On August 19, the Festival presents the New Mexico premiere of a powerful new stage work by Artistic Director Marc Neikrug, which features a visionary production designed and directed by Doug Fitch.
by Amy Hegarty
An image of Doug Fitch’s design for Marc Neikrug’s A Song by Mahler. Courtesy of Doug Fitch.
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano. Photo by Fay Fox.
A love song by Gustav Mahler is at the center of composer and Festival Artistic Director Marc Neikrug’s new stage work, A Song by Mahler. “Liebst du um Schönheit” (“If You Love for the Sake of Beauty”), from Mahler’s Rückert Lieder, is “a key element to the drama,” Mr. Neikrug says, and, as it “embodies the message of love as an aspiration, a self-embodied posture, and a state of being,” speaks to the emotional core of the work as well.
A Song by Mahler centers on the changing realities of two characters: “a concertizing singer who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s” and her husband, “who is also her accompanist,” Mr. Neikrug writes in a program note. The work—which features the talents of mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, baritone Kelly Markgraf, clarinetist David Shifrin, and the FLUX Quartet—“is not an attempt at documenting the myriad aspects of the disease,” he says. Instead, it’s “an attempt to address the specific emotional evolution of this couple, touching on their love and their particular relationship to music.”
Clarinetist David Shifrin. Photo by Yuki Tei.
“Liebst du um Schönheit,” which Mahler wrote for his wife, Alma, is a song the singer in this work is especially known for—it’s the last, signature encore she performs at the end of her concerts—and to give audiences some insight into the song itself and into what it means to the singer personally, Mr. Neikrug has her teach it in a master class early in the story.
This idea of a last encore is one of the “several elements that converged” in Mr. Neikrug’s thinking and “provided the initial creative impulse for this work,” he says. In addition to being a composer, Mr. Neikrug is a renowned pianist who famously toured the world as the recital partner of violinist Pinchas Zukerman. One source of inspiration, he says, “was the simple fact that, for 35 years, Pinchas and I finished our recitals with a last encore, which became associated with our concert experience.” Another personal inspiration, he says, was that he had “a good friend who had once been a singer and became a victim of Alzheimer’s.”
Baritone Kelly Markgraf. Photo by Laura Rose.
A Song by Mahler is the third work Mr. Neikrug has written in a genre he describes as “a combination of theater and music.” The text in this work has both spoken and sung sections, and “the singing,” Mr. Neikrug says, “is felt as a heightened emotional level, beyond which speaking would suffice.” While composing, he adds, “I saw a way of furthering my exploration of music and theater with how the piece could be constructed.”
Joining Mr. Neikrug in that exploration is longtime friend and collaborator Doug Fitch, who designed and directs the production. “In writing the text for A Song by Mahler,” Mr. Neikrug says, “I always considered the music that would come as well as the staging. I wanted a simple, self-contained production that could be sent to places in a box, so for that reason, I thought of Doug from the beginning. Doug,” he adds, “is an amazingly visionary, multitalented artist. I knew he would understand the dramatic thrust of the piece and could create the set in a way that would exceed my wishes and add a complementary, expanded, visual element.”
FLUX Quartet. Photo by Iannis Delatolas.
Storytelling is a major element in A Song by Mahler, as Mr. Neikrug is drawn to certain kinds of narratives. “I’m interested in stories that have a point of view, a message that I find important,” he says. His hope with this work is that its story and the ways in which it’s conveyed have an impact on concertgoers.
“I find the combination of concert music, for want of a better term, and theater to be extremely powerful,” Mr. Neikrug says. “When tied to a subject as profound as love and loss, I would hope that an audience would experience an intellectually and emotionally provoking evening, which would lead to a longer-lasting contemplation.”
PRE-CONCERT TALK AND NEW MEXICO PREMIERE
Thursday, August 19, 5 p.m.
The Lensic Performing Arts Center
Pre-concert Talk
Composer Marc Neikrug, Director and Designer Doug Fitch, and Lighting Designer Nicholas Houfek
Thursday, August 19, 6 p.m.
The Lensic Performing Arts Center
MARC NEIKRUG A Song by Mahler (2018; New Mexico Premiere)
Jennifer Johnson Cano, Mezzo-soprano
Kelly Markgraf, Baritone
David Shifrin, Clarinet
FLUX Quartet (Tom Chiu, violin; Conrad Harris, violin; Max Mandel, viola; Felix Fan, cello)
Doug Fitch, Director and Designer
Nicholas Houfek, Lighting Designer
