Ute Lemper

Published Friday 15 February 2008 at 17:25 by Sheila Tracy

Forget the American songbook of Gershwin, Porter, Berlin and Kern, here we have the European songbook in a remarkable performance by Ute Lemper. It is almost unknown in this age of copy cat vocalists to find such a fresh, original approach, singing songs that will be totally unfamiliar to the majority of the audience but still managing to hold them spellbound.

Lemper has a glorious voice which can run the whole gamut of emotions from the achingly soft to the frenzied fortissimo. Add to that an equally glorious figure and the ability to move beautifully and no wonder you are transfixed, even though most of the time you are unable to understand a word of what she is singing, unless you happen to speak German, French or Yiddish. Born in Berlin, having lived in Paris and currently domiciled in America, she is multi-lingual and occasionally vocalises in English as well as chatting happily to the audience.

Accompanied by an excellent American rhythm section, her programme includes several unfamiliar songs by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, and it’s a delight when her finale is built around their ever popular Mack the Knife, plus a reminder of her success in Chicago with All That Jazz.

A difficult show in which to provide an interval and a few members of the audience found one and three quarter hours a little too long to sit in one position. Nevertheless, Lemper received a well-deserved standing ovation from an almost capacity house.