Luminato presents a song cycle, chronicling the life of composer Hanns Eisler, in Toronto
Hell’s Fury, The Hollywood Songbook, a co-production between Soundstreams, Pinkhouse Productions, Opera North UK and Luminato as part of the 2019 festival, is an intimate journey into the life of composer Hanns Eisler, written by the man himself.
Eisler, well-known for composing both Hollywood movie scores and the East German national anthem, was an Austrian born to a Jewish father and Lutheran mother. Moving to Berlin after serving in the first World War, he joined the Communist party and worked with Bertolt Brecht, scoring his plays and writing protest songs. Exiled by the rising tide of Nazism, which made his music illegal, he eventually emigrated to the United States, again working with Brecht, scoring 40 films, and receiving two Oscar nominations. He left the US after being blacklisted following interrogation by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Fleeing to East Berlin, he found himself celebrated and then silenced by a Communist party that did not hold to his principles.
The “Hollywood Songbook” song cycle was written by Eisler as a project largely intended for his ears only, so it feels slightly voyeuristic on our part to be watching these incredibly personal songs take shape on stage. Together, the songs present an interesting portrait of a man in interesting times, who was caused great pain from continually losing his roots, driven out by fascism, capitalism, and communism alike. They provide the material for a powerhouse performance by baritone Russell Braun. Unfortunately, they are also relentlessly lugubrious, essentially a 75-minute dirge with little variation.
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