"Having seen Ms. Pechstein's remarkable performance... we are proud and honored to have been part of such a moving and artistically superb enterprise. This production... is not only musically affecting and provocative. It also sheds a new light on the Diary..."
Bernhard von der Planitz, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, New York City
"Pechstein masterfully conveyed Anne's transformation from wide-eyed, ecstatic birthday girl to... somber young woman... Her portrayal of Frank was deeply affecting, revealing an understanding of Frank both as a young woman and as an extraordinary symbol... Anne Frank felt much shorter than its hour length, swiftly taking the audience through twenty-one scenes and nearly as many emotions."
Alicia Zuckerman, Opera News Online
"[B]y the time the hour had passed in which one brilliant young soprano with rare acting ability had dazzled the audience with a knockout performance, we came to realize that Anne Frank fit the demands of the mono opera almost perfectly... Mr. Frid's 21 scenes are right out of the diary and the words that he selected for the stage lift the subject far above the standard fare...The dialogue among the ensemble players seems ideally intimate, in fact, exactly right... Encompass's Director and founder, Nancy Rhodes, once again led a production into a rarified atmosphere of excellence."
Barry Cohen, New Music Connoisseur
"Frid uses the monologue form with great skill to extend those portraits both verbally and musically... [Frid] has taken a book with which we are almost too familiar and reimagined it in an unlikely way, with results that restore much of the power of the original work."
George Robinson, The Jewish Week
In June 2004, Encompass New Opera Theatre’s acclaimed production of Russian composer Grigori Frid’s opera, The Diary of Anne Frank, honored her memory, in what would have been her 75th year, with four commemorative, sold-out performances at Cleveland Opera’s1,000-seat Ohio Theatre.
As a result, the production, directed by Nancy Rhodes, conducted by Sybille Werner, and starring Dunja Pechstein as Anne Frank, was one of three finalists for the 2004 Arts Awards of Achievement for Classical Music, by Northern Ohio Live, a prominent arts magazine.
Riding the wave of our phenomenal success with The Diary of Anne Frank we are taking the production on tour and are set to perform it in venues across the country and internationally. For booking info, contact Nancy Rhodes at 718-398-4675.
The Story of Anne Frank
During the Holocaust, Anne Frank, a 13-year-old Jewish
girl, hid in the attic of her father’s office building in Amsterdam
from 1942 to 1944. The space was shared by her family
and four others.
While in hiding, she kept a diary, a gift from her parents on her 13th birthday, of everyday life, the shared joys, the squabbles, and her hopes and fears.
After 25 months in "The Secret Annex," Anne and the others
were betrayed and sent to concentration camps. Nine months
later, Anne Frank
died at Bergen-Belson of Typhus. Her father, the only
family member to survive, later published the pages of
her diary.
The first edition of Anne Frank’s diary appeared in the Netherlands
in 1947. It has since been translated into 55 languages
and has sold 20 million copies. At the turn of the century, Time magazine
placed Anne Frank on its list of the "Hundred Personalities
of the 20th Century."
About The Diary of Anne Frank
Composer Grigori Frid read Anne Frank’s diary in 1969 and
began to write the libretto shortly thereafter. Using
excerpts from the
original
diary, Mr. Frid depicts episodes in the life of the young
girl. After two scheduled performances were canceled
because they coincided with Communist
Party meetings, he finally performed with only a piano
in 1972. The first full production took place in Kislovodsk
in 1977, and a year later, Mr.
Frid smuggled the score to an American lawyer, who arranged
a performance at the University of Syracuse. In 1991,
the opera was translated into
English and performed in Indianapolis; the German premiere
took place two years later. Since then, the opera has
been performed in Austria,
Sweden, and Switzerland. In May, 2001, Music Tales and
Encompass NewOpera Theatre produced the New York Premiere production
of Frid’s opera
at
Temple Israel, starring Dunja Pechstein, directed by Nancy Rhodes. An extended
engagement of Encompass’ production played the Connelly Theatre in Manhattan
from January 10 to February 3, 2002, and was recently presented at SuffolkCounty
Community College in October, 2003.
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