The one and only Ute Lemper, the world’s greatest living interpreter of Weimar Cabaret, makes a rare “small hall” appearance on the Lane Series, in a show honoring Kurt Weill on the 125^th anniversary of his birth. 

Lemper’s career is vast and varied, having made her mark on stage, film, in concert and as a recording artist on more than thirty albums over her forty-year career. She has been universally praised for her interpretations of Berlin cabaret songs, the works of Weill and Brecht, and the chansons of Marlene Dietrich, Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Léo Ferré, Jacques Prevert, Nino Rota, Astor Piazzolla and many others. A renowned leading lady in musicals and plays on Broadway, in Paris, Berlin, and the West End, she most notably won the Laurence Olivier Award for “Best Actress in a Musical” for her performance of Roxy Hart in Chicago. 

Weill, the composer of four iconic works with Brecht (Three Penny Opera, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Happy End, and Seven Deadly Sins), as well as many hit Broadway shows (One Touch of Venus, Lost in the Stars, and Street Scene) is one of the most extraordinarily versatile composers to have ever written for the stage. His music was banned and labeled "degenerate" by the Nazis, and Lemper notes that Weill’s works remain relevant today. “Exotic characters fight for survival, rising from the ashes of racism, disadvantage, and neglect—stories that feel strikingly contemporary. This project is about creating a new audience for Kurt Weill,” she says. “By blending his timeless melodies with a groove, I’m opening the door for younger listeners who might not know his work. It’s about building a bridge between eras, where Weimar meets the club.”

Ute was recently featured in a profile in the New York Times. You can read the article here.