BREOH® ON THRATHE: 1018-1952 ‘vidual shares in the music, thus obeying the principle that doing is better than feeling, by following the music with his eyes as printed, and con- tributing the parts and places reserved for him by singing them for himself or in conjunction with others (school class). Der Flug der Lindberghs is not intended to be of use to the present-day Therado we TiO but to alter it. ‘The increasing concentration of ‘wieserced mechanical means and the increasingly specialized training ‘wetechunsed tendencies that should be accelerated - call for a kind of resistance by the listener, and for his mobilization and redrafting as a producer. ‘The employment of Der Plug der Lindberghs and the use of radio in its TheBader-Baden Changed form was shown by a demonstration at the Baden ‘rao xpeimest Baden music festival of 1929. On the left of the platform the radio orchestra was placed with its apparatus and singers, on the right the listener, who performed the Flie’s part, i. the paedagogical part, with 4 score in front of him. He read the sections to be spoken without identify ing his own feelings with those contained in the text, pausing at the end of each line; in other words, in the spirit of an exercise. At the back of the platform stood the theory being demonstrated in this way. this exercise is an aid to discipline, which is the basis of freedom. ‘The ‘hyons Der individual will reach spontaneously for a means to pleasure, ‘yg der Lind but not for an object of instruction that offers fim neither ve jecapig, Profit nor social advantages, Such exercises only serve the aractim the individual in so far as they serve the State, and they only radio be changed? serve a State that wishes to serve all men equally. Thus Der Flug der Lindberghs has no aesthetic and no revolutionary value independ- ently of its application, and only the State can organize this. Its proper application, however, makes it so ‘revolutionary’ that the present-day State has no interest in sponsoring such exercises. Here is an example of the effect of this application on the text: the figure of a public hero in Der Flug der Lindberghs might be used to induce the listener at a concert to identify himself With the hero and thus cut himself off from the masses. In a concert performance (consequently a false one) at least the Flier’s part must be sung by a ciovus if the sense of the entire work isnot to be ruined. Only concerted I~ singing (Lam so-and-so, I am starting forth, Iam not tired, ete.) can save something of the paedagogical effect. [From Versuche 1, Berlin 1930, Signed ‘Brecht, Suhrkamp’] B AN EXAMPLE OF PARDAGOGTCS NOTE: The music to Der Flug der Lindberghs was by Kurt Weill and Paul Hindemith. Brecht subsequently changed its title to Der Ozeanflug, as which it now figures in the reprint of the Versuche. Peter Subrkamp, his collaborator on the notes, became his West German publisher after 1948. “The principle underlying the Lelratick form — which began asa kindof didactic cantata, with solos, choruses and scraps of acting — was the notion that moral and politcal lessons could best be taught by participation in an actual performance. ‘When performing a Lehestick,’ says a note (Schrifien zum Theater 2, p. 128), ‘you must act like pupils. The pupil will use a particularly clear manner of Speaking in order to run over a dificult passage again and again so as to get at its meaning or fix it in the memory. His gestures too are clear and help towards clarification. Then there are other passages which have to be quickly and fleetingly delivered as if they were frequently practised ritual actions. These are the passages which correspond to sections of a speech ‘conveying particular items of information needed for the understanding of the more important item that follows. Such passages are wholly useful to the overall process and must be delivered as performances. ‘Then there are parts that demand acting ability of very much the old kind. E.g. when a typical way of behaving has to be shown. For there is a certain practical human way of behaving which may bring about situations that demand or facilitate new ways. To show the typical gestures and manners of speech ‘of a man trying to convince somebody, one has to apply the at of acting. ‘The next few essays were published and almost certainly written subsequently to the switchover to ‘paedagogics’, even though the plays to which they relate ‘were written earlier. They should be read in the light of the political and economic Uibis which developed in Germany during the second half of 1929, making revolutionary change seem not only desirable but imminent. This was the period of Brechi’s most sharply Communist works. 13 > The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre (Notes to the opera Aufitieg und Pall der Stadt Mahagonny) OPERA ~ WITH INNOVATIONS! For some time past there has been a move to renovate the opera. Opera is to have its form modernized and its content brought up to date, but without its culinary character being changed. Since it is precisely for its backward ness that the opera-going public adores opera, an influx of new types of listener with new appetites has to be reckoned with; and so itis. The inten~ tion is to democratize but not to alter democracy’s character, which consists in giving the people new rights, but no chance to appreciate them, Ultim- ately itis all the same to the waiter whom he serves, so long as he serves the 33BREOMT ON THEATRE: 1018-1992 food. Thus the avwnt-garde are demanding or supporting innovations which are supposedly going to lead to a renovation of opera; but nobody demands a fundamental discussion of opera (i.e. of its function), and probably such a discussion would not find much support. "The modesty of the avunt-garde’s demands has economic grounds of whose existence they themselves are only partly aware. Great apparati like the opera, the stage, the press, etc, impose their views as it were incognito, For a long time now they have taken the handiwork (music, writing, criti cism, etc.) of intellectuals who share in their profits ~ that is, of men who are economically committed to the prevailing system but are socially near~ proletarian ~ and processed it to make fodder for their public entertainment machine, judging it by their own standards and guiding it into their own channels; meanwhile the intellectuals themselves have gone on supposing that the whole business is concerned only with the presentation of their ‘work, is a secondary process which has no influence over their work but ‘merely wins influence for it, This muddled thinking which overtakes musi cians, writers and critics as soon as they consider their own situation has tremendous consequences to which far too litele attention is paid. For by imagining that they have got hold of an apparatus which in fact has got hold of them they are supporting an apparatus which is out of their con- tol, which is no longer (as they believe) a means of furthering output but has hecome an obstacle to output, and specifically to their own output as soon as it follows a new and original course which the apparatus finds awk- ‘ward of opposed to its own aims. Their output then becomes a matter of delivering the goods. Values evolve which are based on the fodder prin~ ciple. And this leads to a general habit of judging works of art by their suitability for the apparatus without ever judging the apparatus by its suit- ability for the work. People say, this or that is a good work; and they mean. (but do not say) good for the apparatus. Yet this apparatus is conditioned by the society of the day and only accepts what can keep it going in that society. We are free to discuss any innovation which doesn’t threaten its social function ~ that of providing an evening’s entertainment. We are not free to discuss those which threaten to change its function, possibly by fusing it with the educational system or with the organs of mass com- munication, Society absorbs via the apparatus whatever it needs in order to reproduce itself. This means that an innovation will pass itis calculated to rejuvenate existing society, but not if i is going to change it ~irrespec- tive whether the form of the society in question is good or bad. "The azwnt-garde don’t think of changing the apparatus, because they fancy that they have at their disposal an apparatus which will serve up 4 THE MODERN THEATRE 18 THE EPIC THEATRE whatever they freely invent, transforming itself spontaneously to match their ideas, But they are not in fact free inventors; the apparatus goes on fullilling its function with or without them; the theatres play every night; the papers come out so many times a day; and they absorb what they need; and all they need is a given amount of stuff. “ You might think that to show up this situation (the creative artist's utter dependence on the apparatus) would be to condemn it. Its conceal- ment is such a disgrace. ‘And yet to restrict the individual’s freedom of invention is in itself a progressive act. The individual becomes increasingly drawn into enormous ‘events that are going to change the world. No longer can he simply ‘express himself”. He is brought up short and put into a position where he can Fulfil more general tasks. The trouble, however, is that at present the apparati do not work for the general good; the means of production do not belong to the producer; and as a result his work amounts to so much merchandise, and is governed by the normal laws of mercantile trade. Art is merchandise, only to be manufactured by the means of production (apparati). An opera can only be written for the opera. (One can’t just think up an opera like one of Bécklin’s fantastic sea-beasts, then hope to exhibit it publicly after having seized power — let alone try to smuggle it into our dear old 200...) OPERA - Even if one wanted to start a discussion of the opera as such (Le. of its function), an opera would have to be written Our existing opera is a culinary opera. It was a means of pleasure long before it turned into merchandise. It furthers pleasure even where it re- quires, or promotes, a certain degree of education, for the education in question is an education of taste. To every object it adopts a hedonistic approach, It ‘experiences’, and it ranks as an ‘experience’. Why is Mahagonny an opera? Because its basic attitude is that of an ‘opera: that is to say, culinary, Does Mahagonny adopt @ hedonistic ap- proach? It does. Is Mahagonny an experience? It is an experience. For = Mahagonny is a piece of fun. “The opera Mahagony pays conscious tribute to the senselessness of the operatic form. The irrationality of opera lies in the fact that rational el ments are employed, solid reality is aimed at, but at the same time it is all washed out by the music, A dying man is real. Ifat the same time he sings "The inelecial, honeve, are completely dependent onthe appa, bah social and seonomialy ‘tis the only channel for the realization of their work. The output of writers, com= foversand icscomes moreand moe roumbl a materiale fished are prot ‘by the apparatus, eS 35