Gilded Age Femme Fatale Alma Mahler Comes to Life at The Sembrich

The Sembrich will present “Alma Mahler and Her Charmed Circle” on Wednesday, July 19 at 2 pm. Audience members will discover the life and inspirations of turn-of-the-century muse and femme fatale, Alma Mahler in this entertaining cabaret revue featuring Robert Osborne, bass-baritone and Tammy Hensrud, mezzo-soprano. “Alma Mahler and Her Charmed Circle” will illuminate this remarkable yet overlooked musical trailblazer through a broad array of art songs, cabaret tunes, satirical songs, and vocal duets interspersed with brief selections from Mahler’s own diaries and correspondence.

“Alma Mahler is often remembered for her role as a socialite and her marriage to composer Gustav Mahler,” says Artistic Director Richard Wargo. “However, Mahler was also a composer, author, editor, and indeed a colleague and friend of Marcella Sembrich. This presentation serves to illuminate and uncover the many remarkable achievements of this trailblazing musical and literary personality.”

From the explosively creative milieu of early 20th-century Vienna to her final days in her New York City apartment, a rich portrait emerges, placing Alma Mahler at the center of a dazzling array of friends, lovers, and spouses — Kokoschka, Klimt, Korngold, Berg, Zemlinsky, Bernstein, Schoenberg, and so many others.

Following the performance, The Sembrich will host a Viennese tea sponsored by Harney & Sons Fine Teas and Sunrise Café (Bolton Landing).

Tickets for this event can be purchased via phone at (518) 644-2431 or online at TheSembrich.org/festival.