Bel Air present the hard-hitting new production of Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by Catalan collective, La Fura dels Baus, from the Teatro Real de Madrid. Composed in the 1930s by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, this is a mordant satire on capitalism in a society in which the ultimate crime is not having money. In 20 scenes the authors tell the story of a city lost in the middle of a desert and run by three thugs; in Mahagonny food, sex, gambling and violence rule supreme.

The production, by Alex Ollé and Carlus Padrissa of La Fura dels Baus, combines enormous inventiveness, joy and energy with awe-inspiring ferocity.

Perfect casting brings together a group of singers – Measha Brueggergosman, Michael König, Jane Henschel and Willard White – who are also marvellous actors. The Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus are directed by young Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, who received the “El Ojo Crítico” prize in 2010, awarded annually to Spain’s most outstanding artists.

La Fura was founded in 1979 as a Catalan street theatre group. Key features of the ‘Furan’ language were already apparent: interaction with the audience, the use of unusual spaces and the adaptation of the show to the characteristics of each space. Their work for the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona brought La Fura dels Baus to an audience of billions throughout the world. Their first foray into opera was with La Atlántida, with frequent collaborator Jaume Plensa, and has developed as far as Wagner’s Ring Cycle and Boris Godunov, a daring reflection on the problem of terrorism, its limits and the manipulation it generates.

High Definition recording : Teatro Real - Madrid: 09/2010.

Cast:
- Jane Henschel (Leocadia Begbick)
- Donald Kaasch (Fatty the Bookkeeper)
- Willard White (Trinity Moses)
- Measha Brueggergosman (Jenny Smith)
- Michael König (Jim Maclntyre)
- John Easterlin (Jack O’Brien / Toby Higgins)
- Otto Katzameier (Bank-Account Bill)
- Steven Humes (Alaska-Wolf Joe)

Stage direction: Alex Ollé, Carlus Padrissa – La Fura dels Baus
Scenography: Alfons Flores
Costumes: Lluc Castells
Lighting: Urs Schönebaum

Blu-ray 1080i HD, 16:9, PCM Stereo, 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio
Total timing : 138 minutes
Subtitles : Fr, Eng, Ger, Spa