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THE ETERNAL ROAD (DER WEG DER VERHEISSUNG) Send This Review to a Friend
The very presentation of Kurt Weill's legendary opera "The Eternal Road" by the Brooklyn Academy of Music (February 28-March 5) was a major event in itself. Even before one evaluated the quality, there was the grateful recognition to BAM for hosting the U.S. premiere of the original German language version--the Broadway production in 1937 was an English translation--ambitiously produced in collaboration with the Chemnitz Opera in Germany, the New Israeli Opera of Tel Aviv, and Opera Krakov of Poland. The event as staged in BAM's Howard Gilman Opera house featured 250 singers and musicians. This was truly an important international undertaking.
"The Eternal Road," which had a text by Franz Werfel, has to be seen in the context of its time. The examination of Jewish history as expressed in Biblical stories told in tandem with contemporary persecution was a bold undertaking for the opera stage, a daring and noble concept in the shadow of the gathering storm that would lead to the Holocaust. The presentation at BAM, while not as elaborate as the one on Broadway was reputed to have been, was elaborate enough. It came across as an impassioned dramatization with Weill's soaring, often deeply moving score, conducted brilliantly by John Mauceri, augmenting, indeed trumpeting, the power of the theme of survival. Some dramatic portions were better directed then others in which there were lulls and awkward staging.
It is silly to complain, as one major critic did, that the work lacked humor. Yes, there were moments when the music might remind one of melodies in "The Threepenny Opera" or other Weill music. But to insist that the wry humor that went along with such compositions had any place in "The Eternal Road" is absurd. The story here, of Jews taking refuge in a synagogue from a pogrom and spending their frightening time telling the story of the Jewish people, thus giving the work split-level drama, has an exciting sweep to it. There are moments of great beauty, such as the story of Ruth, and some of the singing reached lofty heights.
Although lengthy, the production was mostly spellbinding, and ever-present was the appreciation of the opportunity to see it and awareness of all that went into mounting such an historic presentation, which was sponsored by Deutche Bank. The subtitles projected on screens worked very well, much better than an audio translation through earphones might have worked.
I have a serious quarrel with the decision to change the ending to bring violence that better forecast the Holocaust to come. Why tamper with such a classic? Surely the public is capable of applying the knowledge of what went after the original more optimistic ending. As a matter of fact, even the Holocaust could not wipe out the Jewish people as an entity, and that realization may be more in keeping with the original vision. In any event, as is usually the case, tampering with a classic to be more in tune with the time in which a work is presented is a desecration that works against the very impulse to bring a classic back. It also shows little respect for audience intelligence.
It is a pity that "The Eternal Road" can't be shown for a longer run. But reviving it has given the Weill opera a fresh place in history, and all involved are to be enthusiastically congratulated. I found seeing it a profound experience, not only for its strength as an opera, but for its significance in the history of the arts.
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