UTE LEMPER IS all legs, moon-crater cheeks and pencilled eyebrows. And, of course, that incredible voice. Germany's top music-theatre export, she is the Queen of Cabaret.
She's best known for playing Velma Kelly in the West End musical Chicago and got her breakthrough role in 1983 when Andrew Lloyd-Webber offered her a part in the Viennese production of Cats. But Lemper has had enough of musicals. 'Today's musicals are very commercial, like a Disney world, and they flatten out the various dimensions of theatre. I don't want to be involved in any more musicals, cabaret has so much else to offer,' says the 37-year-old.
Hong Kong will get a taste of all that cabaret on January 15 when Lemper will do what she does best. She promises a 'journey through different terrain', from the songs which originated in the cabarets of Berlin during the Weimar Republic of the 1920s and early 30s to French chansons and songs by the German composer Kurt Weill.
Lemper has long been a fan of Weill. '[Weill] is wicked and provocative. He is a rebel and questions authority, is anti-establishment.'
Those are qualities which have often been associated with Lemper and she agrees that there is something of the rebel within her. 'I am deeply passionate about issues, life and politics. I want to break out of any concept of authority and oppression. I'm always thirsty, on the run and in search of the next step,' she enthuses.
A lot has happened to Lemper in the 10 years since she was last in Hong Kong. She has performed with the world's top orchestras, brought out several albums (she will include songs from the most recent one, Punishing Kiss, in the show), dabbled in film, painting and journalism and had two children. Aged six and four, they are the reason Lemper doesn't want to be away from home for long, so make sure you catch her only Hong Kong performance on Monday.
