Cabaret

Professor Dieter Lohmeier, a native of Kiel, Germany, and a professor of German and French literature, speaks the place and people names from Cabaret, by Joe Masteroff, Fred Ebb, and John Kander.

FRENCH AND GERMAN AS SPOKEN AND SUNG IN CABARET

Presented here are several brief passages in German and French as spoken in the musical. Various characters speak them: a border-control officer, a sailor, Herr Schultz, etc., but principally the performers at the Kit Kat Club, and the club’s Emcee. The play is set in Berlin in the 1930s.

The speaker on this recording is Dieter Lohmeier. Professor Lohmeier was professor of German literature at the University of Kiel, and visiting professor at the German Department of the University of Kansas, when he was recorded January 30, 2009. He can also be heard as Germany 10.

His recording reflects his several corrections to the German offered in the libretto. He has corrected spelling and rendered the German more accurately and idiomatically. The demands of the music upon syllable count should be taken into consideration if and when following some of his recommendations.

The recording was produced by Paul Meier, IDEA’s founder and director, who also publishes character-specific accent instruction for Cabaret through his Website.

A PDF of this page can be found here.

Willkommen, bienvenue! (Welcome)
Fremder, etranger, (stranger)
Freue mich, Sie zu sehen (alt. Glücklich zu sehen) (happy to see you),
je suis enchanté (I am delighted)
bleibe, reste, stay.
Willkomen, bienvenue,
Im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret (in Cabaret)
Meine Damen und Herren, Mesdames et Messieurs (Ladies and Gentlemen)
Ladies and Gentlemen! Guten Abend, bon soir, good evening!
Wie geht’s? Comment ça va? Do you feel good?
Ich bin euer Confrencier; je suis votre compère…
I am your host!
Und sagen (and say)
Willkomen, bienvenue, welcome
Im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret!
Wir sagen (we say)
Ja (Yes)
Herr Ernst Ludwig2
Deutsche Grenzkontrolle. Ihre Pässe bitte. (German border control. Your passports
please)
Sie waren geschäftlich in Paris? (Were you on business in Paris?)
Nein. Auf einer Urlaubreise. (No, we were on a vacation.)
Öffnen Sie Ihren Koffer. (Open your suitcases please)
Haben Sie nur diesen einen Koffer? (You have only the one suitcase?)
Ja. Das ist alles. (Yes, that’s all.)
Fräulein Schneider
Fräulein Kost
Schatzi (my treasure)
Hamburg
Herr Schultz
Nollendorfplatz
Mazel (good luck)
Schnaps
Meine Damen und Herren, Mesdames and Messieurs
Ach
Danke (Thank you)
Elsa
Hals- und Beinbruch (shoulder and a broken leg)
Mein Kampf (My Struggle)
Gottfried von Schwarzenbaum
Prosit (Cheers)
Brünhilde3
Karl
Rudy
Frau Schultz
bitte (please)
Letzte Durchsage. (Lohmeier rejected the libretto’s Letzte Ansage) (Last call) BerlinParis- Express, Abfahrt vier Uhr, Bahnsteig siebzehn. (The Berlin-Paris Express leaves
at 4 o’clock from platform 17) (Lohmeier rejected Alles einsteigen, bitte) einsteigen,
bitte. (All aboard please)
Auf Wiedersehen. A bientôt (Goodbye)

If you desire more instruction on Cabaret, see IDEA Founder and Director Paul Meier’s play/musical coaching instruction page on his website.