Ute Lemper is internationally known for her interpretations of Kurt Weill’s songs from the German, French and American chapters of his compositions. With critical acclaim and wide renown as one of Weill’s foremost musical interpreters, Ute continues to be an ambassador to this music and this very unique composer. A dedicated storyteller and historian, Ute takes you on a journey through Kurt Weill’s life – through the painful and glorious times he experienced as a composer and into his life as a Jewish man in a world that confronted him with the most difficult of challenges.

Ute also celebrates Berthold Brecht, a unique political poet with the ambition to make the world a better place through his art. A close collaborator with Hanns Eisler, Kurt Tucholsky and Kurt Weill, the works of Berthold Brecht reflect deeply personal parts of his own life – from his time in the Weimar Republic to his Exile throughout World War II, and his later works for the new Berliner Ensemble Theater in East Berlin after 1948.

The video below is “Surabaya Johnny”, taken from “The AVO Sessions” recorded live in Switzerland: