité de l' effort humain 13. Le sage Salomon 14. Epitre 15. Ballade de merci 16. Le final

			Overture Tango Polly's Song Ballad of the Good Life Mack the Knife Chorale
In search of freedom MDG 9031999-6 (SACD)		Berlage Saxophone Quartet Lars Niederstrasser, soprano saxophone Peter Vigh, alto saxophone Kirstin Niederstrasser, tenor saxophone Eva van Grinsven, baritone saxophone	Canon Song The ballad of the good life Pimp's ballad (Tango) Polly's Song