Ute Lemper

Ute Lemper's career is vast and varied. She has made her mark on the stage, in films, in concert and as a unique recording artist and interpreter of Berlin Cabaret Songs, the works of Kurt Weill and French chanson.

She was born in Münster, Germany and completed her studies at The Dance Academy in Cologne and the Max Reinhardt Seminary Drama School in Vienna.

Ms Lemper's professional debut on the musical stage was in the original Vienna production of Cats in the roles Grizabella & Bombalurina. She went on to play Peter in Peter Pan (Berlin) and Sally Bowles in Jérôme Savary's Cabaret (Paris) for which she received the Molière Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She played Lola in The Blue Angel (Berlin) and Maurice Bejart created a ballet for her, La Mort Subite (Paris). Ute also appeared in Kurt Weill Revue with the Pina Bausch Tanztheater.

Her solo concerts, which include "Kurt Weill Recital", "Illusions", "City of Strangers" and "Berlin Cabaret Evening" have been produced throughout the world at prestigious venues such as La Scala, Piccolo Teatro (Milan), Théâtre de la Ville, Theatre National de Chaillot, Les Bouffes du Nord (Paris), Palao de la Musica (Barcelona), The Sydney Opera House (Australia), Berliner Ensemble (Germany), Barbican, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Almeida Theatre (London), Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center (New York), Tanglewood (Massachusetts), The Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Herbst Theatre (San Francisco) and The Westwood Playhouse (Los Angeles).

Her Symphony concerts include "The Seven Deadly Sins", "Songs from Kurt Weill", "Songbook" (Michael Nyman) and "Songs from Piaf & Dietrich" with The London Symphony Orchestra (Kent Nagano), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (Zubin Mehta), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Berlin Symphony Orchestra (all with John Mauceri), The Paris Radio Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, The " Illusions " Orchestra (Bruno Fontaine) and The Michael Nyman Band (Michael Nyman). She also appeared in "Folksongs" with the Luciano Berio Orchestra (Luciano Berio) and with The Matrix Ensemble (Robert Ziegler) performing Berlin Cabaret Songs.

Her recordings for DECCA include Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill (Vols. I & II), Three penny Opera, The Seven Deadly Sins, Mahagonny Songspiel, Prospero's Books (Michael Nyman), Songbook (Michael Nyman/Paul Celan), Illusions (Piaf/Dietrich), City of Strangers (Prevert/Sondheim) and BerlinCabaret Songs(German & English Versions).

She was named Billboard Magazine's Crossover Artist of the Year for 1993-1994. She also recorded Crimes of the Heart, Life is a Cabaret and Ute Lemper Live for CBS Records and POLYDOR, Espace Indecent, Nuits Etranges and She Has a Heart.

All That Jazz/The Best of Ute Lemper, which features highlights from her illustrious career to date, was released in 1998. It accompanied her playing Velma Kelly in the London production of Kander & Ebb's Chicago for which she received the 1998 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. After nine months in London's West End Ute made her Broadway debut in September 1998. A major highlight of her eight month American engagement in Chicago was starring with Chita Rivera in the Las Vegas premiere in March 1999.

In film, her many credits include L'Autrichienne (Pierre Granier-Deferre), Prospero's Books (Peter Greenaway), Moscow Parade (Ivan Dikhovichni), Prêt á Porter (Robert Altman), Bogus (Norman Jewison) and the recent releases, Combat de Fauves (Benoit Lamy), A River Made to Drown In (James Merendino) and Appetite (George Milton). She has appeared on television in Rage/Outrage, The Dreyfus Affair (Arte), Tales from the Crypt (HBO), Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill (Bravo), Illusion (Granada), Songbook (Volker Schloendorff), The Wall (Roger Waters) and The Look of Love (Gillian Lynn).

Her next album, Punishing Kiss, is a collection of original songs by writers such as Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Neil Hannon, Nick Cave and Philip Glass.

Ute completed another sold out engagement of her one woman show at Joe's Pub (The Public Theatre) in New York last autumn. She also appeared at the Queen's Theatre in London's West End for two weeks and then went on to the historic Opera-Comique in Paris in December 2000.

Ute lives in New York with her husband, the actor and comedian David Tabatsky and their two children, Max and Stella.