Weill's Down in the Valley with Alfred Drake

Here is one of Kurt Weill's less well-known efforts. It was one of his last compositions, and he was preparing to supervise this 1950 recording when he died.

Despite this being a 10-inch record, it contains the complete "ballad opera," which lasted only about 45 minutes. Weill intended it for performance by amateurs. Nonetheless, the lead in this version is Alfred Drake, hardly an beginner. It's a superb performance. All the more odd, then, that this version is not in print and may never have been reissued since its initial publication. However, a rival recording from RCA Victor has been out at least twice. It too is in my collection, but although I haven't heard it for some years, I don't think it is better than this one.

The story involves an evil, rapacious capitalist who is killed in self-defense by Drake's man of the people, who then is sent off to meet his fate at the hands of the state. A period piece that makes liberal use of familiar tunes like "Down in the Valley."

The basic sound here is pretty good, but my pressing must have been owned by either a Weill lover or a stalwart of the Old Left. It was beaten down as Drake's proletariat character. But my remastering has it sounding pretty good.

Note: I have now combined both the Decca and RCA recordings in one updated post.