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TThe provocative, political movement that flourished in 1920s Berlin was not just a flash in the pan to get rid of by the Nazis. As Anne Sofie von Otter delightfully explains, his influence on film, musical theater and popular music spanned several decades. Although émigrés such as Friedrich Hollaender and Mischa Spoliansky received a Hollywood escape, others, including Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler, were wrapped up in anti-government songs that pulled few, if any, punches.
The program is deliberately diverse, seeking to highlight the beautiful conflicts between romantic ballads, saucy burlesques, cinematic dreams and political thrillers. This works well, although the stylistic through lines are sometimes difficult. Regardless, the Salon Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin creates authentic theater under the tight, imaginative baton of conductor Adam Benzwi, and the orchestration and arrangements are delightful.
Most of the songs here are not popular. There’s a jazzy Balkan stomp, cimbalom and all, from the 1939 film Song of the Desert, a gutsy number by Günter Neumann, which begins as a Prussian stripper. Music! Music! Music! from the Hallo video, Janine sounds like she’s directing the title of The Muppet Show.
Otter, now 71 years old, is a prolific artist, although his genre is few and far between these days. This does not prevent him from understanding the text well even when he is discussing the transition from his strong chest voice to a bent head.
