Kurt Weill’s The Eternal Road (1937) was by far his most ambitious theater work, involving more than 250 performers on five stages (as well as a synagogue in the orchestra pit). The production was so costly that despite positive reviews and strong audience attendance, the show’s producer was bankrupt at the end of its 153-performance run. Not easily categorized, The Eternal Road artfully combines elements of Bach’s Passions with Weill’s Broadway shows to form a new type of pageant–sort of a St. Matthew Passion meets Street Scene. So you’ll find beautifully florid neo-baroque arias juxtaposed with clever and catchy show tunes. This disc presents the main dramatic and thematic material from the complete work, which lasts more than six hours in performance. Set in an unspecified synagogue in which the Jewish community has taken refuge during a pogrom, The Eternal Road follows the history of the Jewish people from Genesis onward. Weill’s main characters include Abraham and Isaac, Jacob and Rachel, Moses, Naomi, and Ruth, and Isaiah and Jeremiah.
Headlining the cast is James Maddalena, who takes on the roles of Joseph, Moses, The Seller of Idols, and Chananiah, singing all with his characteristic warm tone and directly communicative style. Barbara Rearick offers beautifully sung portrayals of Miriam and Ruth, where she’s joined in a poignant duet by Hanna Wollschläger as Naomi. Other strong performances include Constance Haumann as the Soul of Moses and Ted Christopher as Jeremiah. The only real disappointment is Jacob, sung by a jittery-voiced Ian De Nolfo.
Weill’s inimitable music renders the story with powerful effect, even when the translated text (originally in German) occasionally proves less than idiomatic. No matter, the spirit of the work carries through from the performers to the listener, aided by Naxos’ spacious (though a touch reverberant) recording. Fans of the composer and followers of the faith surely will agree: it’s great to have this Weill rarity available.
