Opera of Three Parallels

 What is bank robbery compared to the establishment of a bank?" asks the infamous Macheath of Brecht on stages around the world, again and again for almost 100 years. Because there have always been individuals who, in order to build their own empires, preferred to reach into the pockets of others, and among them were both petty crooks and major villains. Brecht introduces us to the world of the former, but in addition to presenting a noisy, passionate, and corrupt underworld made up of small-time criminals, pseudo-mercenaries, and homeless people, his play is also a mirror for the latter. And while the streets of the big city are flooded with crowds heading to the polls, in the intertwined alleys of crime and law enforcement, Police Captain Brown, the King of Beggars, and the captain of the gang of philandering thieves, Mackie the Knife, try to win and save each other amid stormy emotions and even stormier interests. And, of course, deceived and in love with Mackie are Polly, Lucy, and Jenny. Drawing from Brechtian tradition, the creators evoke Brecht’s characters in a special show filled with humor, love, suspense, and modern characters, with its own alienating effect, while simultaneously performing some of Kurt Weill’s popular songs.