Ute Lemper in 'The Seven Deadly Sins' presented in concert
By: Mark Andrew Lawrence Apr. 17, 2008
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Peter Oundjian, conductor has announced that vocalist Ute Lemper will perform Kurt Weill's Seven Deadly Sins on Wednesday, October 1, and Thursday, October 2, at Roy Thomson Hall and then travel with the TSO to Carnegie Hall on Saturday, October 4, 2008.Multi-talented German sensation Ute Lemper is a singer, songwriter, painter, actress, and writer. Deeply influenced by her homeland's dark, complex, and powerfully creative past, Lemper is one of the most compelling and versatile artists in the world today. Along with other influential artists such as Lou Reed, Nina Hagen, and Roger Waters, Ute Lemper is today's keeper of the Weimar-era creative flame.
As a young composer,Kurt Weill (1900 - 1950) was drawn to musical theatre and vocal music, and his songs were tremendously popular throughout Germany by the beginning of the 1930s. He composed his sung ballet (ballet chanté), The Seven Deadly Sins(Die sieben Todsünden) in 1933, a very turbulent time throughout Europe. Because of his Jewish background and creative collaborations with leftist writer Bertolt Brecht, Weill was forced to flee his native country and settle in Paris. The highly satirical The Seven Deadly Sins was Weill's last work composed in his European theatre style, most notably characterized by its directness. After his death in 1950, his widow Lotte Lenya revived this remarkable work, known for its biting critique of capitalism and remarkably haunting music. Since then, it has never lost its appeal with audiences and performers alike. Ms. Lemper's 1990 recording of The Seven Deadly Sinsis available on the Decca label.
Also heard on the program will be Dmitri Shostakovich "Symphony No. 11 in G Minor, Op. 103 "The Year 1905."
Subscriptions to the TSO's 2008.2009 season are one sale now and can be purchased by calling the Toronto Symphony Subscriber Hotline at 416.598.3375 or online http://www.tso.ca/
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