A Glimpse of Youkali – An Improvisation
Barbarasong (from The Threepenny Opera)
Berlin im Licht
Overture to The Threepenny Opera
Surabaya Johnny (from Happy End)
A Vision of Youkali – An Improvisation
Complainte de la Seine (‘Beauties of the Night’)
from The Torn Dress)
Je ne t’aime pas (from Marie Galante)
J’attends un navire (from Marie Galante)
A Dream of Youkali – An Improvisation
Buddy on the Nightshift (from Lunchtime Follies)
Nanna’s Lied
September Song (from Knickerbocker Holiday)
Apple Jack (from Huckleberry Finn)
A Premonition of Youkali – An Improvisation
Speak Low (from One Touch of Venus)
My Ship (from Lady in the Dark)
This Time Next Year (from Huckleberry Finn)
Youkali

Winner of the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, the British mezzo-soprano Katie Bray has become known for her magnetic stage presence and gleaming, expressive tone. Katie writes: ‘Youkali, It is the land of our desires, It is happiness, it is pleasure... But it is a dream, a folly, There is no Youkali! This song was my first encounter with Kurt Weill, more than twenty years ago, and that yearning, mesmerising tango has been a constant companion ever since. The sentiment behind ‘Youkali’ touched me deeply, and seemed to echo Weill’s own search for a place of personal and artistic freedom, a German Jew forced into exile in 1933 owing to the rise of the Nazi regime. He moved around the world, and with each new country came a reinvention of himself and some more miraculous musical shape-shifting. ‘Youkali’ is Weill’s ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’, an idea that resonates strongly with me, and seems painfully relevant to us all as I write this, in 2025, yet again living in a world at war. My performances of Weill’s songs have always centred around ‘Youkali’ and Weill’s search for a place to belong and to be free. I have wanted to make this album for many years, and am thrilled finally to have had the chance to do so with such a special team of collaborators and friends. It is my tribute to Kurt Weill, the chameleon, in all his glory, and a tribute to us all in our search for kindness, love, and peace.’