June 2002 - Nr. 6
Ute Lemper’s "Blood and Feathers" in NYC
"The world of cabaret can be divided into two distinct categories: Ute Lemper and everyone else. The luscious timbre of her voice, the breadth of her repertoire, the expressive power of her body language and the sheer force of her personality place Lemper at the pinnacle of a cabaret tradition that has been evolving for more than a century," writes a reviewer for the Chicago Tribune. Audiences in New York have a chance to see the ravishing German-born chanteuse in her new show, "Blood and Feathers," at Joe’s Pub (through May 12). Her interpretations of the darkly beautiful songs of the Weimar era are laced with a scarlet ribbon of vampish ribaldry and acerbic wit. Lemper and her piano accompanist, Jürgen Knieper, recreate the be-gay-in-the-gathering-storm feel of a Berlin club in the early 1930s from a few simple props - an old black velvet coat, a crimson feather boa, and stunning music. The daring lasciviousness and estranged yearning expressed by song writers Kurt Weil, Berthold Brecht and Jacques Brel spring to life at Lemper’s touch.
Ute Lemper has adored music since childhood. Born in Munster (North Rhine-Westphalia), she began studying piano and dance in Cologne at the age of nine, then turned to the stage at the Max Rheinhardt Seminary in Vienna. She completed her studies in the center of all things cabaret: Berlin. Lemper has become a much sought-after recording artist. Her recordings include: Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill (Vols I and II), The Three Penny Opera, The Seven Deadly Sins, Mahagonny, Songspiel, Prospero’s Books, Songbook, Illusions (Piaf/Dietrich), City of Strangers (Sondheim/Prévert), Berlin Cabaret Songs, Crimes of the Heart, Life is a Cabaret, Ute Lemper Live, Espace Indecent, Nuits Etranges and, most recently, Punishing Kiss. She was named Billboard Magazine’s Crossover Artist of the Year 1993-1994.
Although Lemper has enjoyed her greatest professional success as a singer, she is also an accomplished actress. She has taken on leading roles in several musicals, including the Paris revival of "Cabaret" where she won a French Moliere award for her portrayal of Sally Bowles, and the West End production of "Chicago," where she received the Olivier award for Best Actress. She made her film debut in 1991 playing a haughty Queen Marie-Antoinette in the French production of L’Autricienne. She also appeared in Peter Greenway’s Prospero’s Books. Lemper has recently been trying a new venue for her talents, the canvas. Her large Neo-Expressionist oil paintings depict scenes inspired by the vivid transformation of the German capital after the fall of the Berlin Wall. These were on display earlier this month in an exhibition at the German House, in New York City, where Lemper lives with her husband and two children.
