Honoring Eric Bentley: A Centennial Tribute Concert (The Film)
“The occasion was a triumph for soprano Karyn Levitt, who has worked diligently to bring Bentley’s Brecht translations to life, especially those settings he wrote to music of Hanns Eisler.... Full credit to Glen Roven and his Metamorphosis Chamber Orchestra who accompanied Levitt in this convincing score, performed complete for the first time anywhere.”
Songs for Mother Courage
Eric Bentley is one of the most respected theater critics, playwrights, editors and translators of the 20th century. For his 100th year, a galaxy of stars honored him at Broadway’s legendary Town Hall. The historic evening featured the participation of Tony Kushner, Austin Pendleton, Harold Bloom, James Shapiro, Edward Mendelson, Phillip Lopate, Louise Kerz Hirschfeld, Michael Paller, and Roger Copeland, and was emceed by Michael Riedel. Songs for Mother Courage by Milhaud and Bentley were performed by Karyn Levitt with a chamber orchestra conducted by Glen Roven, as well as songs from Bentley's Brecht-Eisler SongBook. The film captures all the highlights from this one-of-a-kind live tribute to Eric Bentley, whose influential contributions changed how theater is understood and performed.
Originally performed for Eric Bentley’s Centennial Tribute Concert, Karyn Levitt has helped bring to life a unpublished version for chamber orchestra of Darius Milhaud and Hanns Eisler’s songs for Mother Courage. The work is available for future performances.