Marc Blitzstein Presents His Theatre Compositions

This post of Marc Blitzstein discussing his theatre works and presenting excerpts with some well-known performers was requested by a reader following my recent reupload of an obscure Blitzstein LP of recordings from 1946.

First cover

This particular album comes from May 1956, and was the first in a series originally on Westminister’s Spoken Arts imprint intended to inaugurate a Distinguished Composers Series.

At the time, Blitzstein was to have less than eight years to live, and never achieved a success to rival his earlier works, the politically committed musical plays The Cradle Will Rock and No for An Answer, and the opera Regina, adapted from Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, all of which are discussed and excerpted here.

The composer was nonetheless an important figure in the American musical theatre, one who had a strong effect on other luminaries. When you hear his voice on this record, you may be struck (as I was) with the similarity of his presentation with the familiar eloquence and urbanity of Leonard Bernstein. That is probably not a coincidence. Bernstein was much taken with Blitzstein, organizing and leading a production of The Cradle Will Rock when the younger artist was still an undergraduate at Harvard.

Orson Welles, similarly, was highly impressed by Blitzstein when Welles was directing The Cradle Will Rock as a precocious 22 year old. Welles recalled many years later, “When he came into the room, the lights got brighter . . . He was an engine, a rocket directed in one direction which was his opera – which he almost believed had only to be performed to start the Revolution.”

The Cradle Will Rock production photo, with Blitzstein at the piano,
Howard Da Silva and Olive Stanton

While The Cradle Will Rock did not spark a second American Revolution, it was widely and perhaps surprisingly well received and reviewed despite the radical politics it espoused. Developed through the Depression-era Federal Theatre Project, the play never appeared under its auspices. The conjunction of the play’s leftist views and significant labor unrest at the time of its impending premiere led the government to declare a moratorium on new theatre productions that was plainly aimed at shutting down The Cradle Will Rock.

As clumsy censorship often does, the effect was to turn the play’s production into a cause célèbre that Blitzstein, Welles and producer John Houseman turned to their advantage in ways both ingenious and fortuitous. The composer tells the tale of its unusual premiere on this record. The unconventional staging that resulted, with Blitzstein on stage at the piano and the performers appearing from the audience, was highly influential.

This is not to say that the music itself is without precedent. You will not get very far into Blitzstein’s oeuvre without the names Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht coming to mind, and indeed today Blitzstein is best remembered for his translation and adaptation of the Weill-Brecht version of The Threepenny Opera. The composer himself was at pains to say that his works had many other influences than the expressionists, and it is only fair to observe that his songs have their own powerful atmosphere. On this record, “Francie” is highly affecting and even “Penny Candy,” while not in the least to my taste, is decidedly well done.

Evelyn Lear

A few words about the performers on this record.

The well-known soprano Evelyn Lear made her recording debut on this record. In 1955, newly graduated from Juilliard, she created the role of Nina in Blitzstein's Reuben Reuben. George Gaynes also was in the cast of that failed musical, among many other Broadway productions and, in later years, television shows.

Brenda Lewis and Blitzstein

Brenda Lewis was another distinguished soprano who first had a success on Broadway as Birdie in the original 1949 production of Regina. She sings “Birdie’s Aria” here. Lewis later moved on to the title role, assuming it in the complete 1958 recording of the work.

Joshua Shelley, blacklisted by the movie studios in the early 1950s, appeared on stage until resuming a Hollywood career in the 1970s.

Theatre and club performer Jane Connell appeared in Blitzstein’s production of The Threepenny Opera.

Alvin Epstein had a very long and distinguished career in the theatre as actor and director. At about the time of this recording, he was on Broadway with Orson Welles in King Lear.

In addition to the transfer of this Blitzstein record, I have included links to my remastered version of the cast recording of No for An Answer. This comes from an LP reissue that suffered from substandard sound, which I have done my best to rectify. The original transfer predates this blog.

Marc Blitzstein - Theater Songs

Marc Blitzstein is not a well-known name these days, but he did achieve some renown as a composer during his lifetime. His best known work is probably the labor musical The Cradle Will Rock, followed by the opera Regina. The latter has been recorded twice, as has his wartime Airborne symphony (conducted both times by Leonard Bernstein).

Blitzstein

This present record collects songs from his less well-known works, with the composer at the piano and the excellent Muriel Smith singing. The recordings were made in December 1947; this 10-inch LP dates from a few years later.

Smith first became known in the title role of Carmen Jones on Broadway in 1943. She was appearing in a revival of The Cradle Will Rock when this record was made. Smith later spent much time in London, and was a vocal double for several films, notably for Juanita Hall in South Pacific. I have at least one of her LPs, and may share more of her work here.

Smith as Carmen Jones

My copy of this album does not include any notes, although it is possible that they were included in the original issue, which came in an envelope rather than a cardboard cover. Here are a few notes on the songs that may be helpful. The information is mainly derived from Leonard Lehrman's bio-bibliography of the composer:

"Mamasha Goose" - comes from the unfinished 1945 American-Soviet friendship musical Goloopchik. The song is sung by a child in Russia attempting to entertain two American soldiers. Music is from folk sources; words by Blitzstein. I believe "goloopchik" is a term of endearment.

"In the Clear" - is from the 1941 leftist opera No for an Answer, which only achieved a few performances at the time. The words are by the composer.

"Orpheus" - is from the 1937 incidental music for Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Here the piano tone has been altered to give an antique sound to the accompaniment.

"Ode to Reason" - is a solo song from the incidental music from a 1938 production of Georg Büchner's Danton's Death. The piano tone has been altered here as well.

"Song of the D.P." also is from Goloopchik. It is sung by a displaced woman ("D.P." = displaced person) who has been repatriated to Russia by the Nazis. It was drawn from some of Blitzstein's experiences in the US Army.