Marlene Dietrich – Somewhere in the World There’s a Little Bit of Happiness

About this event

The evening interweaves excerpts from Erich Maria Remarque’s novel Arc de Triomphe with songs and chansons that circle around Marlene Dietrich. Remarque turned his own unhappy love affair with Dietrich into fiction: the character Joan Madou is Dietrich, and the exiled doctor Ravic is Remarque himself. Speaker Ingrid El Sigai reads these subjective, literary glimpses of the woman Remarque knew and loved. The music alternates between the songs Dietrich made famous – such as “Ich bin die fesche Lola” and “Lili Marleen” – and chansons that, in a different way, reflect her life, her companions, and her era. Pianist and arranger Markus Neumeyer has crafted arrangements that deliberately conjure the sound of the 1920s and ’30s, while also borrowing from modern avant-garde and popular music. The melodic motif of “Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte” recurs as a thread throughout many of the pieces. Together with saxophonist Tobias Rüger and bassist Gregor Praml, the ensemble creates an intimate, chamber-like atmosphere that fits the literary material.