Ute Lemper - Sings Kurt Weill (1988)

Der Silbersee
01. Fennimores Lied
02. Casars Tod
Die Dreigroschenoper
03. Die Moritat Von Mackie Messer
04. Salomon-Song
05. Die Ballade Von Der Sexuellen Horigkeit
Berliner Requiem
06. Zu Potsdam Unter Den Eichen
07. Nannas Lied
Der Silbersee
08. Lied Das Lotterieagenten
Aufstieg Und Fall Der Stadt Mahagonny
09. Alabama-Song
10. Denn Wie Man Sich Bettet
11. Je Ne T'Aime Pas
One Touch Of Venus
12. I'm A Stranger Here Myself
13. Westwind
14. Speak Low

Ute Lemper – Soprano (Vocals)
Wolfgang Sebastian Meyer  - Harmonium
Kai Rautenberg 	- Piano
RIAS Berlin Kammerensemble
John Mauceri - Conductor

I had heard a track or two of Ute Lemper's versions of Brecht/Weill on classical radio and had my doubts about her interpretations. I guess that's because Lotte Lenya's versions were just so deeply ingrained in the old brain. But a more careful listen to the entire CD won me over. Completely.

There does seem to be a current bias toward a declamatory approach to singing Weill. Theater historians maintain that it wasn't always so. Even Lenya's classic Columbia sides, it should be remembered, were recorded relatively late in her career when her voice was a lot roughter and smokier than it had been in her youth.

I don't imagine that Lemper was trying for the definitive interpretation, but what she does achieve is remarkable. I found I was hearing these songs in a new way--maybe it was actually the original way (if the historians are correct)--whatever the case I am grateful for the experience.

The French and English language tracks are fine too. Ute may be overdoing the Noo Yawk brassiness she attempts on "Stranger Here Myself"--but only by just a hair. Not really worth quibbling about. Ute Lemper is a major talent. Anyone at all interested in Kurt Weill's legacy would be well advised to check this recording out. --- Gregor von Kallahann, amazon.com

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