The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music

The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music Explore 120+ years of composer Kurt Weill’s legacy here. | Founded in 1962 by Lotte Lenya. Home to the 🎙️

09/28/2026

A Weill musical guide to take you through the week! Which is your favorite? ➡️🎶

MONDAY: Audra McDonald as Jenny in THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF MAHAGONNY; LA Opera, 2007

TUESDAY: Wallis Giunta sings Youkali in the 2025 Teatro alla Scala Weill Triptych production (SEVEN DEADLY SINS, MAHAGONNY SONGSPIEL, and HAPPY END)

WEDNESDAY: Lotte Lenya sings “Surabaya Johnny” from HAPPY END on American television in 1958

THURSDAY: Julie Andrews sings “My Ship” in the 1968 movie STAR! Clip via The Julie Andrews Archive on YouTube

FRIDAY: Frank Sinatra sings “September Song” live on the 1946 Burns & Allen Radio Show. Clip via Jennert on YouTube.

SATURDAY: Still from the Opera North 2025 production of Weill’s LOVE LIFE. Audio featuring Quirijn De Lang singing “My Kind Of Night.”

SUNDAY: Ava Gardner in the 1948 film of Weill’s ONE TOUCH OF VENUS. Her singing voice is dubbed here by 1940s big band singer Eileen Wilson. Clip via Songbook Station on YouTube.

09/25/2026

Julie Andrews + Kurt Weill? The perfect combination, in our opinion. 😍 We hope you enjoy Julie singing “My Ship” from Weill’s LADY IN THE DARK as much as we did!

“To this day, I think it is my favorite song of all time. It’s a very hard thing to say because I love so many songs, but something about “My Ship” just hits me in the right place, and the words are so beautiful and the melody is so lovely.” — Julie Andrews

Clip from the 1968 movie STAR!, via The Julie Andrews Archive on YouTube.

“The theater is always dying—but never dies.” — Kurt Weill.📣The Summer 2026 KWF Newsletter is now online! In this issue,...
09/14/2026

“The theater is always dying—but never dies.” — Kurt Weill.

📣The Summer 2026 KWF Newsletter is now online! In this issue, we discuss the state, and fate, of American musical theater.

Daniel Egan considers examples from Weill’s oeuvre and other repertory, covering problems that revivals face today and principles for addressing them. And from the front lines, producer-director Francesca Zambello explores the role of musical theater in the U.S. national conversation, drawing on her own recent experience.

What are your thoughts on the future of American MT? 💭

Link in bio to read the full newsletter 📖

09/07/2026

So which Weill song will you go listen to? 🎶 ⬇️

1. Surabaya Johnny from HAPPY END
2. Pirate Jenny from THREEPENNY OPERA
3. Lost In The Stars from LOST IN THE STARS
4. Mr. Right from LOVE LIFE
5. September Song from KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY

In this clip, Kurt Weill plays piano on THE SWIFT SHOW in 1949 as host Lanny Ross and Martha Wright sing “Here I’ll Stay” from Weill’s LOVE LIFE. ✨🎵

Kinda chic to be Kurt Weill.🙂‍↕️✨🎵🎵🎵Images:1. Kurt Weill: New City, ca. 1949 (photo: Chapman-Rasponi)2. New York City Ce...
08/27/2026

Kinda chic to be Kurt Weill.🙂‍↕️✨

🎵🎵🎵

Images:

1. Kurt Weill: New City, ca. 1949 (photo: Chapman-Rasponi)

2. New York City Center performance of Weill’s LOVE LIFE; Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

3. Weill and Lenya. Lenya recalled: “This is our wedding picture. We were quite poor at the time. Kurt was making money by giving music and theory lessons. He has our dinner here in a paper bag, which was some kind of herring and jelly. And I got some autumn leaves from the park in the back, to decorate the table, and this was our wedding dinner.”

4. Kurt Weill: Berlin, ca. 1929 (photo: Thiele)

5. Shelley Eva Haden (Anna II) and Wallis Giunta (Anna I) in THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS Opera North, 2021 | Photo: Tristram Kenton

6. From footage showing Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht during rehearsals for DIE DREIGROSCHENOPER in 1928, with a cameo by Lotte Lenya; also includes a short clip of Weill and Brecht from 1927 around the premiere of MAHAGONNY SONGSPIEL.

7. Movie posters of LADY IN THE DARK, KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY, ONE TOUCH OF VENUS, and DIE DREIGROSCHENOPER

8. Kurt Weill: Hollywood, 1937

9. The cast of Street Scene; Opera North, 2020 | Photo: Clive Barda

10. MAHAGONNY at English National Opera, February 2026.

11. Kurt Weill: New City, 1946 (photo: Karsh)

📣 Some Weill news for your Tuesday! This Thursday, Opera Prelude performs Weill’s iconic DIE SIEBEN TODSÜNDEN in a doubl...
08/18/2026

📣 Some Weill news for your Tuesday! This Thursday, Opera Prelude performs Weill’s iconic DIE SIEBEN TODSÜNDEN in a double-bill with Bernstein’s TROUBLE IN TAHITI. ✨🎶

“Mezzo soprano Stephanie Wake-Edwards takes on this iconic role [of Anna] as she journeys across America in search of fame and fortune, hoping to earn enough money for her family’s new house in Louisiana. Melodies soar beside dance rhythms and jazz influences ironically depicting different cities and moral encounters. “ — Opera Prelude

Head to the link in our bio to read more about Weill’s SEVEN DEADLY SINS!

Image: Opera Prelude

07/30/2026

This evening, presents A Night Of Opera Favorites, featuring “Lonely House” from Weill’s STREET SCENE, sung by tenor . 🎶

This “Broadway opera” is Kurt Weill’s most frequently revived American stage work. Fun fact: before Catherine Zeta-Jones hit the big time, she danced and sang “Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed” as part of ’s 1989 Olivier Award-nominated production of STREET SCENE!

Here, performs “Lonely House” at in 1994. ✨

07/30/2026

This Friday, The Glimmerglass Festival, Finger Lakes Opera, Seagle Festival, and Opera Saratoga perform the final show of the regional tour of Weill’s HAPPY END! In honor of this, we present an archival Lotte Lenya performance of the show’s famed “Surabaya Johnny” on American television in 1958. 🎶🎉✨

The HAPPY END touring production was a magnificent collaboration between these four opera companies, and also featured several Lotte Lenya Competition alumni:

— Kurt Weill/Lotte Lenya Artist Ana Karneža as The Fly

— Lisa Marie Rogali as the Major

— Christine Price as Lieutenant Lillian Holiday

— Jason Zacher as Benny

Toi toi toi to the cast and crew of HAPPY END as they wrap up Weill/Brecht/Hauptmann “rich, smoky evocation of Chicago in 1919!”

07/06/2026

“Surabaya Johnny” by Kurt Weill, performed here by on Broadway as Lotte Lenya, 2007. 🎶✨

This piece is having a moment in TWO fascinating shows this summer:

🎵 LOVEMUSIK — the love story of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, a musical by Alfred Uhry using music by Weill, performed by Theater in June

🎵 HAPPY END — Weill, Brecht, and Hauptmann’s satire play with music, performed by and at the end of July

Head to the link in our bio to learn about these two spectacular shows!

05/29/2026

sings the famous “Mack the Knife” by Kurt Weill ⭐️🎶✨

Malla stars as Mackie Navaja in ’s touring production of LA ÓPERA DE LOS TRES CENTAVOS. Directed by Mario Vega with musical direction by Miguel Malla, the production is currently enjoying an extensive tour of Spain. Its next stop will be Teatre L’Artesà in El Prat de Llobregat on May 30th!

Video: “Coque Malla “Mack the knife” | LA ÓPERA DE LOS TRES CENTAVOS | Programa “Futuro Imperfecto (RTVE)” via Barco Pirata Productions on Youtube

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