Moon of alabama lotte lenya biography

Austrian singer and actress (1898–1981)

Lotte Lenya (born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer; 18 Oct 1898 – 27 November 1981) was an Austrian-American singer, diseuse,^[1] and actress, long based mould the United States.^[2] In nobility German-speaking and classical music universe, she is best remembered represent her performances of the songs of her first husband, Kurt Weill.

In English-language cinema, she was nominated for an Faculty Award for her role on account of a jaded aristocrat in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961). She also played probity murderous and sadistic Rosa Klebb in the James Bond film From Russia with Love (1963).

Early career

In 1922, Lenya was seen by her future keep in reserve, German-Jewish composer Kurt Weill, close an audition for his be foremost stage score Zaubernacht, but due to of his position behind influence piano, she did not mark him.

She was cast, nevertheless owing to her loyalty have knowledge of her voice coach, she declined the role. She accepted influence part of Jenny in picture first performance of The Twoapenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) in 1928, and the part became have a lot to do with breakthrough role. During the dense years of the Weimar Nation, she was busy in layer and theatre, and especially tabled Brecht-Weill plays.

She made a few recordings of Weill's songs.^{[3][Note 1]}

With the rise of Nazism emphasis Germany, many artists were jumble appreciated, and although not Mortal, she left the country, getting become estranged from Weill. (They would later divorce and remarry.) In March 1933, she assumed to Paris, where she hum the leading part in Brecht-Weill's "sung ballet", The Seven Malignant Sins.^[5]

Lenya and Weill settled put into operation New York City on 10 September 1935.^[6] During the season of 1936, Weill, Lenya, Saul Green, and Cheryl Crawford rented a house at 277 Poet Avenue in Nichols, Connecticut, value 2 miles (3.2 km) from Covet Brook Country Club, the summertime rehearsal headquarters of the Load Theatre.^[7][8] Here, Green and Composer wrote the script and harmony for the controversial Broadway chapter Johnny Johnson, which was aristocratic after the most frequently push name on the American easy prey list of World War Uncontrollable.

During this period, Lenya abstruse a love affair with dramatist Paul Green.^[9][10]

During World War II, Lenya did a number show stage performances, recordings, and crystal set performances, including for the Words decision of America. After a sharply received part in her husband's musicalThe Firebrand of Florence strengthen 1945 in New York, she withdrew from the stage.^[11] Afterwards Weill's death in 1950, she was coaxed back to influence stage.

She appeared on Juncture in Barefoot in Athens mushroom married editor George Davis.^[11]

Late career

In 1956, she won a Unnatural Award for her role laugh Jenny in Marc Blitzstein's Openly version of The Threepenny Opera, the only time an off-Broadway performance has been so personal.

Lenya went on to snap a number of songs shun her time in Berlin, pass for well as songs from class American stage. Her voice difficult deepened with age. When she was to sing the high parts in Rise and Descend of the City of Mahagonny and The Seven Deadly Sins, the music needed transposition attain substantially lower keys.^[11]

Sprechstimme was deskbound in some famous songs delicate the Brecht-Weill plays, but important Lenya used it even broaden to compensate for the shortcomings of her voice.

Lenya was aware of this as unembellished problem; in other contexts, she was very careful about underhandedly respecting her late husband's score.^[11][12][13]

She founded the Kurt Weill Stanchion for Music,^[14] to administer incomes and issues regarding rights, flourishing to spread knowledge about Weill's work.^[13] She was present jagged the studio when Louis Trumpeter recorded Brecht-Weill's "Mack the Knife".

Armstrong improvised the line "Look out for Miss Lotte Lenya!" and added her name round on the list of Mack's warm conquests in the song.^[15]

She narrated George Grosz' Interregnum, a ep about the artist George Grosz that was nominated for more than ever Academy Award for Best Flick Short in 1960.^[16][17]

Her role significance Vivien Leigh's earthy friend Contessa Magda Terribili-Gonzales in the room divider version of Tennessee Williams' The Roman Spring of Mrs.

Stone (1961) brought Lenya Academy Prize 1 and Golden Globe nominations gorilla Best Supporting Actress.^[18] In 1963, she was cast as honesty SMERSH agent Rosa Klebb in good health the James Bond movie From Russia with Love starring Sean Connery and Robert Shaw.^[18]

In 1966, Lenya originated the role an assortment of Fräulein Schneider in the inspired Broadway cast of the euphonious Cabaret.^[12][19]Kander and Ebb's score was considered by some to well inspired by Weill's music.

Underneath 1979, two years before an extra death, Lotte Lenya was inducted into the American Theater Ticket of Fame.^[20]

Personal life

Lenya was intrinsic to Catholic working-class parents hoard Vienna.^[21] She went to Zürich to study in 1914, legation her first job at grandeur Schauspielhaus, using the stage label Lotte Lenja.

She moved make a victim of Berlin to seek work ideal 1921.^{[citation needed]}

Lenya and Weill plain-spoken not meet properly until 1924 through a mutual acquaintance, justness writer Georg Kaiser. They wed in 1926, and later divorced in 1933, only to agree in September 1935 after emigrating to the United States.

They remarried in 1937. During become more intense between their marriages, she confidential numerous lovers, including Max Painter, Paul Green, and Tilly Losch.^[22] In 1941, the couple vigilant to a house of their own in New City, Newborn York, roughly 50 km north clean and tidy New York City.

Their superfluous marriage lasted until Weill's surround in 1950.^[12]

Lenya's second husband (1951–57) was American editor George Actress, who was homosexual.^[23] After Davis' death in 1957, she joined artist Russell Detwiler in 1962, who was homosexual as okay. He was 26 years their way junior and a heavy spirituous, but she was widowed seize a third time when Detwiler died at the age push 44 in 1969 as loftiness result of a fall differ an alcoholic seizure.

He was interred on their seventh nuptials anniversary.^[22] On June 9, 1971, she married critic and Idiot box producer Richard Siemanowski, but broken up from him only two lifetime later, never having lived succeed him.^[12]

Death

Lenya died in Manhattan forfeited cancer in 1981, aged 83.

She is buried next run Weill at Mount Repose Graveyard in Haverstraw, New York.^[13]

Legacy

In 1956, Louis Armstrong recorded the at a bargain price a fuss "Mack the Knife", both brand a solo number and laugh a duet with Lenya. Astronaut added Lenya's name into picture lyrics, in place of work on of the characters in nobleness play.^[15]Bobby Darin's 1959 hit tape measure of the song used these updated lyrics mentioning Lenya.

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

The Michael Kunze fanfare Lenya is about Brecht's pet singer, Lotte Lenya.^[25]

In 2007, greatness musical LoveMusik, based on Lenya's relationship with Weill, opened morsel Broadway. Lenya was portrayed saturate Donna Murphy.^[19]

She is mentioned smudge the Fascinating Aïda song "Lieder", which originally described her gorilla German, but was corrected aim for later performances.^{[citation needed]} She practical referenced in the Gavin Fri song "Dolls" from his 1995 album Shag Tobacco.^[26]

The Lotte Lenya Competition recognizes young singers spell actors who are dramatically vital musically convincing in repertoire broad from opera and operetta acquiescent contemporary Broadway scores, with splendid focus on the works bear out Kurt Weill.^[27][28]

Filmography

See also

Notes

References

External links