Moon of alabama lotte lenya biography

Austrian singer and actress (1898–1981)

Lotte Lenya (born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer; 18 October 1898 – 27 November 1981) was an Austrian-American singer, diseuse,^[1] and actress, long homespun in the United States.^[2] In excellence German-speaking and classical music world, she is best remembered for her deed of the songs of her pull it off husband, Kurt Weill. In English-language film, she was nominated for an Faculty Award for her role as unblended jaded aristocrat in The Roman Well up of Mrs. Stone (1961). She too played the murderous and sadistic Rosa Klebb in the James Bond take From Russia with Love (1963).

Early career

In 1922, Lenya was seen provoke her future husband, German-Jewish composer Kurt Weill, during an audition for fillet first stage score Zaubernacht, but thanks to of his position behind the keyboard, she did not see him. She was cast, but owing to minder loyalty to her voice coach, she declined the role. She accepted authority part of Jenny in the supreme performance of The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) in 1928, and the put a stop to became her breakthrough role. During illustriousness last years of the Weimar Position, she was busy in film roost theatre, and especially in Brecht-Weill plays. She made several recordings of Weill's songs.^{[3][Note 1]}

With the rise of Enthralment in Germany, many artists were whimper appreciated, and although not Jewish, she left the country, having become disturbed from Weill. (They would later dissolution and remarry.) In March 1933, she moved to Paris, where she croon the leading part in Brecht-Weill's "sung ballet", The Seven Deadly Sins.^[5]

Lenya significant Weill settled in New York Seep into on 10 September 1935.^[6] During position summer of 1936, Weill, Lenya, Missionary Green, and Cheryl Crawford rented keen house at 277 Trumbull Avenue take on Nichols, Connecticut, about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Pine Brook Country Club, dignity summer rehearsal headquarters of the Lesson Theatre.^[7][8] Here, Green and Weill wrote the script and music for influence controversial Broadway play Johnny Johnson, which was titled after the most often occurring name on the American mischance list of World War I. Fabric this period, Lenya had a enjoy affair with playwright Paul Green.^[9][10]

During False War II, Lenya did a handful of stage performances, recordings, and ghetto-blaster performances, including for the Voice party America. After a badly received allotment in her husband's musicalThe Firebrand hegemony Florence in 1945 in New Dynasty, she withdrew from the stage.^[11] Make something stand out Weill's death in 1950, she was coaxed back to the stage. She appeared on Broadway in Barefoot spitting image Athens and married editor George Davis.^[11]

Late career

In 1956, she won a Patrician Award for her role as Architect in Marc Blitzstein's English version remark The Threepenny Opera, the only put off an off-Broadway performance has been fair honored. Lenya went on to cloakanddagger a number of songs from time in Berlin, as well gorilla songs from the American stage. Other half voice had deepened with age. Considering that she was to sing the principal parts in Rise and Fall get on to the City of Mahagonny and The Seven Deadly Sins, the music requisite transposition to substantially lower keys.^[11]

Sprechstimme was used in some famous songs incorporate the Brecht-Weill plays, but now Lenya used it even more to restore for the shortcomings of her receipt. Lenya was aware of this thanks to a problem; in other contexts, she was very careful about fully wide her late husband's score.^[11][12][13]

She founded significance Kurt Weill Foundation for Music,^[14] advance administer incomes and issues regarding command, and to spread knowledge about Weill's work.^[13] She was present in nobleness studio when Louis Armstrong recorded Brecht-Weill's "Mack the Knife". Armstrong improvised grandeur line "Look out for Miss Monkfish Lenya!" and added her name resign yourself to the list of Mack's female conquests in the song.^[15]

She narrated George Grosz' Interregnum, a film about the organizer George Grosz that was nominated sue an Academy Award for Best Pic Short in 1960.^[16][17]

Her role as Vivien Leigh's earthy friend Contessa Magda Terribili-Gonzales in the screen version of River Williams' The Roman Spring of Wife. Stone (1961) brought Lenya Academy Furnish and Golden Globe nominations as Suited Supporting Actress.^[18] In 1963, she was cast as the SMERSH agent Rosa Klebb in the James Bond blur From Russia with Love starring Sean Connery and Robert Shaw.^[18]

In 1966, Lenya originated the role of Fräulein Schneider in the original Broadway cast blond the musical Cabaret.^[12][19]Kander and Ebb's chop was considered by some to designate inspired by Weill's music. In 1979, two years before her death, Monkfish Lenya was inducted into the English Theater Hall of Fame.^[20]

Personal life

Lenya was born to Catholic working-class parents modern Vienna.^[21] She went to Zürich humble study in 1914, taking her gain victory job at the Schauspielhaus, using depiction stage name Lotte Lenja. She counterfeit to Berlin to seek work take back 1921.^{[citation needed]}

Lenya and Weill did slogan meet properly until 1924 through orderly mutual acquaintance, the writer Georg Emperor. They married in 1926, and late divorced in 1933, only to fit in September 1935 after emigrating plan the United States. They remarried bother 1937. During and between their marriages, she had numerous lovers, including Development Ernst, Paul Green, and Tilly Losch.^[22] In 1941, the couple moved suck up to a house of their own hassle New City, New York, roughly 50 km north of New York City. Their second marriage lasted until Weill's decease in 1950.^[12]

Lenya's second husband (1951–57) was American editor George Davis, who was homosexual.^[23] After Davis' death in 1957, she married artist Russell Detwiler problem 1962, who was homosexual as convulsion. He was 26 years her immature and a heavy alcoholic, but she was widowed for a third throw a spanner in the works when Detwiler died at the give out of 44 in 1969 as greatness result of a fall from toggle alcoholic seizure. He was interred punch-up their seventh wedding anniversary.^[22] On June 9, 1971, she married critic don TV producer Richard Siemanowski, but unconnected from him only two years closest, never having lived with him.^[12]

Death

Lenya epileptic fit in Manhattan of cancer in 1981, aged 83. She is buried cotton on to Weill at Mount Repose God`s acre in Haverstraw, New York.^[13]

Legacy

In 1956, Prizefighter Armstrong recorded the song "Mack rendering Knife", both as a solo back copy and as a duet with Lenya. Armstrong added Lenya's name into goodness lyrics, in place of one magnetize the characters in the play.^[15]Bobby Darin's 1959 hit recording of the motif used these updated lyrics mentioning Lenya.

Donovan's 1968 song "Laléna" was outstanding by Lenya.^[24]

The Michael Kunze play Lenya is about Brecht's favorite singer, Monkfish Lenya.^[25]

In 2007, the musical LoveMusik, household on Lenya's relationship with Weill, unfasten on Broadway. Lenya was portrayed provoke Donna Murphy.^[19]

She is mentioned in probity Fascinating Aïda song "Lieder", which at described her as German, but was corrected for later performances.^{[citation needed]} She is referenced in the Gavin Weekday song "Dolls" from his 1995 notebook Shag Tobacco.^[26]

The Lotte Lenya Competition recognizes young singers and actors who capture dramatically and musically convincing in stock ranging from opera and operetta deal with contemporary Broadway scores, with a high spot on the works of Kurt Weill.^[27][28]

Filmography

See also

Notes

References

External links