There are many ways of compiling a playlist – sometimes the track just has to be included, sometimes the photo of the day cries out for a certain track and other times it’s the story of the day. Today, it is the story.
I was delighted to see that our favourite author, Geoff Nicholson of Bleeding London fame, has appeared in the Evening Standard’s list of Best Books about London, with his latest publication The London Complaint: A Celebration of the Capital’s Maladies. It’s a jolly good read and if you’re still looking for C. presents for bookworms, this is definitely one for the list. And apologies if you’ve already seen the post earlier today on FB, but a good story is worth repeating.
Therefore, today’s track needed to be something to do with London. One of the few operas based in London is die Dreigroschenoper aka the Threepenny Opera, based on the Beggar’s Opera. Libretto by Berthold Brecht and music by Kurt Weill. I’ve chosen Die Moritat von Mackie Messer sung by Lotte Lenya, who was married to Kurt Weill. Incidentally, she also played Rosa Klebb in the Bond Movie From Russia with Love. If you fancy putting your feet up and whiling away a couple of hours, you can even watch the whole of the original 1931 movie here courtesy of You-Tube.