Kat Harlton
Photos provided via PR team
Legendary song-stylist Ute Lemper’s storied 40-year career has earned her a world-wide reputation as the foremost modern interpreter of the music of 1920s Germany. After a decades long absence from Canadian stages, the powerhouse vocalist will bring her one-of-a-kind show to Toronto’s Massey Hall on January 26th, 2024 and Montreal’s Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier on January 28, 2024. Blending the magic of Cabaret, Broadway classics and French songs, Ute Lemper: From Berlin to Broadway features a range of audience favourites, including Kander & Ebb’s Cabaret, Weill & Brecht’s Weimar Suite, and Brel’s Ne me quitte pas.
Performed under the baton of conductor Francis Choinière and the FILMharmonic Orchestra, a symphonic ensemble renowned for its performances of cinematic music and popular classical works, this rare Canadian performance will transport audiences through time and space, reliving the golden era of cabaret with songs rich with captivating melodies of Broadway hits with the works Cabaret and All That Jazz. Ute Lemper, widely known for her iconic performances as Sally Bowles in the original Paris production of Cabaret and Velma Kelly in the revival of Chicago on Broadway, will weave her magic, performing an eclectic selection of songs spanning the range of her remarkable career, from her roots in Cold War Berlin to her triumphant presence on the stages of Broadway.
Ute Lemper’s vast and varied artistic career is nothing short of exceptional. She was born in Munster, Germany and completed her studies at The Dance Academy in Cologne and the Max Reinhardt Seminary Drama School in Vienna. Ute has made her mark on the stage, in films, in concert and as a unique recording artist. She has been universally praised for her interpretation of Berlin Cabaret Songs, the works of Kurt Weill and French chanson, and for her portrayals on Broadway, in Paris and in London’s West End. Twice nominated for a Grammy Award, Ute has cemented her status as an entertainment icon. Her performances are marked by an irresistible blend of passion, authenticity, and charisma, making her a true pioneer in the world of music and theatre.
I had the opportunity to chat with Ute, about her musical journey so far, what fans can expect from her upcoming shows and more.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your latest show?
Ute: The concert is a time travel through my life. I am venturing though the many decades of music and history that have defined my identity as an artist. The origin was my formation in Berlin in the years of the Cold War, the realism of a bizarre political situation as we were surrounded by a wall separating us from our families on the other side of it. Here I explored in depth the music of Kurt Weill, Brecht and the Berlin Cabaret of Weimar and realized what an incredible loss of culture happened once the Nazis destroyed the free, most progressive and creative spirit of the Weimar Republic after 1933. I realized that I needed to sing and record this music and give the Weimar culture a revival. This indeed happened with my 9 albums of the music banned by the Nazis starting in 1987. Ten years later, Cabaret worldwide was reborn from Sydney to Toronto, from Helsinki to Madrid. It was not easy but very important for me as a young German at the time of a new generation to talk about the horrible crimes of the past. It became a mission of my life until today. I created another project with music written in the Ghettos and completed the songbook of the Jewish composers with these heartbreaking stories and song written behind barbed wire, witnessing the failure of humanity.
I continue my journey to the many years I spent in Paris when I performed in theatre and movies. I fell in love with the French Chanson, the literature in music. There is nothing like the works of Leo Ferre and Jacques Brel and I deeply fall into their existential melancholy every time I sing their songs.
Of course, I live since lived for many years in New York and have embraced the American spirit of showbusiness. This is not really me, and I touch only marginally on songs that move me with a deeper soul and somehow reflect humanity with more complexity as much as the chaotic world we live.
Kat: What do you hope fans take from the “From Berlin to Broadway” performance at Massey Hall?
Ute: I hope I can take the audience on an incredible journey through time and to places and that they can see that music may very well capture the spirit of our time today in depth and beauty, in outrage and harmony, even if written in the last century.
Kat: What do you find is the most challenging part of your creative process?
Ute: I actually love writing my own music. I just released a new album, called Time Traveler with all new songs of my own, capturing exactly what I tried to explain before but with a new sound and my own poetry. That is almost my favorite creative moment: sitting at the piano and placing my lyrics into gorgeous harmonies so they can find their melodies.
On stage I just fall into the stories that I tell in music and bring them into our universe of humanity.
I love to be spontaneous and never be perfect, just real and direct with a conscience of finding a shared mind with the audience.
Kat: What has been a career highlight for you so far? What have you learned along the way?
Ute: Oh, every project is a highlight when created and brought to life. I am grateful that I can be an artist for more than 40 years now and it deeply humbles me to have a faithful audience around the world for all these decades. There are high profile moments like Broadway Shows and award-winning performances, but that is not what made me most happy. Truthfully the odd and rather uncommercial creations were the most rewarding to me, like my Bukowski Project, the Pablo Neruda Song cycle I wrote and also my Paulo Coelho collaboration putting his glorious thoughts of philosophy into music.
Kat: What’s next?
Ute: I am touring my new album Time Traveller and my Marlene Dietrich Show that I wrote. The latter is one of my most important works, based on an actual phone call with Marlene in the year 1987 in Paris.
She herself, and now me channeling her, telling her life story to me, the young Ute. Marlene was a woman of the future and an inspiration for emancipation to generations of women. She also had asked the gender question more than a hundred years ago together with the women of the Bauhaus. Time to give her credit for it.
Connect With Ute Lemper
Ticket Link: https://masseyhall.mhrth.com/tickets/ute-lemper/
Artist Website: https://www.utelemper.com/
Show Website: https://www.utelemper.com/shows/berlin-paris-new-york-2/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UteLemperOfficialPage/?ref=t
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgmQvOHAbtFN71qb4tQA6NA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UteLempersMusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utelemper/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ute-lemper