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Photo by Paula Lobo

Publication: Operawire
Date: January 13, 2020
By Jennifer Pyron

The MetLiveArts Series Concert 2019-20 Review: Ute Lemper: Weimar Holiday
A Unique Talent Delivers A Potent Human Experience Through Music

The MetLiveArts program featured “Ute Lemper: Weimar Holiday” at The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium as part of a special Holiday series.

Lemper performed story-telling music by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weil, Friedrich Hollaender, Mischa Spoliansky, Marcellus Schiffer, Shmerke Kaczerginski and Alexander Tamir. The evening highlighted an enlightening and progressive time in Germany’s music history which cultivated the awareness of creative works by exiled Jewish composers. German-born artist Lemper provocatively narrated throughout her performance and captivated listeners with her intoxicating voice.

With an eclectic career featuring an inventive panoply of on-stage performances, film work and multiple recordings, one might refer to Lemper as one of the most influential Berlin Kabarett artist’s of our time. Her ability to express and articulate extraordinary creativity through a history-based musical presentation was profound.

Audience members could not take their eyes off Lemper as they were immersed in her spontaneous poetic art performance and personal stories relating to all historical events. One might best understand Lemper’s affinity with Weimar’s artistic evolution as a reflection of her own internal dialogue as an outspoken expatriate.

Lemper grew up during a politically tumultuous era and discovered the power of music to be her greatest guide. She continued to develop as an artist that specialized in cabaret. However Lemper’s originality is what set her apart from others and carved out her own successful career.

Taking the Reins

In “Weimar Holiday” Lemper took the reins of an interesting series of songs that lead the audience through darkness and into the light. Opening songs included “Liar Liar” by Hollaender, “Streets of Berlin” by Philip Glass and “It’s All a Swindle” (Alles Schwindel) by Spoliansky and Schiffer.

One might have felt like they were listening to a dear friend tell a personal story when enjoying Lemper’s narrative dialogue during this opening. Her voice encapsulated freedom of expression and a fervent drive to deliver entertainment. She was connected to each phrase that she performed like a magician conjuring spirits to reveal secrets of the past.

Hollaender’s “Liar Liar” was a dramatic start to the evening as Lemper dove head first into a passionate “Le Chat Noir”-inspired atmosphere. Her beautiful red gown was hidden beneath a sheer black dress that she zipped up and down as the moody lineup transpired.

“Streets of Berlin” by Glass was a sultry and smooth transition that Lemper utilized to sink deeper into the transcending and nostalgic undertones of Berlin Kabarett. She also had a red boa that laid gently on the back of a chair she used as a prop to emphasize an especially satirical moment. Lemper was smart with her space on stage and drew in the audience’s eye with each song and story.

Spoliansky and Schiffer’s “It’s All a Swindle” was upbeat and memorable as Lemper provocatively maneuvered herself on stage in sync with the music. The three accompanying musicians looked to be having a wonderful time with Lemper and one might have felt like they were part of the party that was taking place on stage.

Biting Honesty

The heart of her performance incorporated biting honesty mixed with an array of salty satire that proved to be the perfect cocktail. Lemper unabashedly experimented with her vocals and playfully created a refreshing perspective of hope as she webbed together significant historical events with song. She infused her natural tonal clarity with smoky subdued waves of emotion that created interesting moments of color.

This was best reflected in the Yiddish lullaby “Shtiler, Shtiler” by Kaczerginski and Tamir, which marked a turning point in Lemper’s performance. She was dynamically focused and sensitive, exposing her raw emotional connection to the music. This moment was eerily somber as the audience was reminded of the horrible pain and suffering of the past’s ghetto suffering and murders. Lemper pulled at the heart strings of the audience but most importantly reminded them of how easily history can repeat itself and tragically affect generations to come.

Hollaender’s “The Ruins of Berlin” was also part of this dark shift and Lemper’s approach to this song was tender and honest. Following with an intense performance of Hollaender’s “Black Market,” she transitioned the evening towards a more introspective tone.

With a history of being compared to Marlene Dietrich, Lemper’s performance of Hollaender’s work ran the risk of coming across as tributary to Dietrich. However, Lemper’s voice remained genuinely expressive and on point. She carried a powerful confidence within herself that could be heard in her voice and felt in the music she sang.

Lemper’s “Ghosts of Berlin” continued to conjure more of her own voice and pioneering spirit. One might have been unable to classify certain aspects of Lemper’s work but one could not deny her as a leading advocate for originality in the music world.

Overall, Lemper embodied a voice of awareness and resilience: a powerful voice of hope.

Click here to see the review on the OperaWire website

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September 2019, New York • Photo by: Russ Rowland

Publication: Bristol 24/7
Date: January 10, 2020
By: Shane Morgan

You know that moment an international icon and one of your own personal heroes calls you out of the blue?

Of course you don’t. Otherwise you would have written an internationally acclaimed touring production about it, which is exactly what award-winning performer Ute Lemper has done as a result of her 1987 phone call with star of stage, screen and gramophone, Marlene Dietrich.

“Dietrich broke all the rules,” Lemper explains. “She introduced a new emancipated self-confidence as a woman that was way beyond her time.”

Time is at the very heart of Lemper’s latest work for the stage, Rendezvous with Marlene.

It all started with Lemper’s breakthrough performance of Sally Bowles in the Molière Award-winning production of the musical Cabaret. Following universal praise for her performance, the media did what the media always does and proclaimed the young star as the new version of an established star.

On this occasion, Lemper was the new Dietrich. Out of respect for her idol, Lemper wrote the icon a postcard apologising for the intense media attention surrounding her performance and the comparisons that followed. What happened next is the stuff of legends and theatre.

“This one is coming from my heart,” says Lemper. “Audiences are in for an incredible story: history, fate, courage, style, politics, glamour and sex, talent and a huge career.”

Any one of those themes would be enough for one story – but it is the bond that formed between the two women that allows Rendezvous with Marlene to cover such a broad spectrum. Whilst the catalyst for this bond may have been as a result of media attention, the true connection came following a three-hour telephone conversation between the two. Marlene received Ute’s postcard and, after a bit of intrepid detective work, tracked her down and called her.

“She was a free spirit,” Lemper recalls. “She was politically and morally outspoken and courageous. She was ladylike and bossy. She had class but loved whiskey, dirty jokes and a good smoke. Billy Wilder said she was a heck of a guy to hang out with.”

The comparisons between Dietrich and Lemper go far beyond the stage and delve deeply into the political and moral framework that Lemper refers to as courageous, “We are both kind of expatriates and have a complicated relationship with our birthland.”

Born in Munster, Germany, Lemper lived for many years in Cold War Berlin. “This divided Berlin had a huge impact on my artistic and personal identity,” she explains.

Like Dietrich, Ute Lemper spent much of her life in Berlin – albeit, by her time, a Berlin under a very different political climate.

That upbringing has, it appears, left her with a heightened sense of empathy and powerful ability to cut straight to the chase. “I have four children, lots of real-life worries and responsibilities, and I am very passionate about not wasting my time in the shallow waters of small talk. I feel for people that are thrown into hardship with no rhyme or reason.”

With this, she launches into the political powder keg of 20th Century Germany and the lasting effect it has had on both women. “Marlene Dietrich lived in Berlin before the war, I lived in Berlin after the war. It was tough to deal with the German history that was put into my cradle.”

How did the weight of that history manifest itself artistically? “As an expressionistic sense of crude reality with a political awareness and a scream, in art, of pain and longing.”

It is with acute awareness that Lemper describes Marlene Dietrich’s relationship with her country of birth. “In the telephone call, she was very clear but sad and bitter about the despicable treatment the Germans gave her.”

Having, as Lemper describes, ‘no choice’, Dietrich supported the American troops of World War II on the front line in their fight against Hitler and the Nazis. She was honoured for her bravery and courage in entertaining troops for two years. “Her home country never forgave her for this brave decision.”

Germany rejected Dietrich in the 1960s when she decided to sing for them and attempt a comeback. It was Lemper, however, that picked up the baton in the 1980s, “In 1987 I started recording the cycle of Kurt Weill and Berlin cabaret albums. This defined my connection to the Weimar Republic, as a protagonist of the songs of Jewish exiled composers.”

It was in 1988 that Ute Lemper sung the songs of Frederick Hollander and Mischa Spoliansky that Dietrich had sung 60 years earlier. This made Lemper the first German to record the repertoire since the end of WWII.

Lemper is kicking off the UK leg of her 2020 tour of Rendezvous with Marlene at St. George’s here in Bristol. How do the smaller venues compare to the larger concert halls she has performed in? “It doesn’t matter how big the hall as long as I can be authentic.”

This level of authenticity and intimacy lends itself well to the confines of St. George’s. “This is a very theatrical show, so a smaller theatre is actually more suitable as it serves as a close-up into the heart and soul of the character.”

Putting politics and performance into sharp focus is critical for Lemper in the show. “We’re encountering a return to reactionary, nationalistic movements. The individual is so often ignored and neglected that it tries to grab any voice of power and rage to feel stronger. I find it terrible that people have so much room for hatred in their heart. It comes from despair, but is often uneducated and just demands war on others who are different.”

History repeating itself is a central component to Lemper’s performance and Rendezvous with Marlene sees her channeling Dietrich – not, as she asserts, in the manner of an impression, more of a theatrical conduit. “I tell her story through my eyes and sing her songs with my voice. She is using my body and voice to speak.”

This unique combination of two extraordinary women brings a message that lasts long after the lights have gone down. “This is the story I need to tell,” says Lemper. “My mission as an artist is to connect the universal understanding of love to humanity. The fact that history is being forgotten so quickly, without passing its lessons on to future generations, makes me mad.”

Ute Lemper brings Rendezvous with Marlene to St George’s on Thursday, January 30. For more www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/event/ute-lempe-rendezvous-with-marlene

Click here to read this article on Bristol 24/7

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Publication: Gscene
Date: 22 Dec 2019
By : Brian Butler

Brian Butler looks forward to one of the performance highlights in Brighton 2020 – international sensation Ute Lemper revealing her career-long connection with diva Marlene Dietrich.

Put third February in your diaries now if you love the unique style of that great performer Marlene Dietrich as she is brought to life in Brighton for one night only. In 1987 Ute Lemper opened on stage in Paris as Sally Bowles in Cabaret and was immediately hailed by critics as “the new Marlene”.

This comment led to a 3-hour phone conversation between the newcomer and the old reclusive superstar. Some 30 years later Ute now recreates that conversation – about love, life, bitterness, anti-Nazism but above all the magical musical repertoire Marlene created from her signature Lil Marlene to the anti-war song of the 60’s Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

In an exclusive glimpse Ute told Gscene : “The show is deeply tragic, but also comic – Marlene claimed to have slept with everyone she worked with – some 50,000 lovers, she said.”

“I am channelling the pain of her life – it’s not a romantic version . I aim to get to the core of her life.”

That said, the show which starts with the phone chat but in a time warp has Marlene taking over the stage, is full of humanity, respect and pure love of a genius at her art.

The show is at the Old Market, Hove, on 3 February. Ticket information at the old market.com

Click here to for information and tickets
Click here to visit Scene website for this article

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Publication: Town & Country
Date: December 2019 / January 2020
BY ERIK MAZA

Marlene Dietrich was once asked by an interviewer about her style. She was in her late fifties at the time, entering her emeritus years but still revered as one of the last greats from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Her Teutonic sense of humor, needless to say, remained intact. “I dress for the image,” she declared. “Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion.” And, she stated definitively, “not for men.” Dietrich was speaking as a movie star who had long ago made peace with the professional burden of always having to look the part. She was also acutely aware of her own agency in the act of dressing up….

Click here to read the full pdf article.

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Ute Lemper oder Marlene Dietrich? Foto: Brigitte Dummer

Publication: erlesenes­muenster.de
Date: 4 October, 2019
By:­ Burkard Knöpker

Langsam kommt sie aus dem Bühnenrücken nach vorne geschlendert, schlängelt sich durch Bassist und Violinist und raunt mit etwas brüchiger Stimme: „Guten Abend“. Diese zwei Worte reichen, um das Publikum im Großen Haus fast in Ekstase zu versetzen. Dabei hat sie nicht mal angefangen zu singen, doch natürlich wissen die Münsteraner, was sie erwartet oder sie ahnen es zumindest. Immerhin kommt ein Kind der Stadt zurück. „Rendezvous mit Marlene“, heißt Ute Lempers Programm, mit dem sie gestern im Großen Haus auftrat.

Ute Lemper ist ein Star und warum das so ist, demonstriert sie in dem gut zweistündigen Programm, mit Sprüngen von Lemper zu Dietrich, von 1928 nach 1987, von Englisch über Deutsch zu Französisch, von Deutschland nach Hollywood, über Irland und Italien nach Russland, von Billy Wilder über Charlie Chaplin bis zu Marlene Dietrichs großer Liebe Jean Gabin.

Tatsächlich gab es das Rendezvous mit Marlene, und zwar 1987 am Telefon in Paris. Ute Lemper, gerade 24 Jahre alt, wurde von der Presse als neue Marlene gefeiert, während Marlene Dietrich in der rue de la montagne einsam neben ihrem Telefon und diversen Wodka- und Whiskeyflaschen, längst am Ende ihrer Karriere angelangt war. Lemper hatte ihr geschrieben und dann – etwa 4 Wochen später – rief die alte Diva im Hotel an. Und tatsächlich hört man die 87-jährige, wenn sie von ihrem Aufbruch in die Vereinigten Staaten Ende der Zwanziger, ihrer Liebe zu deutscher Literatur, Rainer Maria Rilke und ihrem Hass auf Hitler und Nazi-Deutschland, die sie zu instrumentalisieren suchen, von den 50ern und ihren unzähligen Männern (und ein paar Frauen) spricht, von ihren Kinofilmen, von Paris und Alkohol. Man kann kaum sagen, wer da zu hören ist. Ist es die große Marlene Dietrich: „Where have all the flowers gone?“ oder die große Ute Lemper mit Lili Marleen vor der Kaserne? Mal im schwarzen hochgeschlitzten Kleid mit Blazer als Dietrich, dann schulterfrei als Lemper und wieder silbrig-glänzend im Hitchcockfilm, begleitet von wunderbaren Musikern an Flügel, Bass, Geige und Schlagzeug, die aber natürlich wissen, dass sie nur „Ausstattung“ sind. Dafür ist das Programm wie es ist mit einer echten Diva, deren Tochter noch zu Dietrichs Lebzeiten mit der Mutter abrechnen wollte, wie selbstsüchtig und lieblos sie sei – freilich alles in einem Buch niedergeschrieben. Letztlich wartete die Tochter, Maria, dann doch bis Dietrichs Tod Anfang der 90er.

Ein großartiger, bewegender Abend, der die Menschen nachher nicht auf den Sitzen hält. Und wenn Ute Lemper dann noch von den 70ern du 80ern erzählt, als sie selbst noch hier zugesehen und mitgespielt hat und von den Garderoben, die seither nicht renoviert wurden beweist sie Humor und jenes Lokalkolorit, für das sie die Menschen auch lieben. Intendant Ulrich Peters lässt es sich nicht nehmen, persönlich einen riesigen Rosenstrauß zu überreichen.

Click here to read on Burkard’s blog