Carnegie Hall

I’ve chosen some rare and even rarer recordings along with some classics to whirl us into the wild sonic world of some of the divas and disruptors—the women of Weimar. I love the varied performers here, whether they are singing of the complexities of modern relationships, old-fashioned heartache, moon sickness, the extremities of fashion, revamping the government, refashioning the world—simply vamping!

Some of the songs are provocative, some base, some sensual, most extremely witty, and some revolutionary. Some are simply beautiful, and some are unsettling. They comment on the chaos of a speedy society, rough politics, and unconventional love, reflecting the heady, jostling mix of some of the sounds of Weimar—commercial and arty, passionate and considered, dancing to the echoes of the destruction of the recent world war.

I’ve also popped in a few little pieces Thomas Lauderdale from Pink Martini and I recorded for our album Hotel Amour that seemed apt, including a very special “laughing” duet with the wonderful late Barry Humphries from the 1930 Paul Abraham operetta Victoria and Her Hussar. It’s intriguing listening, I hope—and it’s just a tiny selection!

More About Meow Meow

Meow Meow’s unique brand of subversive and sublime entertainment has hypnotized, inspired, and terrified audiences globally from London’s West End to Lincoln Center, Berlin to Shanghai, and the Hollywood Bowl to the Sydney Opera House. Named one of the “Top Performers of the Year” by The New Yorker, the crowd-surfing tragi-comedienne’s solo works have been commissioned by David Bowie, Pina Bausch, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, among others.

Meow Meow specializes in Weimar repertoire and French chanson, as well as jump-cut explorations of Schubert, Robert Schumann, and contemporary composers. She has played Jenny in Weill’s The Threepenny Opera with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Anna in Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins with Berlin’s United Ensemble, and performed Andriessen’s De Materie with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She performed her Pandemonium concerts with the San Francisco, Seattle, and Oregon symphonies; Sydney and Melbourne symphony orchestras; and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. She has toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, performing Barry Humphries’s Weimar program at Tanglewood, the Barbican, and at concert halls across the UK and Australia.

The 2023–2024 season includes debuts with the Toronto and Vancouver symphony orchestras; a concert tour across the US; and a collaboration with The Royal Ballet’s Edward Watson and choreographer Arthur Pita.

Her theater credits include Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls at Royal Albert Hall, La Maîtresse in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg on London’s West End, and Pegleg in Tom Waits’s The Black Rider. She is a guest artist with Tanztheater Wuppertal.

Meow Meow’s original musical theater work Apocalypse Meow was performed at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave festival in 2019, having premiered at London’s Southbank Centre. She has created numerous “fantastical history” song cycles for crumbling theaters in Australia and the UK, and for bespoke civic events.

Her latest album, Hotel Amour with Pink Martini’s Thomas Lauderdale, was named one of the top 100 albums of the year by The Times (London) and features duets with Rufus Wainwright, Michel Legrand, and the von Trapps. She is a frequent guest artist with Pink Martini, performing across Europe and North America.

Photography by Karl Giant.