Love Song The Lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya [Hardcover]

Noted historian of the Broadway musical chronicles the braided lives of two of the twentieth century's most influential artists

For the first time, Ethan Mordden chronicles the romance of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya inLove Song,a dual biography that unfolds against the background of the tumultuous twentieth century, scored to music from Weil's greatest triumphs:Knickerbocker Holiday, Lost in the Stars, Lady in the Dark, Happy End, One Touch of VenusandThe Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. The romance of Weill, the Jewish cantor's son, and Lenya, the Viennese coachman's daughter, changed the history of Western music. With Bertolt Brecht, they created one of the definitive works of the twentieth century, The Threepenny Opera, a smash that would live on in musical theatre history. Weill, the jazz Mozart, was the creator whose work is backstage, unseen. Lenya, his epic-theatre femme fatale, was the performer who put the work into view. They heard the same unique music, but he gave it form while she gave it life.Love Songis ultimately the story of a great romance scored to some of the twentieth century's greatest music.

With smart, chatty and occasionally hilarious prose...Mordden ably captures both artists and their ever-changing geographical and professional locales. Kirkus ReviewsEthan Morddenis the author of dozens of books, both fiction and nonfiction, including the Buddies cycle (beginning withI've a Feeling We're Not in Kansas Anymore); standalone novels such asHow Long Has This Been Going On?andOne Last Waltz; and seven volumes spanning the history of the Broadway Musical. His writing has appeared inThe New York Times,The New Yorkerand numerous other magazines and journals. He lives in Manhattan.