Musicians' lives are a cabaret

For most performers, the phrase "all the world's a stage," just doesn't ring true. But for Jody Applebaum or Marc-Andre Hamelin, at least all the world can eventually listen to their concert this Sunday. The husband-wife team will perform "Masterpieces of Cabaret," not only for a University audience, but also for London-based Altarus Records -- which will release a compact-disc version of the concert around the world next year. The concert, which is being co-sponsored by the University's Music Department and will be held at the Church of the Saviour at 38th and Chestnut Streets, features classical music from different musical periods of the 20th century. But Applebaum quickly pointed out earlier this week that this concert differs from the more serious world of classical music concerts, using light-hearted numbers and audience participation. "We will be showing the true historical Cabaret with a capital 'C,' " the soprano soloist said. "Audience participation is extremely important. I won't just be standing there. I don't want the audience to have to sit primly with their hands folded in their laps." Instead, Applebaum and her award-winning pianist partner will expect the audience to laugh, giggle and clap. "I want the audience to relax and be ready to have a good time, because that's what I'm doing," she said. Applebaum said she hopes to attract many people from a broad spectrum of the University to the concert. Applebaum, who gives private voice lessons to several University students, often sings with both the University Choir and Choral Society and is a popular figure among many University performers. The show will consist of three cycles of cabaret songs that span the twentieth century: Arnold Schoenberg's Brettl-Lieder, Benjamin Britten's Cabaret Songs, and 1988 Pulitzer Prize Winner William Bolcom's Cabaret Songs. Only one of the cabaret performance cycles is currently available on compact disc. Applebaum said that by putting the three cycles together, she could produce a strong CD, both musically and historically. The concert focuses on the European, not the American, form of Cabaret. Historically, cabaret is an artistic and social activity that flourished in Europe from 1881 until the 1930s, when political crises stifled the freedom of thought, expression and innovation which characterize the art form, according to the show's program. Americans, Applebaum contends, reinvented the form without much knowledge of European cabaret. As a result, the American form is only the lowest of a highly specialized musical genre. "Because it is not performed often, the audience will be in for a unique experience," Applebaum assured. The concert begins at 4 p.m. The cost of admission is $7.50.

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