WEILL: “Die Dreigroschenoper.” Ute Lemper, Milva, Helga...

WEILL: “Die Dreigroschenoper.” Ute Lemper, Milva, Helga Dernesch, Rene Kollo, Mario Adorf, Rolf Boysen; RIAS Chamber Choir and RIAS Berlin Sinfonietta conducted by John Mauceri. London 430 075. The second release in London’s Weill project should satisfy both those who believe the composer belongs in the opera house and those who would consign him to the musical theater. Boysen’s Ballad Singer sounds smarmy and slightly indecent. Dernesch’s formidable mezzo relishes the Brecht text in the “Ballad of Sexual Obsession.” Kollo’s Macheath lends just the right note of skewed gallantry. Lemper’s Polly (this version restores her the “Pirate Jenny” number) is insidiously demure, while Milva is a ferocious Jenny. Mauceri keeps sentimentality at bay while sticking with the printed score. Spoken passages are abridged; some verses are eliminated in order to fit “Threepenny Opera” onto one compact disc, but this is generally a performance that sizzles.