Mehta Conducts Finely Honed Weill, Schubert

Kurt Weill wrote “The Seven Deadly Sins” as a savage critique of capitalism. But the 1933 “ballet chante” (sung ballet)--libretto by Bertolt Brecht, choreography by George Balanchine--is a lot more than that.

Yes, it attacks that economic and political system, the smugness of the bourgeois family and the perversion of moral and religious codes in general. But as it intricately probes the conflict between idealism and realism, it ultimately addresses the question of how anyone can live in a material world, whatever the political position. And the answer is, compromise.

First on a two-part program by the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Thursday in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, “Seven Sins” received a brilliant, biting, wide-ranging performance by soprano Sheri Greenawald, the Hudson Shad Quartet and the orchestra, all under the direction of Zubin Mehta.

Replacing the originally announced Audra McDonald, who withdrew on doctor’s advice because of complications in her six-month pregnancy, Greenawald proved a master of mood, interpretation and nuance, never simplifying the text or letting up on meeting Weill’s vocal demands.

The quartet--tenors Mark Bleeke and Eric Edlund, baritone Peter Becker and bass Wilbur Pauley--offered consistently strong, clear and vivid ensemble singing. (Supertitle translations of the German were projected. McDonald would have sung the work in English.)

As rich and rewarding as the performance was, it’s important to remember that without the choreography, it conveyed only part of the creators’ intentions. The ballet is rarely done, and the additional meanings that Balanchine’s genius must add can only wistfully be longed for.

Mathematicians can tell you that if there are 100 people in an orchestra, there are millions of possible combinations of what you can hear. Schubert seems to have found most of the important ones all in his Ninth Symphony, which is why there is never a simple repeat and why the ear never tires.

All that can be heard only when an orchestra is as finely honed as the Philharmonic is now. The players range from piano to fortissimo without losing clarity and balance. They seem unable to succumb to bombast, or make a vulgar or tasteless decision.

It is not the same orchestra Mehta presided over during his tenure, and he no longer seems the same either. Each reflected the virtues of the other in the best light. Mehta led a sunny performance of the Schubert, not always capturing its pain and high seriousness, but always keeping the flow going.

The concert was dedicated to concertmaster emeritus David Frisina and former principal second violinist Harold Dicterow, both of whom died last month.

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* The program repeats tonight at 8 and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave. $10 to $70. (323) 850-2000.