![pedro navaja tango instrumental pedro navaja tango instrumental](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fqolrBv2FhY/maxresdefault.jpg)
That production, however, was not successful, closing after a run of only ten days. The English lyrics were by Gifford Cochran and Jerrold Krimsky. The song was introduced to American audiences in 1933 in the first English-language production of The Threepenny Opera. 1954 Blitzstein translation "A Theme from The Threepenny Opera (Mack the Knife)" The song was translated into French as " La complainte de Mackie" by André Mauprey and Ninon Steinhoff and popularized by Catherine Sauvage. At the premiere, though, the barrel organ failed, and the pit orchestra (a jazz band) had to quickly provide the accompaniment for the street singer. Weill intended the Moritat to be accompanied by a barrel organ, which was to be played by the singer. At the premiere, the song was sung by Kurt Gerron, who played Police Chief Brown. However, Weill and Brecht decided the song should not be sung by Macheath himself, opting instead to write the song for a street singer in keeping with the Moritat tradition. The song was a last-minute addition that was inserted before its premiere in 1928 because Harald Paulsen, the actor who played Macheath, demanded that Brecht and Weill add another number that would more effectively introduce his character. The play opens with the Moritat singer comparing Macheath (unfavorably) with a shark and then telling tales of his crimes: arson, robbery, rape, murder.
![pedro navaja tango instrumental pedro navaja tango instrumental](https://patch.com/img/cdn/users/1092610/2012/02/raw/d53a4642a409eaf666ea7e8b0fb25bad.jpg)
![pedro navaja tango instrumental pedro navaja tango instrumental](http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0001/803/MI0001803862.jpg)
The Brecht-Weill version of the character was far more cruel and sinister and has been transformed into a modern antihero. In The Threepenny Opera, the Moritat singer with his street organ introduces and closes the drama with the tale of the deadly Mackie Messer, or Mack the Knife, a character based on the dashing highwayman Macheath in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (who was in turn based on the historical thief Jack Sheppard). 1.3 1976 Manheim–Willett extension (" Moritat")Ī Moritat is a medieval version of the murder ballad performed by strolling minstrels.