In 1933, English millionaire Edward James commissioned famed composer Kurt Weill to write an opera (to be performed as a ballet), with the provision that his wife Tilly Losch could dance in the production. Weill was working out of Italy at the time and summoned his lyricist Bertolt Brecht to write the narrative. To make a long story short, the ballet is about a German family who send their daughter Anna to America in order to earn enough money by singing so that they can build a house. 

The story is told using two characters, Anna I and Anna II; one is a singer and the other is supposedly a dancer of sorts. The catch is that within the lyrics, it is almost certainly revealed that there is only one Anna, but she has a definite split personality. Anna II eventually becomes envious of Anna I as she is allowed to experience the vices that she has been denied. Shunned by the general public at first, the production was only a major success after Weill’s wife, Lotte Lenya, recorded the ballet in 1956. 

Marianne Faithfull had toured a cabaret-influenced blues act in 1997 playing almost exclusively songs from Weill and Brecht, which culminated in her highly acclaimed 20th Century Blues live album released in that year. For her next project, Faithfull decided to perform a complete work of Weill’s and finally settled on one of her favorites, The Seven Deadly Sins. Marianne actually performed The Seven Deadly Sins only a handful of times, and this performance took place on June 5th at Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria. Faithfull was accompanied by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. 

The part of the family is performed by members of the German Comedian Harmonists group, Hudson Shad. Marianne performed the piece an octave lower than the original production, which is understandable given what her voice had become following years of destructive influences.  There is no point in me offering a track by track rundown on this release because it would simply be meaningless drivel. This is a classical piece and it has more in common with a film that it does with a pop album. What I can tell you is that this is another stunning achievement by the criminally underappreciated Marianne Faithfull.

The sheer fact that a modern-day rock singer can pull something like this off so well is staggering enough. But like I’ve said before, if you are a fan of Ms. Faithfull’s, then it comes as no surprise that she did, because we’re used to Marianne taking risks and challenging herself time and time again. Another invaluable asset that Marianne has is her remarkable instincts about what will work for her and what won’t. She hasn’t got it wrong yet, and you’d be a fool to bet against her this late in the game. Of course, Marianne was completely at ease with the material due to her lifelong obsession with the Weimar Republic, and this album is the pinnacle of her devotion.

The thespian in Faithfull really comes to the fore here, more so than on any other of her albums.  She really gives herself to the story, completely transforming herself into Anna. The passion and conviction of her singing is exactly what the material required, and although I’ve yet to hear the original album recording by Lotte Lenya, I’m sure Marianne’s version holds its own in its unique way. The wealth of emotions that Faithfull evokes here are so beautifully measured, and her phrasing once again is as near perfect as I’ve heard.

Included on this album are a few tracks from a live performance that Faithfull and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra gave on February 9th, 1998 at Grosser Sendesaal, Radiokulturhaus Vienna. The songs are Kurt Weill’s and add a nice touch to the The Seven Deadly Sins. Two of them, “Alabama Song” and “Pirate Jenny,” appeared on 2oth Century Blues. The others are from the same era, with “The Ballad Of Sexual Dependency” lifted from The Threepenny Opera and “Bilbao Song” from Happy End.

Of this record, Marianne simply had this to say: “Marianne Faithfull sings The Seven Deadly Sins is good.” Her longtime collaborator Barry Reynolds credited its success with Marianne’s innate ability to find the heart in any song she sings, and this translated so well with this particular performance. All of these observations are accurate, and I can only add to the praise by saying that as an interpretive singer, The Seven Deadly Sins is probably Marianne Faithfull’s greatest work.

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