''The Cave'' is a multimedia

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

in three acts by

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

to an English

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by his wife

Beryl Korot Beryl Korot (born September 17, 1945) is an American video artist. Biography Beryl Korot has pioneered the field of video art since the early 1970s. She was co-editor of ''Radical Software'' (1970), the first publication to discuss the possibiliti ...

. It was first performed in 1993 in Vienna by the Steve Reich Ensemble, conducted by

Paul Hillier Paul Douglas Hillier OBE (born 9 February 1949) is an English conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in both early and contemporary classical music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He was a co-foun ...

. The title "The Cave" refers to The Cave of the Patriarchs in

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

, where

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

and

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

(and several other major religious figures) are buried. The Cave of the Patriarchs is of unusual interest in that it is a sacred place where Muslims, Jews and Christians pray. The music and a major part of the libretto in the opera is derived directly from, and includes spoken responses from, Israeli, Palestinian and American interviewees who were asked questions about the story of Abraham. The sound track also includes readings from the religious texts that detail the story of Abraham, and a recording of the ambient sound that is found in the ancient building that surrounds the sacred site. The opera uses recorded speech as a source for melodies, a technique that Steve Reich first used in the 1988 ''

Different Trains ''Different Trains'' is a three- movement piece for string quartet and tape written by Steve Reich in 1988. Background During World War II, Reich made train journeys between New York and Los Angeles to visit his parents, who had separated. Y ...

''.

Plot

The main narrative thread that runs through the opera is the story of the life of Abraham, as it is told in the various religious texts, and how this story is now understood and interpreted, using modern-day accounts by individual people from three different major religious and cultural contexts. During the individual interviews, Steve Reich and Beryl Korot asked questions such as "Who is Abraham?", "Who is Sarah?" and "Who is Ishmael?" and recorded answers that were given by Israeli, Palestinian and American interviewees. These three groups of people viewed the story of Abraham/Ibrahim and his immediate family in varying ways. Patriarch tomb

Brief spoken extracts from the interviews were used both as they were recorded during the interviews, but also as repeated musical phrases. The melodic phrases used in the opera are all taken directly from the intonation, tone, stress, and rhythm of the natural spoken phrases and sentences used by the individuals interviewed. In other words, the musical phrases are based on the prosody which can be heard in the phrases and sentences spoken by the individuals. Images of the interviewees are also shown on an array of video screens.

Act I

#Typing Music (Genesis XVI) #Who is Abraham? #Genesis XII #Who is Sarah? #Who is Hagar? #Typing Music Repeat #Who is Ishmael? #Genesis XVIII #Who is Isaac? #Genesis XXI #The casting out of Ishmael and Hagar #Machpelah Commentary #Genesis XXV (chanted in Hebrew from the Torah by Ephrim Isaac) #Interior of the Cave

Act II

#Surah 3 (chanted in Arabic from the Koran by Sheikh Dahoud Atalah, Muqri of Al-Aksa Mosque) #Who is Ibrahim? #Who is Hajar? #The near sacrifice #El Khalil Commentary #Interior of the cave

Act III

#Who is Abraham? #Who is Sarah? #Who is Hagar? #Who is Ishmael? #The Binding of Isaac #The Cave of Macpelah

Performers

* Vocal Quartet: 2 Sopranos, Tenor, Baritone * 2 reed players (flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bass clarinet) * 4 percussionists (vibraphone, marimbaphone, bass drum, kick bass drums, claves) * 3 keyboard players (piano, sampler, computer keyboards) * String quartet (2 violins, viola, cello)Information on boosey.com
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References

External links

* Review on Allmusicbr>Two interviews with Steve Reich
by Bruce Duffie; The second (from November, 1995) has a long discussion about ''The Cave'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cave, The Operas by Steve Reich Multiple-language operas Multimedia operas Operas 1994 operas Operas based on the Bible Minimalist operas