“Her agent in New York hates it when she does things like this,” a confidant of Angelina Reaux could be heard to remark, sotto voce, at the midpoint of the remarkable “Ein Berliner Kabarett” on Saturday night at the Royal George Theatre.
“He thinks she should save herself. I don’t think she even told him about this weekend.”
From a mercurial point of view, it’s understandable that the representative of a woman who has sung in opera houses all over the world (and played Mimi on Leonard Bernstein’s recording of “La Boheme”) would suggest his client unloose her talent only in opulent auditoria for ample reward.
But fans of Kurt Weill and the songs of Weimar Berlin might have to differ.
In the intimate surroundings of the Royal George, it was possible not only to enjoy this fine singer’s superb voice but to experience the talents of a solo performer who seemed to be living the tremendous emotional depths of a canon of intensely dramatic but rarely performed songs.
There was none of the gimmickry that often surrounds attempts to re-create the atmosphere of Berlin on the innocent cusp of Nazi domination. No need here for fake cigarettes, sultry insouciance, vampish decadence or the other overly familiar ingredients of ersatz cabaret. Reaux came and went from the stage in darkness (for both of her two acts of songs from between the wars), never milking a bow or succumbing to cliche. Aside from a crowd-pleasing encore, the entire repertoire of this evening was composed of little-known material by Weill, Friedrich Hollander, Hans Eisler and other composers popular at the time. Accompanied only by the excellent Ben Jonson on piano, Reaux sang the bulk of the material in its original German.
But this was still an intensely theatrical show.
A truly gifted interpreter of the dramatic song, Reaux brought minimalist but truthful life to Hollander’s “Zu Amsterdam, Bin Ich Geboren,” the sad story of a young hooker who had hoped for better, and “Peter, Peter, Komm Zu Mir Zuruck,” sung by a woman who dumped a decent fellow and then regretted her stupidity. With satirical attacks on the Berlin bourgeoisie and Weill compositions crafted well before that prolific composer worked on Broadway, “Ein Berliner Kabarett” was a treat.
Reaux is living in Evanston (her husband studies at Northwestern University). One hopes she’ll find time for more secret Chicago cabaret.
