Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill, (1900-50). German composer, best known for the satirical operas he wrote in collaboration with Bertolt Brecht. Weill worked as a conductor and studied under the composer Busoni before turning to com-position in the mid 1920s. He made his name with his first Brecht collaboration, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1927). Brecht also provided the libretto for the classic The Threepenny Opera (1928), which includes the hit ‘Mack the Knife’, and The Seven Deadly Sins (1933). In these works Brecht and Weill pioneered a new kind of political opera that incorporated elements of jazz and other popular styles. After fleeing Germany (1933) to escape the Nazi persecution of the Jews, Weill settled in New York and produced a series of similat works for the Broadway stage. A number of these, including Knickerbocker Holiday (1938) and Lost in the Stars (1949), had libretti by the playwright Maxwell Anderson. He also wrote various nondramatic works, including two symphonies. Weill was married to the singer Lotte Lenya (1900-81), who appeared in many of his works.
