Şirin Soysal sings Kurt Weil

Written by Sabine Küper on December 15, 2012. Posted in Urban Chant

Şirin Soysal sings Kurt Weil from InEnArt on Vimeo.

Concert at Borusan Müzik Evi in Istanbul, 14.12.12

Şirin Soysal grew up in Vienna, Bern and Ankara. She studied Theatre and Film in Dublin. The singer took lessons as a vocalist from Mustafa Yurdakul, Tamara Nizhnikova and Randy Esen. In 2011 Soysal published “Bir şeyler var”, a collection of Jazz titles. The singer performs Chansons, Jazz, Cabaret and Folk.

Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950) was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. With Brecht he developed productions such as his most well known work, The Three penny Opera, a Marxist critique of capitalism, which included the ballad “Mack the Knife”.

The Three penny Opera follows the tradition of murder ballads sung by strolling street singers, a medieval Tradition in Brecht’s homeland Bavaria. Mack The Knife was at the Premier sung by the character Police chief Brown to introduce the main character and to follow the idea of the street singers.

The song was first introduced to American audiences in 1933 in the first English-language production of The Three penny Opera. The English lyrics were by Gifford Cochran and Jerrold Krimsky.

Beside its importance for Theatre Brecht’s literature grew immortal with the Music of Kurt Weil.

The music is a challenge for singers. The songs have to be presented in a Cabaret style. They require a strong voice and experienced performance abilities.