Ari Ben-Shabetai OH ALMA !
The sorrows of young Gustav A monodrama for Mezzo Soprano voice and Piano quartet
Notes on Performance There are two ways of performing the work. Either in a semi-staged format – with some acting, or in a concert performance. In the semi staged format, with a theatrical situation depicting the aging Alma Mahler in her salon. A large armchair is placed in the curve of the piano, a standard lamp slightly behind it, a small side table is placed on the far side of the armchair with a framed photograph of Gustav placed on it. Alma walks on to the stage just as the music begins and sits in the armchair. As the music progresses she may stand up' walk around, pick up the photograph, and generally acts as she brings up memories of her long gone husband. The String players should be place to the side and slightly behind the pianist. In the concert version, the piano quartet is seated on stage in the conventional way, and the singer should be standing centered in a meter or two in front of them. Program notes The work is conceived as a mono drama, with Alma Mahler re-living some of the moments in her life as the wife of Gustav Mahler. Having been unfaithful to him in the scandalous affair she conducted with Walter Gropius, Gustav Mahler gallantly forgave her and begun bombarding her with love letters and poetry of his own. It is this fine poetry written by Gustav Mahler, as well as some of his love letters addressed to Alma and a short excerpt from Goete's Werther which are the text sources set to music in this work. Often, quotations from Mahler's own music are "fitted" to his own texts, while these are intertwines with original music by Ari Ben-Shabetai. The work ends with the words "…Only you know the true meaning of this all… farewell my love…" – these were found scribbled in Mahler's own hand on his copy of the unfinished 10th Symphony, which is also famous for it's "Catastrophe" dissonant chord – quoted in the last song.