Bremner Duthie to unveil new Weill show at Marigny Opera House

By ALAN SMASON

Kurt Weill, the talented Jewish composer who was the most successful composer in Germany prior to his fleeing Nazi Germany, is the subject of a rare cabaret performance by singer Bremner Duthie and a jazz trio this Wednesday evening, February 17 at the Marigny Opera House, 725 St. Ferdinand Street. The concert begins at 8:00 p.m.

Cabaret star Bremner Duthie (Photo courtesy Bremner Duthie)

Classically trained, Weill could well have been the leading German classical composer had he not been born the son of a Jewish cantor and run afoul of the Nazis, said Duthie in an exclusive CCJN interview. He first took training under the helm of opera composer Englebert Humperdinck and later a less conservative mentor.

“I think he had two lives,” Duthie mused. “Kurt Weill had his work in Berlin in the 1920s, after which he fled to Broadway. He soaked up the American vernacular and actually changed his name to Weil. He even refused to speak with a German accent.”

With his non-Jewish lyricist partner Bertolt Brecht, Weill scored major successes with “The Three Penny Opera” and “The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” in 1928 and 1930, respectively, prior to seeking exile in Paris, Italy and Britain, several years before finally emigrating to America in 1935. “But I don’t think he ever left his classical roots behind,” Duthie stated.

Duthie has garnered critical success for his ’33 a Kabarett, his one-man show in which he portrays a Weimar cabaret performer who sings the songs of his deceased fellow performers. The riveting show has played across the world at fringe festivals and theater festivals throughout Europe and across the United States. Based on his reception in New Orleans three years ago, he and his wife moved to the Crescent City permanently and now reside in the Bywater neighborhood.

Duthie will be performing the Weill songbook with pianist Ethan Stern whose trio includes a standup bass player and a clarinet/saxophone player.

“I stay fairly close to the idea of a cabaret singer,” Duthie explained. “However, all the versions are all jazz renditions, but I try and stay pretty close to the originals. They don’t need much adaptation”

Still, he does expect the jazz trio to jazz it up, but only a little. “Weill at Heart is a cabaret/concert that shares my sheer delight in the marvelous complexity of Weill’s music,” Bremner’s handouts state. Weill forces us to open our hearts, to hear and see the world anew: every moment spent with his work is a moment of discovery.”

To order advance tickets for $12.00 for adults and $8.00 for seniors and students, click here.