My Life with Albertine (2003 Original Off-Broadway Cast)

Ricky Ian Gordon (Artist), Richard Nelson (Artist), Emily Skinner (Artist), Brent Carver (Artist), Chad Kimball (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 7, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: P.S. Classics
• ASIN: B0000C23I6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,541 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Bright New Broadway Composer, February 15, 2004

By 

Chrissy1018 (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Life with Albertine (2003 Original Off-Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

I'm a great fan of Broadway music in general, but most particularly of the more artistic (as opposed to commercial) composers, such as the new generation of artists know as the "Post-Sondheim Composers," which include Adam Guettel, Jason Robert Brown, Michael John La Chiusa and Ricky Ian Gordon. I came to know and very much enjoy Gordon's work with the CD BRIGHT EYED JOY, and if you're looking for an introduction to his music I'd suggest starting there rather than with this CD.

MY LIFE WITH ALBERTINE is the first musical by Gordon I've heard. The singing is good, not stellar, but enjoyable. There are a few songs here that I love to listen to, including the lovely soprano ballads "Is It Too Late?" (reprised by the tenor lead) and "If It Is True." There are a few songs, such as the more odd/perky "Ferret Song," that I find a bit annoying. A lot of the music takes on more a narrative tone, making them less self-contained out of the context of the score. While I enjoy music from Broadway show because it tells a story, I still think that a really great song should be able to stand alone, yet be enhanced within the context of the story, and such is not always the case here. However, one piece that is particularly impressive is "The Letters" in which friends of the lovers advise them what to write to one another. It's one of those great ensemble songs that has everyone singing over one another (think Sondheim's "Now Later Soon" from A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC).

Overall, I think this is an interesting CD for those who are great collectors of musical theater as a whole and enjoy discovering obscure productions or up-and-coming composers. But for the average Broadway listener whose tastes run to Andrew Lloyd Webber or Disney musicals, this might not appeal as much.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and deeply expressive music, November 2, 2003

By 

Nancy (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Life with Albertine (2003 Original Off-Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

"My Life with Albertine" is about a man who tries in old age to make sense of a tragic first love affair. As he takes us through the story, we see Albertine and Marcel (the Narrator as a young man) mature to the point that their love becomes stronger than their need to retain control within the relationship. The musical deals with the difficulty of creating a real bond with another person when you can never really know who they are or what they are thinking. How do you bridge that gap? Composer Ricky Ian Gordon bridges it with melodies whose broad arching lines express the passionate longing we are all born with: to connect with, to love another human being. The long vocal line is one of the important unifying elements in this gorgeous score.

Because Marcel sees Albertine only through the lens of his own need and desire, he is unable to grasp the whole person behind her apparently inconsistent behavior ("The Different Albertines"). That there is a unified person behind the changing appearances is indicated by the descending minor third Gordon uses whenever her name is sung. Albertine may be a mystery to Marcel, but the songs Gordon gives her to sing help us recognize her `transformations' as natural stages in her development from child to mature woman. The first of these is represented by the "Ferret Song." On the surface this is a simple and charming children's chant, but the slightly dissonant accompaniment suggests that Albertine is self-consciously prolonging her last days of childhood innocence. In "My Soul Weeps," Albertine tries to share with Marcel the adolescent melancholy that distresses her (again the long arching vocal line), but all Marcel can do is try to kiss her, to her great disgust. Some months later, having apparently been initiated into [intercourse] in the interim, Albertine sleeps with Marcel. Having had what he wanted, he discards her. Disappointed in Marcel, Albertine tries forging connections with women, transforming "My Soul Weeps" into a desperate tango.

When Albertine and Marcel once again try to live together they find it difficult to reveal their true feelings to each other ("What [I] think is, don't hurt me, don't leave me, don't lie to me, but what I say is, kiss me"). The audience can recognize Albertine's growing cynicism when she sings the raucous "I Need Me a Girl" (the men and women she describes all "need" a girl but treat that girl as a thing), but Marcel reacts by locking her up in his Paris apartment. Soon the lovers are unable to say anything at all (reprise of "But What I Say"), leaving Marcel to be consumed by his own jealous imaginings. At last, unable to tolerate Marcel's suspicion and possessiveness, Albertine runs away from him. In her farewell letter, she tells him that she leaves him her "best part, my heart," but he is unable to recognize the truth of that. In his sexual jealousy, Marcel initiates an escalating battle of words ("The Letters") that ends only when they both realize that being apart is more painful than the sacrifices they must make to stay together. Marcel at last gives up his claim of ownership ("I beg you to come home. I make no conditions"), while Albertine gives up her autonomy ("whatever you decide, I shall abide by your decision"). But before Albertine can return to him, she is killed in a fall from her horse.

"Albertine's Last Letter" reaches Marcel just after the news of her death. This song is sung by Albertine when the musical opens and again toward the end by the Narrator and it is typical of both the skill and the depth of feeling that Ricky Ian Gordon brings to this work. The characteristic arching vocal line for the opening words "Is it too late for me to return to you?" extends for a full measure longer than one expects it to, suggesting Albertine's willingness to go the extra mile to bridge the gap between herself and Marcel. Throughout the song, the orchestration expresses her changing emotions so clearly that they seem to be living in the listener's own heart. We hear both her hope and longing and also her nervous fear as she steels herself for possible rejection right through to the wonderful diminished triad that ends the voice line, creating a painful sense of uncertainty even while the harmonies underneath are trying to resolve it.

The songs mentioned above are primarily those that mark Albertine's development. Others represent the various settings: the seaside resort where the lovers first meet ("Balbec by the Sea," which sounds as if it was inspired by Poulenc at his most frivolous), drawing room society in Paris ("Talk about the Weather")¸ and the bordello demi-monde of Albertine's lesbian friends ("I Want You"). But best of all is Gordon's contribution to the centuries-old tradition of songs based on street vendors' cries in which Marcel imagines Albertine's name being cried out, like the artichokes and periwinkles, as if she too were for sale on "The Street."

"My Life with Albertine" is not for people who prefer simple stories and melodies on the lines of Kum ba yah. But it repays repeated and thoughtful listening with some of the most subtle and satisfying delights that musical story-telling can deliver.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solidarity with Eric Glover!, January 15, 2005

By 

Helluva Godtime - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Life with Albertine (2003 Original Off-Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

I rarely make decisions about whether or not to see a show or a movie, read a book or listen to a CD based on critical response, but sadly, I made one fatal error-I skipped "My Life with Albertine", Ricky Ian Gordon and Richard Nelson's beautiful adaptation of the Albertine sections of Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" at Playwright's Horizon, simply because it got mostly negative reviews. To this day, almost two years later, I kick myself every time I listen to the cast album.

Brent Carver is chilling as Proust, and Chad Kimball is very good as Young Marcel. Kelli O'Hara is a real find as Albertine. Her "If It Is True" is one of the best musical theatre compositions this side of Sondheim. Uberdiva Emily Skinner stuns as Mlle. Lea, a sassy lesbian chanteuse. Ever since we saw "Side Show" in 1997, I've had a major crush on her, and my wife has hated her guts (just kidding!). The rest of the cast is also splendid.

As the title of my review suggests, I agree 100% with Eric Glover, soon to be musical theatre critic extraordinaire. Anybody who can't see the beauty in this marvelous show is not only deaf, but blind.