Ute Lemper in Graz:

“Marlene Dietrich’s greatest achievement was her courage”

Musical star Ute Lemper comes to Graz

(Bild: Russ Howard)

Ute Lemper is coming to Graz twice in February with her show "Rendezvous with Marlene". In an interview with the "Krone" newspaper, Lemper talks about the phone call with "the Dietrich" that inspired the show and why she still admires the international star to this day.

The year is 1987 and a young Ute Lemper is on stage in Paris in the role of Sally Bowles in "Cabaret" - very successfully. She even receives a Moliere, the most important French theater prize. "Because of my looks and German accent, I was often described in the press as the new Marlene Dietrich. That was a compliment for me, but I was also intimidated by the comparison," Lemper tells the "Krone".

A letter was followed by a phone call
She knew that Dietrich lived around the corner from the theater in Paris at the time and had not left the house for many years. "So I wrote her a letter to express my admiration. A month later, she actually tracked me down and called me," recalls Lemper. The conversation, which 30 years later became the basis of her Dietrich evening, lasted three hours: "I hardly dared to ask any questions. She was ironic and eccentric, but also audibly bitter and lonely. That was a side of Marlene that wasn't known and that I wanted to show," says Lemper.

The show "Rendezvous with Marlene" is a fusion of Ute Lemper and Marlene Dietrich

(Bild: Russ Howard)

"In my opinion, her greatest success was not her films and shows, but her courage. She was a strong and emancipated woman at a time when that was anything but a matter of course. And she had the courage to take a stand against the Nazis during the Second World War and spend 18 months without end with the US soldiers at the front," says Lemper. However, this meant that she was unable to gain a foothold in Germany until her death.

"The hatred of the Germans towards her was great"
When Dietrich died in 1992, Lemper was in final rehearsals in Berlin for a new stage version of "The Blue Angel", in which she was to play Marlene's signature role, Lola. "At her request, Marlene was buried in Berlin. And the hatred against her was still so great in Germany that a memorial service had to be canceled because neo-Nazis had announced protests," recalls Lemper.

About the person

• Ute Lemper was born in Münster on July 4, 1963
• She studied at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. In 1982, she took part in the first pop course in Hamburg, but was brought to Vienna by Peter Weck halfway through. Lemper appeared there in the first German-language production of "Cats "
• She appeared in the musical "Cabaret" in Paris and in the musical "Chicago", initially in London. In the Disney film "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996), she sang the part of the main female character Esmeralda
• She is an interpreter of Kurt Weill works and works by the Argentinian tango composer Astor Piazzolla
• Ute Lemper's first marriage to the US comedian David Tabatsky produced a son and a daughter
• She now lives in New York. She has two sons with musician Todd Turkisher, who goes on tour with her as a drummer and whom she married in 2011

And the musical star is also certain: "If Marlene were still alive today, she would be ashamed of the political situation. All the hateful phrases she once stood up against are being shouted on the streets again today." This is one of the reasons why it is important to Lemper to keep the memory of "Dietrich" alive: "My show is a fusion of Ute and Marlene. I think I had to become an experienced actress so that I could really understand her and immerse myself in her soul."

Ute Lemper will be performing "Rendezvous with Marlene" at the Komödie Graz on February 5 and 26.