Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny

New for 2025/26. Consumerism meets hedonism in ENO’s alluring new production of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s rarely performed and frighteningly relevant tale of satisfaction at any price.

Overview

Enter the City of Mahagonny, where the pleasure is all yours – if you’re willing to pay for it. Lose yourself in a desert boomtown built on the foundations of greed and moral corruption.

Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny tells the story of three criminals on the run who find Mahagonny, a city of gold. In a place where absolutely anything goes, everything is permitted and the rules are, there are no rules. The question is, who will get out alive?

Staging & Score

Weill’s musical style in Mahagonny combines opera with the popular music of the time, ragtime and jazz. He mixes the standard orchestra with the banjo and bass guitar, creating a unique yet recognisable sound with the Alabama Song which was later recorded by artists including David Bowie and The Doors. Weill’s distinctive melodies form a delicious contrast to libretto written by the playwright Bertolt Brecht. Enjoy an unforgettable trip to the City of Mahagonny.

Singers & Creatives

Leading the cast as the three fugitives, Leokadja Begbick, Trinity Moses and Fatty the Bookkeeper, are Rosie Aldridge, Kenneth Kellogg, and Mark Le Brocq. They will be joined by the internationally renowned Danielle de Niese who makes a welcome return to ENO as Jenny Smith. Directing this provocative production is twice Olivier Award-nominated Jamie Manton.

This production has been made possible through the generous support of a syndicate comprising Peter Dolgenos, in memory of Katherine R. Zades, Professor Alan McLean, and Professor Mick Peake OBE