Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht & Elisabeth Hauptmann's "Happy End"

The NYC premiere of a new English version of the sharp, jazz-infused 1929 musical satire by Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht and Elisabeth Hauptmann blazes with wit, grit and dark glamour. A follow-up to the trio’s success with The Threepenny Opera, Happy End is a satire of big business and big religion set in a smoky speakeasy where religion and capitalism collide. The unforgettable score includes “Bilbao Song,” “Mandalay Song” and “Surabaya Johnny.”

Directed by Mary Birnbaum, this compact new English adaptation by Kelley Rourke is music directed by Rob Ainsley and features Ana Karneža, a Juilliard drama graduate and 2024 winner of the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition, and instrumentalists from the Manhattan School of Music’s Jazz program. The presentation is part of a historic new collaborative partnership between The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Saratoga, Finger Lakes Opera and the Seagle Festival.

 Leadership support for chamber opera is made possible by the Roz Lasker Chamber Opera Fund.