FEATURE

Each of the seven main characters fall into one of four social categories: beggars, prostitutes, cops, or thugs. Throughout the opera, these social groups interact in puppet and human form, manipulating and controlling one another for their own benefit.

In the first act, the beggar-leaders Mr. and Mrs. Peachum, have learned that their daughter Polly is in love with thug-leader Macheath and plot to end the relationship. Meanwhile, Mack and Polly proceed to get married, resulting in a celebration that includes Polly singing “Pirate Jenny” and Chief of Police Tiger Brown singing “Canon Song” with his old army pal Macheath. Polly returns home to her parents (“Barbara Song”), who have decided the most rational and appropriate way to get rid of their unwanted sonin-law is to have Mack arrested and killed.

The second act opens as Mack takes leave of Polly in order to attend “other business.” Mrs. Peachum, meanwhile, meets with Jenny, the leader of the prostitutes, to scheme against Macheath. As Mack takes care of his “other business” (at the brothel), he and Jenny first reminisce about their times together in “The Pimp’s Ballad”—just before Jenny betrays him to the police. In jail, Mack is visited by Polly and Lucy, the daughter of the Chief of Police who (surprise!) is also married to Mack. Lucy’s marriage to Mack is revealed to Polly (“The Jealousy Duet”). Mack then escapes from prison with Lucy’s help.

The third and final act opens as Mr. Peachum begins to implement his plan to arrest Mack again, intending to have Mack killed after imprisoned. Knowing that Tiger Brown has sympathies towards Mack, he decides to blackmail Brown into arresting Macheath by using the Queen’s upcoming coronation to his advantage. Peachum has trained his beggars to complain publicly about the monarchy at the coronation, which would reflect poorly on Tiger Brown. To avoid this embarrassment, the Chief of Police knows he must do

Costume sketches by Costume Designer, Erik Teague for Macheath and Jenny.

as Peachum says, and arrests Macheath for the second time. However, just as Mack prepares for his execution, a messenger arrives as a deus ex machina to release and exonerate Macheath.

Throughout this raw story, Brecht’s characters charm and entertain, creating a satirical piece that ridicules the underbelly of an unchecked immoral and capitalist society. Weill’s music, instead of hiding or softening these tough truths, rather creates an unsettling irony that accentuates Brecht’s story. Brecht is unafraid to delve into the truths of money, sex, power, the police, business, or government— he satirizes the corrupt and selfish tendencies that can emerge in people, the way that individuals and groups are set against one another and taken advantage of by one another. As revealed by The Threepenny Opera, give The Atlanta Opera a mask, and it will tell you the truth.

THE KURT WEILL FOUNDATION FOR MUSIC

The Kurt Weill Foundation, Inc. promotes and perpetuates the legacies of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya by encouraging an appreciation of Weill’s music through support of performances, recordings, and scholarship, and by fostering an understanding of Weill’s and Lenya’s lives and work within diverse cultural contexts. It administers the Weill-Lenya Research Center, a Grant and Collaborative Performance Initiative Program, the Lotte Lenya Competition, the Kurt Weill/Julius Rudel Conducting Fellowship, the Kurt Weill Prize for scholarship in music theater, and publishes the Kurt Weill Edition and the Kurt Weill Newsletter. Building upon the legacies of both Weill and Lenya, the Foundation nurtures talent, particularly in the creation, performance, and study of musical theater in its various manifestations and media. Since 2012, the Kurt Weill Foundation has administered the musical and literary estate of composer Marc Blitzstein. www.kwf.org.

Praised for his energy and integrity on the podium, the Chicago Tribune has said, “Milioto presided with Bernsteinesque bravura”. A rising star of his generation, he is forging a unique career as a versatile conductor and leader. Mr. Milioto is currently Music Director of OPERA San Antonio and Artistic Advisor to the Florentine Opera Company, while maintaining positions on the music staffs of both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and The Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Milioto is excited to make his debut with The Atlanta Opera in this incredibly innovative production FRANCESCO MILIOTO of The Threepenny Opera. Following this production Mr. CONDUCTOR Milioto will return to San Antonio for performances of Lucia di Lammermoor before heading to Santa Fe for ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. To begin the 2021-22 season he will make his long anticipated debut with the Florentine Opera Company in their postponed production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. Mr. Milioto will also make his debut in Charleston with Holy City Arts & Lyric Opera (HOLA) conducting a new production of La traviata performed on the local baseball field. Later in the season he returns to San Antonio to conduct their production of Rigoletto. In March of 2020, Mr. Milioto was serving in his seventh season on the music staff of Lyric Opera of Chicago where he worked on productions of Luisa Miller, Madama Butterfly, and Die Walküre in the complete Ring cycle. The 2019-20 season also included his debut with NUMI Opera in Los Angeles conducting a production of Korngold’s Der Ring des Polykrates, as well as performances of Tosca in San Antonio. Over 20 years in Chicago he has claimed the titles of Music Director to the New Millennium Orchestra, the Skokie Valley Symphony, the Highland Park Strings, Access Contemporary Music, and the Chicago Cultural Center Summer Opera. As a guest conductor he has amassed several critically acclaimed productions with Chicago Opera Theater and has collaborated with many professional local orchestras. His work with the New Millennium Orchestra and Chicago Opera Theater were each named to the Chicago Sun-Times list of the “10 best performances of the year.”

Clinton Smith’s 2020-21 season includes a virtual recital for Opera Orlando’s Summer Concert Series. His 2019-20 season included debuts at Florentine Opera conducting Le nozze di Figaro and Opera Birmingham conducting Cendrillon. He returned to Dayton Opera to conduct La Cenerentola, and Tacoma Opera to conduct L’elisir d’amore. He spends his seventh summer on the music staff at Santa Fe Opera playing continuo and covering music director Harry Bicket’s performances of Cosí fan tutte. His recent conducting credits include Charlie Parker’s Yardbird CLINTON SMITH at The Atlanta Opera and Arizona Opera, Pagliacci and CONDUCTOR Pulcinella at Opera Orlando, Il barbiere di Siviglia at (SELECT PERFORMANCES) Dayton Opera and the University of Michigan, Le nozze ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT di Figaro at Tacoma Opera, Alcina at Fargo-Moorhead CHARLIE PARKER’S Opera, Turandot, Norma, and Hansel und Gretel with YARDBIRD, 2018 Pacific Northwest Opera, The Mikado for Kentucky Opera, and Noah’s Flood with Opera Las Vegas. He has served on the music staff of Santa Fe Opera, Juilliard Opera, Minnesota Opera, Atlanta Opera, Portland Opera, Kentucky Opera, Ash Lawn Opera, and Skylark Operas and has included the preparation of over fifty operas in German, Italian, French, English, Czech, Russian, and Mandarin. He recently concluded a collective nine years as music and artistic director of both Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers and the St. Cloud Symphony. His many accomplishments include conducting subscription concerts every season, creating a chamber music series, annual Messiah performances, and partnering with numerous cultural and educational organizations. For four seasons, Minnesota Opera engaged Mr. Smith as cover conductor and chorus master, where he led main stage performances of La traviata and Madama Butterfly and covered the St. Paul Chamber and Minnesota Opera Orchestras in over 20 productions. Mr. Smith holds degrees in orchestral conducting from the University of Michigan and piano performance from the University of Texas at Austin.