《三分钱歌剧》（Die Dreigroschenoper）,这部作品并不属于歌剧的范畴，应该把它看做是音乐剧的一种。在十八世纪英国的大众音乐剧即叙事歌剧中，约翰·盖伊所写的《乞丐歌剧》（The Beggar's Opera）在当时极受欢迎。此剧被改编成现代风格的脚本后，由魏尔采用爵士手法作曲而成为《三分钱歌剧》。它的舞台改为维多利亚王朝末期的伦敦，但却暴露和讽刺了德国败于第一次大战后的经济混乱、政治和社会风气的腐败。它的确是一部反映了那个时代特点的好歌剧，所以博得很广泛的声誉。希特勒时期在德国禁止上演，第二次大战后又开始流行。它所采用的爵士乐形式虽然陈旧，但并未失掉音乐上的清新的魅力。
（摘自 张弦、徐国弼等编译《西洋歌剧名作解说 下》）

作曲家丈夫和女高音妻子

Amazon.com essential recording
Whether playing Anna in The Seven Deadly Sins or singing "Moritat vom Mackie Messer" ("Mack the Knife"), Lotte Lenya helped define the music of her husband, Kurt Weill. The duo literally created the soundtrack for the prewar Berlin of our fantasies--an exotic land of nicotine and nightlights--where cabaret, jazz, and the odd American instrumental influence all coexist happily. Now remastered, this collection gathers Lenya's legendary 1957 recordings of Sins and her 1955 recording Sings Berlin Theatre Songs. Forget subtlety--Lenya is all about emotion. On cuts like "Pirate Jenny," Lenya's voice sounds fluttery and frantic, and on "Surabaya-Johnny," her German sounds fragile and sweet, but mostly she's just herself--bittersweet, raw, and (most of all) human. In spirit, Marianne Faithfull, PJ Harvey, and a host of others all kept the torch of Lenya's style going. But after listening to these Berlin theater songs in classic form (and in their original tongue), you'll never hear them the same way again. --Jason Verlinde