As a child of working class Roman Catholic parents, Lenya wanted to be a dancer. She moved to study in Zurich, Switzerland in 1914, taking up her first job at the Schauspielhaus using the stage name Lotte Lenja. She moved to seek work in Berlin, in 1921. The following year she was seen by her future husband, the German composer Kurt Weill during an audition, although they did not meet properly until 1924 through a mutual acquaintance, the writer Georg Kaiser. Lenya married Kurt Weill in 1926.
After she accepted the part of Jenny in the first performance of The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) in 1928, the part became her breakthrough role. During the last years of the Weimar Republic, she was busy in film and theatre, and especially in Brecht-Weill plays. She also made several recordings of her husband's songs. In these, she sang in a high, wavering pitch with a strange contrast.
With the rise of Nazism in Germany, she left the country, having become estranged from Weill. In March 1933, she fled to Paris, France where she sang the leading part in Brecht-Weill's "sung ballet" The Seven Deadly Sins.
She divorced Weill in 1933 but reunited with him in September 1935, when they both emigrated to the United States. They remarried in 1937. In 1941, the couple moved to a house of their own in New City, Rockland County, New York, roughly 50 km north of New York City. Their second marriage lasted until Weill's death in 1950.
During World War II, Lenya — now spelling her stage name with a 'y' — did a number of stage performances, recordings and radio performances, including for the Voice of America. After a badly received part in her husband's musical The Firebrand of Florence in 1945 in New York, she withdrew from the stage. After her husband's death she was coaxed back to the stage. She appeared on Broadway in Barefoot in Athens and married writer George Davis.
In 1956 she won a Tony Award for her role as Jenny in Marc Blitzstein's English version of The Threepenny Opera. Lenya went on to record a number of songs from her time in Berlin, as well as songs from the American theater. Her voice had grown a lot deeper than during her first success as a performer. When she was to sing the soprano part in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and The Seven Deadly Sins, the part needed transposition to substantially lower keys.
Sprechstimme always was a method of singing well-adapted to the Brecht-Weill plays, but now she used it even more to compensate for the shortages of her voice. Lenya was aware of this as a problem; in other contexts she was very careful about fully respecting her late husband's score. She founded the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, to administer incomes and issues regarding rights, and to spread knowledge about Weill's work.
She was present in the studio when Louis Armstrong recorded Brecht-Weill's "Mack the Knife" and also performed the song with him as a duet. Armstrong improvised the line "Look out for Miss Lotte Lenya!" and added her name to the long list of Mack's female victims in the song. After the death of George Davis in 1957, she married the artist Russell Detwiler in 1962; he died at age 44 in 1969.
In 1963, she got the part as the lesbian SPECTRE-agent Rosa Klebb in the James Bond movie From Russia with Love, starring, among others, Sean Connery and Daniela Bianchi. In the final scene in the film, she wore a pair of shoes with knives sticking out. She later said in interviews that when she met new people, the first thing they looked at was her shoes.
In 1966, Lenya originated the role of Fraulein Schneider in the original Broadway cast of the musical Cabaret.
Lenya died in New York from cancer in 1981 at the age of 83.
song
Lotte Lenya Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn't got time for the waiting game
Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
September, November
And these few precious days I'll spend with you
Lotte Lenya's "September Song" talks about the passage of time and the fleeting nature of life. The lyrics begin with the lines "Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December, but the days grow short when you reach September." This opening line indicates that life is long, but it progresses quickly, seeming shorter as one grows older. The reference to September symbolizes the end of life, or rather, the end of a year, as autumn leaves turn to flame.
The second verse emphasizes that the few precious days that remain should be spent in a meaningful way or with the right person. It highlights the importance of making the most of the time left, or the valuable memories and relationships that one has created in life. The line "One hasn't got time for the waiting game" further emphasizes the idea that one should not waste time.
With each passing year, we realize how fleeting life is, and the song's lyrics represent a universal sentiment that most people can relate to as they grow older. We have a limited number of days in life, and we should cherish every moment and spend our time wisely. It's a beautiful and poignant reminder to cherish the present and make the most of time while we have it.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December
The period between May and December seems like an eternity.
But the days grow short when you reach September
As the year progresses, time appears to pass more quickly.
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
The beauty of autumn foliage is caused by the leaves turning colors and eventually falling off the trees.
One hasn't got time for the waiting game
Life is too short to wait around for things to happen.
Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
As we approach the end of the year, there are only a few days left.
September, November
The months of September and November, which are close to the end of the year.
And these few precious days I'll spend with you
The time we have together is limited and valuable, so I want to make the most of it.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mubirshu
And for those who stumble upon this clip without knowing who Lotte Lenya was, she also sang the original German version of Mack the Knife (that's why Bobby Darin's version mentions her), and played Rosa Klebb in the 1963 James Bond movie From Russia With Love. She died in 1981 at the age of 83.
@NuisanceMan
She was wonderful.
@davidhennen7045
Thank you, I down 3 to go, thank you!
@irenemwrench8594
She was married to Kurt Weil who wrote the music.
@mbrattoo
This is bizarre in a cool way. I'm used to Morrison's voice on this one but, this is really good.
@atanazy83
Jim emulate her voice really good!
@luizlutyalmeida9126
Que obra prima!!!!!
@mikelisacarb
I've been reading "The Partnership", and this "Alabama Song"is presented as the first joint project that Brecht and Weill worked on together, way back in 1927. Weill had a commission to present an opera in Baden Baden, and he ditched his current project because he was so unbelievably excited to set Brecht's poetry to music and present it as an innovative new opera. I haven't had a chance to read far enough to be sure, but I believe that this turned into "Mahogonny". The book is quite good. I've always wanted to know more about these two powerhouses of musical theater!
@davidmehnert6206
The first production was in Baden (Rouletteberg) in 1928 and began with the sound of a gunshot, the first scene set in a boxing ring —
If there’s more to the story, inquire of Elizabeth Hauptmann... she would say, « I remember it exactly as it was written », and her archifes are somewhee I’m sur
@jimmeven1120
@David Mehnert Here's a good fun fact (you probably both know this already if you've read The Partnership). The words of the Alabama Song and the Benares Song from Mahagonny are the work of Hauptmann, not Brecht. He didn't know any English at the time. Hauptmann was half American.