There are few singers who are truly international. The German chanteuse and actress, Ute Lemper, is surely one of them. At a recent concert at the Spiegeltent in New York, the stunning 45-year-old performer took the audience on a transcontinental journey singing songs in German, English, Arabic, Yiddish, and French without so much as batting an eyelash. Well, truth be told, she did bat her eyelashes as she prowled across the stage in a slinky black ball gown. But for Lemper, seduction can segue easily into sadness or ferocity. When she sings "Mack the Knife" in German, get out of the way: it's thrilling, visceral and dangerous.
As a singer, she's as chameleonic as David Bowie. But, growing up, it was through the dark theatre songs of Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht that Lemper found her voice. "I felt this is my tongue, a spirit of rebellion, anarchy with philosophy and a depth of thought," says Lemper, who has slipped into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt after the show. The imperious stage persona has gone, but the sleek glamour remains. "Once I discovered this world, I could discover my own artistic identity inside the repertoire," she says.
Lemper will be back on the New York stage at Carnegie Hall on October 4 to perform more Weill and Brecht. This time she'll be singing, The Seven Deadly Sins, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. This satirical song cycle — the last major collaboration between Weill and Brecht — is a quirky caricature of capitalism which may be antique in its imagery but is still, says Lemper, "a very funny piece."
And then from mid to late November, the singer will return to the cabaret setting of Joe's Pub where she'll be showcasing songs from her new album, Between Yesterday and Tomorrow, which she penned herself. Lemper says this collection evolved naturally out of her last album, Punishing Kiss, which featured torch songs written for her by the likes of Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Elvis Costello. This album continues in that contemporary vein. "It's a poetic documentation, not theatrical like Brecht," says Lemper, in smoky tones which some have likened to that of her precursor vamp, Marlene Dietrich.
Like Brecht, Lemper has drawn her songwriting energy from global events, without lapsing into political clichés. It's not didactic or heavy-going, but poignant, expressionistic and honest (almost painfully so). Lemper says she went through her old diaries for inspiration. At the heart of the new album is a song about Germany, "Ghosts of Berlin," which captures the echo of tension inside a city once blighted by war and division. Another song, "Nomads" is a journey through the Middle East, with lyrics inspired by a 12th century Arabic poem.
The sound, which Lemper describes as "groovy, intimate, jazzy and sexy," is a departure from the Pan-European cabaret style for which she is famous, but in its imaginative sweep it certainly crosses a lot of borders. "The journey is an international one, through my life, my heart and my soul," she says.
It makes sense that, for more than 10 years, Ute Lemper has called New York home; she lives here with her three children and partner, Todd Turkisher, who also co-produced the album. And though she may be settled for the moment, Lemper admits to having the heart of an exile. "I still look at the world as if I'm not part of one nationality," says Lemper, whose relationship to her native country and its past is both complicated and influential. "I always felt I was home inside of myself."
