Hopping between social criticism, contamination and playful staging, the production recalls a strong Milanese tradition between La Scala and Piccolo, recounting the landscape of inequality and exploitation.
MILAN, ITALY — As a conceptual musical, Kurt Weill epitomises a time-hopping frame of vignettes in which, at various intervals, he recounts modern concerns framed by musical commentary from an assortment of vaudeville acts.
Smallwood Hines Schmidlechner Harris . Photograph: Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala
La Scala’s production perhaps wisely opts for a merge between maximalist and minimalist touches, set against a set consisting largely of plastic roofs and wooden flooring, in contrast to the commonly-seen gilded theatrical touchpoints of the vaudevillians. Irina Brook has conceived a show that combines the three pieces into a single dramaturgical project about a world brought to its knees by exploitation and greed.
A world in which it is easy to recognise a reality marked by the dizzying rise of inequality and the looming environmental catastrophe is also reflected in the choice of a set design made entirely from recycled materials.
Wallis Giunta. Photograph: Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala
Photograph: Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala
Only at the end can one see a glimmer of hope, represented by the inclusion of the song Youkali, dedicated to a utopian island where every desire is fulfilled. The large cast includes Alma Sadé as Anna I, Bessie and Mary, Lauren Michelle as Anna II, Jessie and Jane, Elliott Carlton Hines as Bruder I, Bobby and Sam Worlitzer, Andrew Harris as Mutter and Jimmy, Matthäus Schmidlechner as Vater, Charlie and Ein Mann, Michael Smallwood as Bruder II, Billy and Hanibal Jackson, Natascha Petrinsky as Die Fliege, Wallis Giunta as Lilian Holiday and performer of Youkali.
Photograph: Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala
Markus Werba returns to La Scala in the role of gangster Bill Cracker, while Geoffrey Carey lends his iconic face to the role of the actor. It is a significant coincidence that the premiere, on 14 May, falls on the anniversary of the founding of the Piccolo Teatro by Paolo Grassi and Giorgio Strehler: Brecht’s history at the Piccolo is the history of Italian theatre.
by Chidozie Obasi