Katharine Mehrling is a celebrated star of the Berlin stage.
The unparalleled international singing and acting career of the German actress, singer/songwriter and chansonnière began with the London West End revival of HAIR at the Old Vic Theatre and would lead to numerous starring roles throughout Europe. Her solo concerts brought her to the United States, to Paris or to the Edinburgh International Festival.
Acclaimed for her interpretations of PIAF chansons as well as the BRECHT/WEILL/EISLER songbook, her incredible journey with the material of the composer Kurt Weill started with the renowned director Barrie Kosky.
After having worked together on Paul Abraham’s jazz operetta BALL AT THE SAVOY, Mehrling and Kosky dedicated themselves to paying homage to Kurt Weill. The large theatre of the Komische Oper Berlin was transformed into an intimate space, in which they presented the French and American chansons and songs from the period of Weill’s exile in Paris and New York.
In December 2020 her Kurt Weill concert LONELY HOUSE, accompanied by Barrie Kosky on the piano, was live-streamed on Operavision from the Komische Oper Berlin and recommended in the New Year’s Eve edition of The New York Times.
After the tremendous success of LONELY HOUSE, the kafkaesque Kurt Weill show …UND MIT MORGEN KÖNNT IHR MICH premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin in 2023, directed by Barrie Kosky.
This time Katharine Mehrling interpreted the Kurt Weill Berlin Songbook – accompanied by the big Orchestra of the Komische Oper – in 9 different roles.
For this outstanding performance, she was awarded once again – for the 7th time – the “Goldener Vorhang/Golden Curtain” of the Berlin Theatre Association as „Berlin’s most beloved actress“.
She also received the Grand Prize for Best Actress for her performance as Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL at the 2019 Bad Hersfeld Festival and was awarded the “Berlin Bear for Culture“, for her “exceptional radiance within the cultural landscape of Berlin”.
Raised in a small village near Frankfurt/Main, Katharine Mehrling always felt drawn to the large metropolises and studied acting and musical theatre in London and New York.
Katharine has been recognized as one of the greatest interpreters of EDITH PIAF chansons. In honor of Piaf’s 100th birthday, she gave a double-gala concert with an orchestra of 70 musicians in the Komische Oper Berlin. She was honored to welcome Piaf’s final composer Charles Dumont (Non, je ne regrette rien).
Collaborating with German jazz legend – clarinetist Rolf Kühn – she produced her album AM RANDE DER NACHT/ON THE EDGE OF NIGHT with original songs in the Hansa Studios and released the Berlin anthem STRASSEN VON BERLIN/STREETS OF BERLIN (feat. Paul Hankinson and the German Filmorchester Babelsberg).
Regularly featured with her sold out solo shows at the famous Spiegeltent Bar jeder Vernunft Berlin, she also performs concerts with philharmonic orchestras and big bands.
Upon personal request from the consul general, David Gill, she was asked to perform several times at the German consulate in New York City.
Katharine Mehrling has credits in film and television in Europe and was featured as the singer in the movie VALKYRIE starring Tom Cruise.
She was part of Taylor Mac’s monumental show A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC at the Berliner Festspiele.
After having portrayed the role of JUDY GARLAND in the theatre play END OF THE RAINBOW, Katharine Mehrling gave numerous concerts with her big band in the Tipi am Kanzleramt Berlin entitled IN LOVE WITH JUDY – a declaration of love to Judy Garland and the Great American Songbook.
In 2022 Katharine Mehrling was chosen to become Artist in Residence of the 30th Kurt Weill Festival in Dessau. Followed by THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS (Brecht/Weill) at the Konzerthaus Berlin with the Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.
In December 2023 Katharine Mehrling was invited by the German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to sing for the Belgian royal couple Queen Mathilde and King Philippe at Castel Bellevue.
Her double-CD “WERNER RICHARD HEYMANN – LIFE and SONGS” (produced by the Akademie der Künste, MEHRlingMUSIK and RBB Kultur, published by Schott Music) is nominated for the “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2024”.
Currently, she is performing in the theatrical BERTOLT BRECHT evening FREMDER ALS DER MOND (directed by Oliver Reese, musical direction: Adam Benzwi) at the Berliner Ensemble, as well as portraying Roxie Hart in CHICAGO at the Komische Oper in the Schillertheater.
In early February 2024, Katharine Mehrling will once again take the stage as Anna 1 in DIE SIEBEN TODSÜNDEN/THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS with the Konzerthaus Orchestra at the Konzerthaus, under the baton of Chief Conductor Joana Mallwitz.
Katharine Mehrling sings Kurt Weill's songs with a voice that absorbs the air of Berlin, the streets of Paris, and the solitude of New York exile. As if they were written for her. One of the most sensational voices in the world.
Acclaimed chanteuse and regular Kosky collaborator.
To hear and see Mehrling perform a song such as “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” is to experience the oyster of American musical theatre being infused with the grit of European cabaret. Mehrling, who is as gloriously expressive when singing in French as in English, is the very picture of theatrical elegance. Her performance has an erotic, sometimes discomfiting edge as she kicks off her shoes and climbs onto the grand piano. Her singing of such well-known numbers as September Song and Speak Low is more than just testament to the beauty and range of her voice. They are filled with a yearning and regret that express, not only the fragility of life and love, but also, as Kosky comments, “the destruction of the European soul” in the Nazi Holocaust.“
Katharine Mehrling delivers the German master’s songs in ravishing style. Sitting atop the grand piano, Katharine Mehrling is picked out in a single spotlight, her blond hair and velvet dress emphasising the contrast between light and shade. It could be the closing image of a black-and-white movie.
Mehrling’s tones are warm and assured, her range comfortably embracing everything from cabaret chanteuse on Le Grand Lustucru to sharp-talking propagandist on the fidgety Schickelgruber, an anti-Hitler polemic.
There are actors you instantly recognize - by their voice. Katharine Mehrling has a voice that is both rough and rich, iridescent with a multitude of colors, blessed with a distinct diction. A trademark voice that immediately touches.
She pierces directly into the heart, mind, and above all, the soul of her audience.
Katharine Mehrling continues the legacy of Piaf
Her authenticity, alongside her skill, defines her uniqueness.
Katharine Mehrling is a Power Planet in this Universe
Berlin’s Most Celebrated Voice
La Mehrling, the Talent of the century, is a force of nature. Magnificent! With her unique voice, which expresses so much soul, she sends shivers up and down the spine
Her voice is pure magic, smoky and intimate, yet it blows you away
Katharine Mehrling is a must-see performer.
Berlin’s queen of Chanson
Take a healthy dose of Edith Piaf's fervor, a pinch of Judy Garland's throbbing vulnerability, a dash of Marlene Dietrich's sleek streetwise sexiness, and top it off with a sprinkle of Bernadette Peters' raspy show-biz pluck, and you just might get Katharine Mehrling
… a first rate and exacting interpreter of the Weimer era.
… Watching her myriad of gifts unfold on the Joe's Pub stage.
… it's a name you'll want to remember.
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... But what Mehrling really has that makes her equal to the challenge of La Môme‘s legacy is guts. The courage and passion in her singing were a cri de coeur, calling out the dignity of suffering for love, regardless of poverty and adversity.
... Mehrling brought a sense of ownership to everything she sang.
... her natural sound has a fine-grain sandpaper texture that microphones love, her range was beautifully supported throughout with a strong high belt that she used sparingly and with great taste, and she seamlessly moved between power and subtlety.
Next time Mehrling comes to New York, make sure you’re there. It’s a rare and beautiful thing to be in the presence of this kind of artist, who makes everything her own, channels but never imitates the greats, and is humble and strong enough to balance her formidable skill with great humanity and vulnerability on stage.
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... Let us begin with her stage presence. Ms. Mehrling illustrated the metaphor of “holding someone in the palm of her hand”, but in this case it was the entire audience. It seemed to be an act of magic to unite all those people into a single unit…
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