In partnership with The Glimmerglass Festival & Opera Saratoga
Co-Produced by The Glimmerglass Festival | Opera Saratoga | Finger Lakes Opera | Seagle Festival
Music and Lyrics by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht
Book by Elisabeth Hauptmann
Presented in English with piano accompaniment
Approximate Running Time: 90 minutes
Music Director | Rob Ainsley
Director | Mary Birnbaum
Dramaturg | Kelley Rourke
Set Designer | Tobin Ost
Costume Designer | Márion Talán de la Rosa
Lieutenant Lillian Holiday | Christine Price
Bill Cracker | Gregory Feldmann
The Fly | Ana Karneža
Major | Lisa Marie Rogali
Governor | Jonathan Pierce Rhodes
Hannibal | Bradley Bickhardt
Benny | Jason Zacher
Jimmy/Inspector | Reed Gnepper
Maryjane | Lauren Torey
Religion and capitalism collide in this sharp, jazz-infused musical comedy by Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, and Elisabeth Hauptmann. Banned after just two performances in 1929 Berlin, Happy End is a satire of big business and big religion set in a smoky speakeasy where gangsters do deals and the Salvation Army saves souls. With an unforgettable score that includes “Bilbao Song,” “Mandalay Song,” and “Surabaya Johnny,” Happy End blazes with wit, grit, and dark glamour.
Happy End is music directed by Rob Ainsley, Artistic & General Director of The Glimmerglass Festival, and features Ana Karneža, a Juilliard drama graduate who won the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition in 2024. Glimmerglass Dramaturg Kelley Rourke has created a new English book that retains all of Weill’s original songs (in Michael Feingold’s translation). The production is directed by Mary Birnbaum, General & Artistic Director of Opera Saratoga.
Tickets:
Section 1 — Premium Seating
Reserved Premium Seat: $45 (plus $5 fee)
Section 2 — Preferred Seating
General Admission: $30 (plus $5 fee)
Balcony — $30 (plus $5 fee)
Section 3 — Standard Seating
General Admission: $19 (plus $3 fee)
Hudson Hall’s programs are made possible with support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts