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CABARET VILLE MAGAZINE. P183.

CABARET MAJOR EVENT                                   Editor's Pick

German Chanteuse Ute Lemper Performs Songs Highlighting Her Groundbreaking Career, at UCLA Live May 5

UCLA Live is presenting the return of Ute Lemper, the smoldering German chanteuse who forcefully evokes the dark, subversive heart of cabaret. Universally praised for her show‑stopping interpretations of Berlin cabaret songs, French chansons, Broadway standards and the works of Kurt Weill, Lemper has built immeasurably on the achievements of Marlene Dietrich, Lotte Lenya and Edith Piaf. She will perform in concert at 8 p.m., Friday, May 5, at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus. The running time is approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. There will be no intermission.The acclaimed artist's career is vast and varied. Always blazing new trails, Lemper has made her mark on Broadway and London stages, in films, in concert, and as an in-demand recording artist.Following her sold-out, 2004 UCLA Live engagement, Lemper returns with her smart, sexy and original artistry. The concert will highlight her career-long exploration of music, featuring her own songs as well as gems from composers including Weill, Kander and Ebb, Sondheim, Gershwin, Jacques Brel, Marcel Louiguy/Edith Piaf, and Chava Alberstein, plus Hungarian and Middle Eastern folk songs. Lemper's band includes Vana Gierig on piano; Don Falzone, bass; Mark Lambert, guitar; and Todd Turkisher on drums.

Ute Lemper was born in Munster, Germany, and now lives in New York City. She completed her studies at the Dance Academy in Cologne and the Max Reinhardt Seminary Drama School in Vienna. For her professional stage debut, she played Grizabella and Bombalurina in the original Vienna production of "Cats." She then played Peter Pan in Berlin and Sally Bowles in Jerome Savary's "Cabaret" in Paris, for which she received the Molière Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She played Lola in "The Blue Angel"; Maurice Bejart created a ballet, "La Mort Subite," for her; and she appeared in the Weill Revue with Pina Bausch. Lemper makes frequent appearances in major European venues, theaters and music festivals, and tours yearly in Australia, Japan and South America. Her solo concerts, which include "Kurt Weill's Recital," "Illusions," "City of Strangers" and "Berlin Cabaret Evening," have been produced at prestigious venues such as La Scala, Piccolo Teatro, Theatre de la Ville, Theatre National de Chaillot, Les Bouffes du Nord in Paris, Palao de la Musica in Barcelona, Sydney Opera House, Berliner Ensemble, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Tanglewood and The Kennedy Center. Lemper's symphony concerts include "The Seven Deadly Sins"; "Songs From Kurt Weill"; "Songbook" (Michael Nyman); "Songs From Piaf and Dietrich" with the London Symphony Orchestra (Kent Nagano). Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (Zubin Mehta), and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Berlin Symphony Orchestra (all with John Mauceri); The Paris Radio Symphony Orchestra; and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. She also appeared in "Folksongs" with the Luciano Berio Orchestra and performed "Berlin Cabaret Songs" with The Matrix Ensemble. Lemper's 2004–05 season included her first tour of Europe with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and culminated with a Carnegie Hall performance.

 

New York appearances have included those at Café Carlyle, Joe's Pub and the inaugural cabaret series at Neue Galerie. Lemper also performed at the Ojai Festival in California in collaboration with guitarist Elliot Fisk. In 2003–04, Lemper toured 14 U.S. cities with "The Best of Ute Lemper." Also in 2003, Lemper's "Nomade," staged by Robert Carsen, debuted in Paris to critical acclaim at the Théâtre du Châtelet. In 2001–02, Lemper created "Naughty Baby," a one-woman show that ran in London's West End. Her celebrated Decca recordings include "But One Day," "Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill" (Vols. I and II), "The Seven Deadly Sins," "Mahagonny Songspiel," "Prospero's Books" (Michael Nyman), "Illusions" (Piaf/Dietrich), "City of Strangers" (Prever/Sondheim) and "Berlin Cabaret Songs." In 1993–94, she was named Billboard Magazine's Crossover Artist of the Year. "All That Jazz/The Best of Ute Lemper" accompanied her playing Velma Kelly in the London production of Kander and Ebb's "Chicago," for which she received the 1998 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. After nine months in London, Lemper made her Broadway debut with "Chicago," and also starred with Chita Rivera in the 1999 Las Vegas premiere.

In 2000, Decca/Universal Music released "Punishing Kiss," her first album devoted primarily to contemporary songwriters including songs composed for her by Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Philip Glass and Nick Cave. UCLA Live Director David Sefton was the executive producer. Her many film credits include "Prospero's Books" (Peter Greenaway), "Moscow Parade" (Ivan Dykhovichnyj), "Prêt-à-Porter" (Robert Altman), "Bogus" (Norman Jewison), "Combat de fauves" (Benoît Lamy), "A River Made to Drown In" (James Merendino) and "Appetite" (George Milton). She has appeared on television in "Rage and Outrage: The Dreyfus Affair" (Arte), "Tales From the Crypt" (HBO), "Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill" (Bravo), "Illusions" (Granada) and "Songbook" (Volker Schlöndorff).

UCLA Live is an internationally acclaimed producer and presenter of music, dance, theater and spoken word, bringing hundreds of outstanding and provocative artists to Los Angeles each year. From the ancient to the modern, the local to the global and the underground to the world-renowned, UCLA Live is committed to supporting the development of new and existing work by both major and emerging artists. Lectures, residencies and extensive outreach programs expand the impact of its unparalleled performances.