Publication: Creatives Prevail (podcast)
By: Michael Zimmerlich
Date: May 22, 2025
Ute Lemper reflects on her four decade career as a globally acclaimed vocalist, composer, and actor. We discuss her bold reinterpretation of Kurt Weill, the weight of German history in her work, and how staying true to her creative instincts has led to timeless collaborations with artists like Tom Waits and Elvis Costello.
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Transcript:
Mike: Hey Ute, how are you?
Ute: Hello. Good morning. How are you?
Mike: Good morning to you as well. I’m doing fantastic. Thanks for asking. How are you doing?
Ute: I am here in New York and enjoying a beautiful spring day. And, um, yes, just back from a big project I did with the Pina Bausch Dance Company in Europe and enjoying a couple of days home before I take off again.
Mike: Oh, that’s wonderful. Do you travel often for your work?
Ute: Oh, I travel all the time. My career is based in Europe and most of my concerts are in France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Germany, and the UK. The summers are packed with festivals in Europe. I usually work with European promoters and agents. The projects are wonderful. But I always return to New York, which is home.
Mike: I love that. I can imagine how much your career has evolved through the years. At what point did you realize you were going to pursue performance as your life’s work?
Ute: Well, already at age 15 or 16, I knew that I would follow a path that would lead into the arts. I was studying ballet at a conservatory. I had piano lessons and was singing in a youth choir. It was my second nature. I wasn’t really interested in anything else. I had excellent grades in school, but I was drawn to music, dance, and expression.
Mike: That sense of artistic purpose really comes through in your work. When did you first start developing a relationship with the music of Kurt Weill?
Ute: My first connection was not through Weill directly but through Bertolt Brecht and German literature and history. Later, when I moved to Vienna, I encountered the world of cabaret, chanson, and Weill’s music through performances and the local culture. It resonated deeply with me. Weill’s music contains irony, despair, and truth. And growing up in post-war Germany, there was a silence surrounding our past. The Weimar era songs spoke to that silence.
Mike: Was there a specific moment where that connection became something you wanted to pursue professionally?
Ute: Absolutely. When I performed in Cabaret and then moved into The Blue Angel, the parallels became too strong to ignore. These shows touched on themes of identity, displacement, and moral complexity. And when I eventually recorded Weill’s songs, I felt like I was reclaiming something lost from my country’s artistic soul. I wasn’t just performing—I was reconstructing memory.
Mike: That’s so powerful. It reminds me of what you said elsewhere about how these songs aren’t just historical—they’re urgent. Is that how Pirate Jenny came to be?
Ute: Yes, very much. Pirate Jenny was born out of rage and frustration about what’s happening in our world today. Social injustice, suppression, violence—these are themes that have always been with us. The songs of Weill and Brecht were written in exile, in resistance. When I perform Pirate Jenny, I channel those emotions. It’s a revolutionary cry, and I want it to reach the next generation.
Mike: That reminds me—your work spans generations, and you’ve collaborated with so many great artists, from Tom Waits to Nick Cave. How do you choose your collaborators?
Ute: Authenticity is what I seek. I need to feel a deep artistic connection. With Tom Waits, for example, there was mutual respect. We didn’t talk too much. The music did the talking. These collaborations aren’t about name value. They’re about truth, emotion, and vision.
Mike: And speaking of vision, you also wrote and performed Rendezvous with Marlene, based on a phone conversation you had with Marlene Dietrich. How did that come about?
Ute: In the late ’80s, I was cast in a revival of The Blue Angel, and suddenly I was in the press a lot being compared to Marlene. And out of the blue, she called me. We spoke for hours. She told me stories—beautiful and painful. And then she disappeared again. That conversation stayed with me for decades. Eventually, I wrote a show around it. It’s a fictionalized memory—but deeply rooted in that real exchange.
Mike: That’s amazing. Do you ever feel a sense of responsibility when performing this material, given its history?
Ute: Of course. But it’s not a burden—it’s an honor. This material holds emotional and cultural weight. My job is not to replicate it but to live in it anew. I’m not doing a museum piece. I’m living the emotions now. That’s how you keep these songs alive.
Mike: I love that. And it seems like you’ve carried that mindset across your entire career, even as you shift styles and mediums. How do you stay creatively inspired?
Ute: Curiosity. And listening. The world is full of inspiration. Right now I’m working on fusing chanson with jazz, electronic elements, and storytelling. It never ends. I don’t want to be stagnant. I want to remain a student of art.
Mike: Before we wrap up, I have a few quick questions. What was your first concert?
Ute: I think my first classical concert was with my parents. But the first concert that truly excited me was seeing Nina Hagen. She was wild. Unapologetic. A true original.
Mike: Who are you listening to these days?
Ute: Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Edith Piaf. But also Björk, PJ Harvey, and Nils Frahm. I love artists who bend genres.
Mike: And if you could give one piece of advice to emerging creatives?
Ute: Go for it. Don’t wait for permission. Don’t compromise your dignity—especially for women, that’s vital. Stay strong, stay curious, and speak your truth. The world needs honest voices.
Mike: Thank you so much. This was honestly such an honor to have you on the show.
Ute: Thank you. It was a joy to speak with you. Have a beautiful day.
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