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Kurt Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins on SACD

A stinging critique of capitalist society, 'he Seven Deadly Sins brings into sharp focus the perpetual battle between money and morals. Created by the trail-blazing duo of the Weimer Republic, Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht, the satirical ballet-chanté The Seven Deadly Sins was to be the pair's final collaboration. Hitler had come to power, and the Jewish Weill and Marxist Brecht had both left Germany in haste. Weill was to come to terms with capitalist America more readily than Brecht, writing a series of popular musicals for Broadway with other collaborators. But, in The Seven Deadly Sins, Brecht's pen is still dripping with venom as he excoriates the continent's sleazy, materialistic values, the biblical septet of vices here given a contemporary twist. The story tells of daughter Anna (Magdalena Kožená), who is sent away from her family, tasked with bringing back enough money to build a house on the Mississippi River. Through seven years and seven cities-from Memphis and Los Angeles to Philadelphia and San Francisco-Anna encounters the seven deadly sins, and is forced to make her choice between what is profitable and what is right. Sir Simon Rattle, the London Symphony Orchestra and a star-studded line-up of soloists bring this shamelessly entertaining work to life alongside a collection of Weill's other most memorable works, including Death in the Forest and Little Threepenny Music.