Goat Hall Productions
San Francisco Cabaret Opera
Harriet March Page, Artistic Director
Mark Alburger, Music Director
Fresh Voices XVI
Memories and Desires
8:15pm, Fridays-Saturdays, August 12-13, 26-27, 2016
Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA
JOSTEIN STAHLHEIM / JOHN G. BILOTTA
ROSETTA'S STONE (2015, Oded Ben-Horin / John F. McGrew)
A Neuroscience Opera in Two Acts (Duration - 40 minutes)
ACT I: Scene 1 - A Well-Functioning Cafe
Scene 2 - The Music Lesson
ACT II: Scene 1 - A Poorly-Functioning Cafe
Scene 2 - Deterioration - A Memory - Rosetta's Stone
CHARACTERS
AL HAMBRA, a music teacher Wayne Wong
ROSETTA, his student Cass Panuska
CHORUS, The Brain Regions
CORTEX Jill Wagoner
THALAMUS Sarita Cannon
HIPPOCAMPUS Alexis Lane Jensen
AMYGDALA Kassidy Grace Mayernik
CEREBELLUM Jamie Samantha Lee
BRAIN STEM Harriet March Page
ENSEMBLE
CLARINET Rachel Condry
CELLO Robin Reynolds
PIANO Feona Lee Jones
BILL, THE CONDUCTOR Mark Alburger
ROSETTA'S STONE (2015), a collaborative work about a professor’s descent into Alzheimer's disease and its effect on his student, was created by a team of artists in the United States and Norway: composers John G. Bilotta and Jostein Stalheim and librettists Oded Ben-Horin and John F. McGrew. In Rosetta's Stone, the professor’s mind is deconstructed into a cerebral café of brainy baristas -- Amygdala, Brain Stem, Cerebellum, Cortex, Hippocampus, and Thalamus -- in scenes that alternate with his pupil's poignant musical responses. "Every man's condition is a solution in hieroglyphic to those inquiries he would put. He acts it as life, before he apprehends it as truth." (R. W. Emerson)
20-minute intermission
MARK ALBURGER (b. 1957)
ALMA MARIA SCHINDLER MAHLER GROPIUS WERFEL, Op. 232
An Opera in Three Husbands and Multiple Lovers (All Famous)
(2016, after Wikipedia Alma Mahler, and links) (Duration - 70 minutes)
PROLOGUE - ALMA MARIA SCHINDLER
I. 1879 - ANNA SOFIE BERGEN (Alma's Mother)
II. 1880 - JULIUS VIKTOR BERGER (Alma's Mother's 1st Lover)
III. 1881 - MARGARETHE (GRETE) JULIE SCHINDLER (Alma's 1st Half Sister)
IV. 1882 - OMA BERGEN (Photograph I / Alma's Grandmother)
V. 1883 - MANON AUGUSTE PAULINE SCHARMWEBER GROPIUS
(Alma's Second Husband)
VI. 1884 - EMIL JAKOB SCHINDLER (Alma's Father)
VII. 1885 - GUSTAV MAHLER (Alma's First Husband)
VIII. 1886 - OSKAR KOKOSCHKA (Alma's Constant Lover)
IX. 1887 - PRINCE RUDOLF (Alma's Father's Employer)
X. 1888 - ALMA MARIA SCHINDLER (Photograph II / Alma's Portrait)
XI. 1889 - CARL MOLL (Alma's Mother's 2nd Lover)
XII. 1890 - FRANZ VIKTOR WERFEL (Alma's 3rd Husband)
XIII. 1891 - GEZA ZICHY (Mahler's Rival)
XIV. 1892 - SYLT (Alma's First Compositional Efforts / Father's Death)
XV. 1893 - ALMA / SOPHIE / GRETE (Photograph III / Alma's Family Portrait)
XVI. 1894 - SCHULE (Alma's Education)
XVII. 1895 - MAX BURCKHARD / OTTO MAHLER
(Alma's 1st Lover / Suicide of Otto Mahler)
XVIII. 1895 - JOSEF LABOR (Alma's 1st Teacher)
XIX. 1897 - GUSTAV KLIMT (Alma's 2nd Lover)
XX. 1898 - ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (Alma's Artistic Associations)
XXI. 1899 - MARIA MOLL (Photograph IV / Alma's 2nd Half Sister)
XXII. 1900 - ALEXANDER VON ZEMLINSKY (Alma's 2nd Teacher / 3rd Lover)
XXIII. 1901 - GUSTAV MAHLER (Alma's 1st Marriage)
ACT I - ALMA MARIA SCHINDLER MAHLER
XXIV. 1902 - RICHARD STRAUSS / MARIA ANNA "PUTZI"
(Mahler's Friend / Alma's 1st Daughter)
XXV. 1903 - HAUPTMAN / PFITZNER / P. STRAUSS / GOLDMARK / CHARPENTIER
(Viennese Life)
XXVI. 1904 - ANNA JUSTINE "GUCKI" / GABRILOWITSCH
(In the Country / Alma's 2nd Daughter)
XXVII. 1905 - FELIX MUHR / GUSTAV MAHLER (In the Theatre)
XXVIII. 1906 - ALMA / MARIA / ANNA / GUSTAV (In the Home)
XXIX. 1907 - NEW YORK / MARIA ANNA /STRAVINSKY / SIBELIUS / CARUSO
(In the City)
XXX. 1908 - TOBLACH (Mahler's Premonitions of Death)
XXXI. 1909 - RODIN / TOSCANINI (Mahler's Fame)
XXXII. 1910 - WALTER GROPIUS / SIGMUND FREUD (Alma's 1st Affair)
XXXIII. 1911 - MAHLER / FRAENKEL / SCHREKER
(Mahler's Death / Bruckner's 3rd Symphony)
XXXIV. 1912 - PAUL KAMMERER / OSKAR KOKOSCHKA (Alma's Lovers)
XXXV. 1913 - ANNA MAHLER / OSKAR KOKOSCHKA
(Kokoschka's Paintings / Bride of the Wind)
XXXVI. 1914 - OSKAR KOKOSCHKA / HANS PFITZNER (World War I)
XXXVII. 1915 - SIEGFRIED OCHS / WALTER GROPIUS / OSKAR KOKOSCHKA
(Alma's 2nd Marriage)
ACT II - ALMA MARIA SCHINDLER MAHLER GROPIUS
XXXVIII. 1916 - MANON GROPIUS (Alma's 3rd Daughter)
XXXIX. 1917 - FRANZ WERFEL (Alma's 2nd Affair)
XL. 1918 - HULDA RESERL / HERMINE MOOS / MARTIN WERFEL
(Kokoschka's Design / Alma's Son)
XLI. 1919 - THE PUPPET (Alma's Image)
XLII. 1920 - GROPIUS / PROSTITUTE / FESTIVAL (Alma's Divorce)
XLIII. 1921 - SCHOENBERG / RAVEL / BERG / MILHAUD / POULENC (Alma's Soirees)
XLIV. 1922 - RUPERT KOLLER / ERNST KRENEK (Alma's Sons-in-Law)
XLV. 1923 - ERNST KRENEK / OSKAR KOKOSCHKA (Alma's Lover's Opera)
XLVI. 1924 - SCHOENBERG / WEBERN / BERG / KRENEK / SHOSTAKOVICH
(Mahler's 10th Symphony)
XLVII. 1925 - ALBAN BERG / HANNA WERFEL FUCHS-ROBETTIN (Alma's Letters)
XLVIII. 1926 - RUPERT JOSEPH / OSKAR KOKOSCHKA / PAUL KAMMERER
(Alma's Inspiration)
XLIX. 1927 - FRANZ WERFEL / OSKAR KOKOSCHKA (Alma's Indecision)
L. 1928 - ALBAN BERG / OSKAR KOKOSCHKA (Kokoschka's Letters)
ACT III - ALMA MARIA SCHINDLER MAHLER GROPIUS WERFEL
LI. 1929 - FRANZ WERFEL / MANON GROPIUS (Alma's 3rd Marriage)
LII. 1930 - ANNA MAHLER / PAUL VON ZSOLNAY (Anna's 3rd Marriage)
LIII. 1931 - GEORGE BERNARD SHAW / PAUL VON ZSOLNAY (Anna's 3rd Separation)
LIV. 1932 - THEO JOHANNES HOLLNSTEINER (Alma's 3rd Affair)
LV. 1933 - HEINRICH BRUENING / ADOLF HITLER (Alma's World)
LVI. 1934 - ELIAS CANETTI / MAID (Manon's Polio)
LVII. - 1935 MANON GROPIUS / ALBAN BERG (Manon / Berg's Deaths)
LVIII. 1936 - JOHANNES HOLLNSTEINER / KURT SCHUSCHNIGG (Manon's Eulogy)
LIX. 1937 - WERFEL / ZUCKMAYER / VON PAPEN / KOKOSCHKA
(Alma's Farewell Party)
LX. 1938 - ANSCHLUSS (Alma's Departure)
CHARACTERS
ALMA MARIA SCHINDLER (Austrian Composer / Socialite) Kassidy Grace Mayernik
Anna Justine "Gucki" Mahler (Austrian Sculptor / Alma's 2nd Daughter)
Hans Pfitzner (German Composer / Alma's 4th Lover)
The Alma Doll (Kokoschka's Design / Moos's Manufacture)
Darius Milhaud (French Composer / Alma's 4th Soiree Attendee)
Hanna Fuchs-Robettin (Werfel's Sister / Berg's Mistress)
Brunner Arbeitzeitung (Anti-Alma Newspaper Reporter) II
ALMA MARIA SCHINDLER MAHLER Larissa Lorenz
Julius Viktor Berger (Austrian Artist / Alma's Mother's 1st Lover)
Manon Gropius (Alma's 3rd Daughter)
Hulda Reserl (Chambermaid / Kokoschka's Mistress)
Anton Webern (Composer / Schoenberg's 1st Student / Alma's 4th Editor)
Rupert Koller (Anna Mahler's 1st Husband)
Gladwyn Kingsley Noble (American Herptologist / Kammerer's Critic)
Franz von Papen (German Officlal / Alma's 2nd Party Attendee)
Egon Friedell (Austrian Philosopher / Cabaret Performer)
ALMA MARIA SCHINDLER MAHLER GROPIUS Christa Durand
Carl Moll (Austrian Artist / Alma's Mother's 2nd Lover / Alma's Stepfather)
Manon Auguste Pauline Scharnweber Gropius (Gropius's Mother)
Marie Theienemann Hauptmann (Hauptman's Wife)
Madame M (Mahler's Lover)
Igor Stravinsky (Russian Composer / Mahler's Critic)
Franz Schreker (German Composer / Alma's 2nd Suitor)
Kokoschka Doll-Party Police Officer I
Maid (To Manon, in Alma's Employ)
Brunner Arbeitzeitung (Anti-Alma Newspaper Reporter) III
Carl Zuckmayer (German Writer / Alma's 1st Party Attendee)
ALMA MARIA SCHINDLER MAHLER GROPIUS WERFEL Jill Wagoner
Anna Sophie Bergen Schindler (German Soprano / Alma's Mother)
Otto Mahler (Austrian Composer / Mahler's Younger Brother)
Pauline Strauss (German Soprano / Richard Strauss's Wife)
Doctor (Delivering Martin Carl Johannes Werfel)
Kokoschka Doll-Party Attendee I
Gropius's Prostitute Police Officer I
Maurice Ravel (French Composer / Alma's 2nd Soiree Attendee)
Dmitri Shostakovich (Russian Composer / Alma's 5th Editor)
GUSTAV MAHLER (Austrian Composer / Alma's 1st Husband) Mark Alburger
Hermine Moos (German Avant-Garde Puppet Maker / Artist)
Alban Berg (Composer / Schoenberg's 2nd Student / Alma's 3rd Soiree Attendee / Editor)
Adolf Hitler (German Nazi-Party Leader)
Nazi II (Storm-Trooper / Border Guard / Negotiator)
WALTER GROPIUS (German Architect / Alma's 2nd Husband) Jamie Samantha Lee
Crown Prince Rudolf (Alma's Father's Employer)
Oma Bergen (Alma's Grandmother)
Geza Zichy (Hungarian One-Armed Pianist-Composer/ Mahler's Rival)
Max Burckhard (Austrian Theatre Director / Alma's 1st Lover)
Arnold Schoenberg (Austrian Composer / Alma's 1st Soiree Attendee / 2nd Editor)
Bruno Walter (German Conductor / Mahler's 1st Colleague)
Richard Strauss (German Composer / Mahler's 2nd Colleague)
Felix Muhr (Artist / Alma's 2nd Admirer)
Jean Sibelius (Finnish Composer / Mahler's 4th Colleague)
Auguste Rodin (French Sculptor)
Arturo Toscanini (Italian Conductor / Mahler's 2nd Associate)
Paul Kammerer (Austrian Biologist / Alma's 7th Lover)
Kokoschka Doll-Party Attendee II
Paul Zsolnay (Austro-Hungarian Publisher / Anna's 3rd Husband)
Johannes Hollnsteiner (Austrian Theologian / Alma's 9th Lover)
Heinrich Bruening (Chancellor of Weimar Germany)
Brunner Arbeitzeitung (Anti-Alma Newspaper Reporter) IV / Nazi I
OSKAR KOKOSCHKA (Austrian Artist / Alma's 8th Lover) Jacqueline Goldgorin
Gustav Klimt (Austrian Artist / Alma's 2nd Lover)
Margarethe Julie Schindler (Alma's 1st Half-Sister)
Maria Moll Eberstaller (Alma's 2nd Half-Sister)
Maria Anna "Putzi" Mahler (Alma's 1st Daughter)
Sigmund Freud (Austrian Neurologist / Mahler's Psychoanalyst)
Gropius's Prostitute
Francis Poulenc (French Composer / Alma's 3rd Soiree Attendee)
Adolf von Zsolnay (Austrian Honorary Consul General / Paul Zsolnay's Father)
Elias Canetti (Bulgarian-German Writer / Alma's 2nd Critic)
Brunner Arbeitzeitung (Anti-Alma Newspaper Reporter) I
FRANZ WERFEL (Austrian Writer / Alma's 3rd Husband) Harriet March Page
Emil Jakob Schindler (Austrian Artist / Alma's Father)
Alexander von Zemlinsky (Composer / Alma's 2nd Teacher / 3rd Lover)
Gerhart Hauptmann (German Writer / Alma's 1st Admirer)
Carl Goldmark (Austro-Hungarian Composer / Mahler's 3rd Colleague)
Gustave Charpentier (French Composer / Alma's 5th Lover)
Enrico Caruso (Italian Tenor / Mahler's 1st Associate)
Joseph Fraenkel (Austro-American Neurologist / Alma's 1st Suitor)
Siegfried Ochs (German Composer / Alma's 3rd Suitor)
Kokoschka Doll-Party Police Officer II
Gropius's Prostitute Police Officer II
Ernst Krenek (Composer / Anna's 2nd Husband / Alma's 1st Critic / 1st Editor)
Albrecht Joseph (German-American Theatre / Film Director)
Anna Sophie Bergen Schindler Moll
ALMA DOPPELGANGER PIANIST Feona Lee Jones
Josef Labor (Austrian Composer / Alma's 1st Teacher)
Ossip Gabrilowitsch (Russian-American Pianist / Alma's 6th Lover)
ORCHESTRA
FLUTE / PICCOLO Alan Kingsley
Bb / A CLARINET Peter Brown
BASSOON Michael Garvey
C / Bb TRUMPET Michael Cox
HORN Bob Satterford
PIANO Feona Lee Jones
VIOLIN Jonathan Ho
CELLO Robin Reynolds
CONDUCTOR Mark Alburger
The opera tropes multiple musics from Bedrich Smetana and Gustav Mahler to Arnold Schoenberg, Leonard Bernstein, and George Crumb -- including orchestrations of Alma Mahler's Five Songs (1910)
***
Wow! What a run! And the best performance yet,
on
the
168th
day
of
summer,
high again 86
(112 days 80+ --
Walnut Creek, 74), ending with a third page of orchestration for The Great Widow (Alma, Part II), Op.255: LXXXV. 1963 - Igor Stravinsky / Walter Gropius / Oskar Kokoschka (Photo IX)...
