Though Barrie Kosky has a well-earned reputation as one of the most celebrated opera directors in Europe, only with the arrival of the Berliner Ensemble’s Threepenny Opera at Brooklyn Academy of Music have New York City audiences been afforded the opportunity to experience one of his productions. Acclaimed from the moment of its Berlin opening in 2021, this Threepenny has run continuously in repertory since then, also playing guest appearances in Rome, Edinburgh, and Adelaide. Its arrival in New York was greeted by enthusiastic, sold-out audiences and critical praise for its fast, stylish staging and expert music interpretations of its band, led by music director Adam Benzwi.
“The Berliner Ensemble’s previous take on Threepenny, a languid, sepulchral staging by Robert Wilson, travelled to BAM in 2011… Where Wilson went slow, Kosky goes fast; his performers engage in vaudevillian prancing, slapstick scampering, Chaplinesque waddling, and acrobatic clambering… Yet the score itself is treated with perfect respect. Adam Benzwi, who led the ensemble from the piano and the harmonium, combines scholarly expertise with virtuoso chops.”
The New Yorker – Alex Ross
“Strange and Inventive… a staging that does justice to Weill’s music by capturing its sharp edges and celebratory dissonant flashes visually.”
Theater Mania – Dan Rubins
“Excellently directed by Barrie Bosky and performed by Germany’s spirited Berliner Ensemble, this version is slimmed down to 3 hours of sybaritic Jazz absurdist opera. It’s spicy razzle-dazzle, yet the simple modern set design is everything it needs to be.”
Medium – Isa Freeling
“Weill’s sleaze-classical-dancehall score sounded remarkably lucid under Adam Benzwi’s direction, highlighting the numerous musical jokes from the fake arias to the fake Bach chorales. The entire performance was a clarified cocktail that went down with ease.”
Observer – Gabrielle Ferrari
“There isn’t a moment of music that’s a throwaway, which is Weill’s power as a composer. It all counts in bringing life to the characters that aren’t lovable for an instant but are dramatic in every instant.”
Broadway World – Richard Sasanow
