Five Encores for Alberstein’s Self-Charged, Rich Tones

Israeli singer Chava Alberstein came on stage at UCLA’s Royce Hall Thursday with no fancy production frills. No light show, no sets, no electronics-loaded band.

Only her voice, her guitar, the percussion of Avi Agababa and the bass and guitar of Yaacov Segal.

And it was more than enough. Alberstein, a small woman with a wild halo of blond hair, was actually a package of coiled emotional energy.

Sometimes exploding with sheer, passionate intensity, she was equally capable of small moments of touching intimacy.

Alberstein’s richly varied program included songs in Hebrew, Yiddish and English. She introduced each with a warmly conversational explanation of its meaning. Often, while explaining a song’s lyrics, she used them to emphasize her deep commitment to peace and understanding.

But there was nothing tract-like or simplistic about Alberstein’s works. Her classic piece “Chad Gadya,” for example, transformed a children’s Passover tune into a penetrating illustration of the circularity of violence. And her song “Haotzar” (“The Treasure”) was a richly ironic description of the contradictions between love and freedom. She included works about relationships--between parent and child, for example--as well as humorous numbers, including an original, in English, about the pronunciation of her name.

Alberstein’s voice was a marvelous vehicle for this material, rich chest tones alternating with heady high notes and sweetly cooing, almost conversational gentleness.

Agababa and Segal supported her with symbiotic subtlety, and the audience, clearly recognizing the fact that they were hearing a significant international diva, responded with ovations that triggered no fewer than five encore songs.