Street scene (2cd)

Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North, James Holmes

Street Scene is currently Kurt Weill’s most frequently revived American stage work. A polystylistic blend of operatic arias and ensembles, musical comedy songs and dances, theatrical dialogue and extraordinary emotional drama, Street Scene arguably represents Weill’s breakthrough moment. Although Elmer Rice’s play was set in the 1920s, the popular music references are pure 1940s – think Glenn Miller or Rodgers and Hammerstein. After the successful release of Love Life (Capriccio C5550) this recording adds to Capriccio’s already substantial catalogue of Kurt Weill’s works, again with a powerful cast from Opera North.