Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill with the TSO

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra today 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.

This performance of Weill's Seven Deadly Sins replaces the previously announced North American premiˆ®re of Benjamin Yusupov's Viola Tango Rock Concerto. Maxim Vengerov and dancer Christiane Palha, who were originally scheduled to perform as soloists in the Yusupov work, will no longer appear as part of this concert. Mr. Vengerov has cancelled his appearance due to personal reasons. The remainder of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's programme, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11 "The Year 1905", is unchanged.

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 chantˆ©), The Seven Deadly Sins (Die sieben Todsˆºnden) 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 Sins is available on the Decca label.

UTE LEMPER

WITH THE TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Peter Oundjian, conductor

Ute Lemper, vocalist

Kurt Weill The Seven Deadly Sins

Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 in G Minor, Op. 103 "The Year 1905"

Wednesday, October 1 & Thursday, October 1, 2008 at 8pm at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto

Saturday, October 4, 2008 at 8pm at Carnegie Hall in New York

SUBSCRIPTIONS TO TSO'S 2008.2009 SEASON ARE ON SALE NOW

And can be purchased by calling the Toronto Symphony Subscriber Hotline at 416.598.3375

or online http://www.tso.ca/