In the House of the Schlaraffen: The Trio Mellounge at a rendezvous
It’s time again for a fun evening in the House of the Schlaraffen. This time the Trio Mellounge is a guest. The Ullmann couple, together with Götz Kampf, takes us back to the time of hits from the 20s, 30s and 60s. With verve and obvious fun singing, the trio entertains the audience in the best possible way. After two hours of an enjoyable show, the artists rightly receive a long standing round of applause. And of course the call for an encore cannot be missed.
Charlie Chaplin and Georg Kreisler
What I particularly like about this evening is not just Ursula Ullmann’s charming performance. I am particularly interested in the story behind Georg Kreisler’s “Old, Evil Songs”. I’m happy that the singer sheds some light on the matter. For example, she talks about the friendship between Charlie Chaplin and Georg Kreisler. The Austrian-born artist was, so to speak, Chaplin’s house and court composer. His lyrics are not only humorous, they are also intelligent and entertaining. In these not always fun times, it’s just good to treat yourself to a relaxing evening and leave your worries behind.
“I’m from head to toe…”
Who doesn’t know the classic from the film “Blue Angel”, set to music by the seductive Marlene Dietrich? The song was written by Friedrich Holländer. Like Kreisler, he is a migrant in the USA. Both are honored there for their musical talent. The third composer of the evening to come onto the stage is songs by Günter Neumann. Neumann also liked to sing couplets. The term refers to a multi-verse, funny, ambiguous, political or satirical song with a distinctive refrain.
Willi Kollo, Bill Ramsey and Max Raabe
After the break, the trio heads to the 1960s. A popular classic by Bill Ramsey, the sugar doll from the belly dance group, is performed by Dieter Ullmann and danced by Ursula. Max Raabe’s humorous “I’m only good when nobody’s looking” also amuses the audience. For all songs, the Ulmann couple is accompanied by Götz Streit either with a djempe or with the guitar. Kampf, who wears a hat the whole time, reminds me of the song “My name is Peter” by Helge Schneider with his constant and indifferent look. Don’t be angry with me, it’s meant kindly. I liked it.
When the trio wants to stop after almost two hours, the audience demands encores. This entertaining evening ends with the song “The main thing is …” by Willi Kollo. If you would like to know or see more, I recommend the two videos at the end of this post.
