Der Kuhhandel

A musical rarity, Der Kuhhandel presents the world premiere recording of the titular reconstructed operetta, composed by Kurt Weill in 1934 after fleeing Germany, and revised the following year into a London musical comedy called—in a nod to Shakespeare's Richard III—A Kingdom for a Cow (aka Arms and the Cow). The production proved to be a failure, and was forgotten after Weill moved to the United States, although the composer borrowed some of the music for his later scores. This 2007 staging from the Vienna Volksoper, based on a version of the German original (with some rewriting and reorganization) created in 1978 by Weill associate Lys Symonette, offers a very good performance that is colorful, energetically conducted, and well sung by both soloists and chorus. A sort of bridge between Weill's earlier German satires and his later Broadway musicals, the Caribbean island-set plot involves neighboring republics manipulated into war by a fast-talking American arms merchant, a turn of events that impacts a young couple whose wedding is threatened when the groom's only possession—a cow—is confiscated by the government as a tax during wartime. Weill's contribution is a series of arias, ensembles, marches, and dances that sound rather like Johann Strauss (tweaked with some of Weill's own spiky melodic turns), resulting in an odd but very enjoyable piece, exuberantly mounted, splendidly filmed, and nicely recorded (with Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo options). Highly recommended. Aud: P. (F. Swietek)