Lavender Songs: Undermining Gender in Weimar Cabaret and Beyond
2005; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 28; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/0300776042000300954
ISSN1740-1712
Autores ResumoAbstract Questioning the legend of “divine decadence” in Berlin during the 1920s, this study examines historical performance material from the German cabaret and popular entertainment scene to re‐evaluate the presentation of gay and lesbian identity on the stage and on the screen. Examples from popular and literary song reveal ambivalences and hidden messages that suggest the complexity of the cabaret's cultural negotiations between entertainment and satirical critique. The article also reviews the fates of several songwriters and performers who were persecuted during the Nazi era. Notes I. Thematic Collections (Various Artists) II. Individual Artists English translation by John Simon. A four‐CD set of recordings made in 1997 documenting the gay tradition in music pays homage to its model of 1920s Berlin in the lurid title Club verboten and a cover illustration recalling Marlene Dietrich. On the reception and transformation of Isherwood's Berlin Stories through Fosse's film Cabaret, see CitationMizejewski. The new revival of the stage musical, which is in part a revision, is documented with the script and photos in CitationMasteroff. Two historically grounded publications deserve special notice here. CitationPeter Jelavich's English‐language history of German cabaret from 1901 to 1945, Berlin Cabaret, studies the treatment of fashion, sex, politics, and race on cabaret and revue stages from a cultural‐historical perspective, but, although he emphasizes transformations in the portrayal of femininity (particularly in the image of the kick‐line girl), he does not explicitly address the issue of homosexuality. More recently, CitationWolfgang Ruttkowski examined the international cabaret song primarily as a performative form through the analysis of both narrative themes and communicative dynamics. His study reveals the ironic or “camp” style of these songs in text and delivery. Neither of the authors was associated with the gay subculture of Berlin; the lyricist CitationSchwabach (1890–1966) was an author of popular songs, revues, and operettas, and is remembered today as a collaborator for the American hit song “Danke schoen.” A postcard from Spoliansky to Schall und Rauch director Hans von Wolzogen (in the Deutsches Kabarettarchiv, Mainz) suggests that “Das lila Lied” was performed there, for it shows the refrain of the song in a drawing of the cabaret. The film opened on May 24, 1919. For background on the film, see CitationSteakley. For recordings, see Schwule Lieder; Die schwule Plattenkiste; Wir sind; and CitationLemper in the Discography. Unless otherwise indicated, the translations are my own. CitationSenelick (Cabaret) offers a weak translation of “Das lila Lied” and incorrectly attributes the lyrics to CitationMarcellus Schiffer, although in the introductory text he correctly says that they are by CitationSchwabach; he is also inconsistent about the dates, giving both 1920 (the correct date) and 1928. Jeremy Lawrence's translation, as sung by CitationUte Lemper, captures the spirit of the original much more effectively. On the history of the song, see CitationKlein. A later version of the sketch, as well as a drawing, is in CitationBendow and Schiffer (80–85). Bendow performed regularly in CitationHesterberg's cabaret from November 1921 on and later opened his own stage, TüTü, in the same hall. In the Discography, see the recordings by CitationBendow (Auf der Rennbahn, Ein Komiker). On CitationWilhelm Bendow, see CitationPlümer. A discography of his early recordings until 1936 can be found in CitationWeihermüller (35–37). The original music by Hermann Krohme is lost. The music is by Mischa Spoliansky (in the Discography, see Schwule Lieder; Die schwule Plattenkiste; Wir sind; CitationLemper). See Schwule Lieder; Die schwule Plattenkiste; Wir sind; Citation CitationMalheur; and O'Montis in the Discography. For a short biography of CitationO'Montis, see CitationRaber (“Elegant gekleidet”). See Schwule Lieder; Die schwule Plattenkiste; Was hast du; Wir sind; CitationMalheur; and CitationO'Montis in the Discography (the contemporaneous recordings of this song use the spelling “Moritz”). For example, “Das moderne Mädel” (Claire Waldoff/Erich Kersten), recorded in 1930. The text is by Rideamus, and the music is by Walter Kollo (CitationDuran). Text by Willy Hagen, music by Horst Platen (Schwule Lieder; Die schwule Plattenkiste; Wir sind; Waldoff, Claire Waldoff: Es gibt). Text and music by CitationFriedrich Hollaender (CitationLemper; CitationWaldoff, Claire Waldoff 2). Text by CitationClaire Waldoff, music by Walter Kollo (CitationWaldoff, Claire Waldoff 3, 26 Gramophone). CitationTrude Hesterberg sang this song in her Wilde Bühne, with music by Mischa Spoliansky (CitationLemper). Jeremy Lawrence's English version of the song, on CitationLemper's CD, has a clever punch line that is even funnier than the original: They're “back in bed again and making more.” CitationMarcellus Schiffer, author of this song and other chansons with gay themes, was married to the singer and actress Margo Lion. Her picture spooks throughout the literature on lesbians in Berlin, thanks to her grotesquely tall, skinny appearance and short hair. She also created “Wenn die beste Freundin” with Marlene Dietrich in 1928, a photograph widely reproduced as an icon of lesbian Berlin in the twenties. In extrapolation of this song, Josef Vilsmaier's film Marlene portrays Dietrich and Lion necking in a wild Berlin bar party, to the consternation of Marlene's future “secret lover” (a fictional figure). Another photograph shows Lion singing with Claire Waldoff, which today appears a comical juxtaposition of absurd gender confusion. It is perhaps tempting to read the song lyric “Maskulinum–Femininum” as a camouflaged confession of Schiffer and Lion's marriage, as they were both rumored to have been homosexual, according to CitationUte Scheub (80). One can see, for instance, from the hefty collection of Hermann‐Neisse's monthly articles from 1921 to 1930 in Kabarett, that gender‐crossing and homosexuality were not really prominent themes on the Kleinkunst stage. CitationVolker Kühn's five‐volume anthology (Kleinkunststücke) of the cabaret “canon” includes virtually no material on gay or cross‐gender themes. The American CD Can't Help Lovin' That Man contains a similar program of “cross‐gender” dance‐band renditions, but at least the booklet notes are honest about the innocent character of the performances, even if the compilers strive to read the renditions against the grain. On Bendow, see also CitationSenelick (“The Good Gay Comic”). The new volume of prose and verse by CitationSchiffer, Heute nacht oder nie, includes some of his erotic and homosexual drawings. CitationSchöppmann's portrait includes rare information from Waldoff's Nazi police file. CitationOdeman's story is recounted by CitationSternweiler, who recounts that CitationOdeman was not initially sent to the isolation block as CitationO'Montis had been; likely this was because he was not Jewish in addition to being homosexual. There is no thorough or reliable biography of CitationOdeman, although his works have appeared in two large collections, and the short portraits that do exist are spotty and contradictory, especially in regard to his career during the Nazi years. Another important gay cabaret artist to grow out of the Nazi years was CitationJoe Luga, who was a female impersonator in frontline entertainment troupes and after the war became a leading chanson singer in Hamburg (see his autobiography So bin ich). CitationBalz was arrested even before the Nazi years, denounced by a male prostitute. Lyrics by Lothar Brühne, from the film Fünf Millionen suchen einen Erben (see Der Wind in the Discography). On CitationLeander's relationship to gender issues, see CitationKuzniar. Music by Lothar Brühne, from the film Der Blaufuchs (see the recordings CitationLeander; Bruno Balz; Der Wind). Music by Lothar Brühne, from the film Die Nacht der Entscheidung (see recordings Bruno Balz; Der Wind). (In references to sheet music, the lyricist is listed first and then, separated by a diagonal slash, the composer.)
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