Seven Deadly Sins

Weill collaborated with Brecht on this immorality play while living in Paris where he’d fled to escape the rise of the Nazis back home. The resultant ‘sung ballet’ is a surreal cabaret presented by a singer and a dancer, representing different aspects of the same personality. Anna I and Anna II travel to seven American cities to earn money for their family. Trouble is, the spiritual Anna II keeps succumbing to sin, which compromises their earning power, much to the chagrin of the practical Anna I. In the end it’s Anna I who prevails, and gets what she wants; but it’s at the cost of Anna II’s spirit, which is crushed. The Seven Deadly Sins is a short, sharp stab at the heart of conventional bourgeois morality. Weill’s score is witty, sparky, occasionally lyrical, and rigorously organised – a masterpiece in miniature.