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~Annelies Information~
Portsmouth Pro Musica’s spring concerts feature major new work based on the life of Anne Frank
The compelling story of Anne Frank will be brought to life by Portsmouth Pro Musica this spring in a major new choral work titled “Annelies” by British composer James Whitbourn on April 8 and 9. “Annelies” (the full forename of Anne Frank) is a moving piece focusing on Anne Frank’s life during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during World War II.
The April 9 performance in Portsmouth will include a pre-concert talk by Professor Diane Freedman of the University of New Hampshire, focusing on how the life of Anne Frank has informed and inspired so many.
The first performance of “Annalies” will be held on Saturday, April 8 at 8 pm at the Star Theatre, 120 Rogers Road in Kittery, ME. The second performance will take place on Sunday, April 9 at 3 pm at Portsmouth Middle School, 155 Parrott Avenue in Portsmouth, NH. This performance will be preceded by a 2 pm talk by Professor Diane Freedman, and is included in the ticket price. Diane Freedman is a Professor of English and Core Faculty Member in Women’s Studies at UNH. She teaches courses including Literary Response to the Holocaust, Jewish-American Literature, Memoir and Autobiography, Women’s Writing and Contemporary American Literature. She is the author of Midlife with Thoreau: Poems, Essays, Journals (Hiraeth, 2015).
Advance tickets for both “Annalies” concerts are priced at $12 for adults and $10 for seniors/students. Tickets will also be available at the door for $15 adults and $12 seniors/students.
According to Priscilla Stevens French, Artistic Director of Portsmouth Pro Musica, “Annalies” was chosen because it offered the unique opportunity to present historic subject matter in a powerful twenty-first century piece. “Using texts from Anne Frank’s famous diary plus the Psalms, Lutheran prayers and German poems, the libretto was compiled by Melanie Challenger,” Ms. French explained. “The world premiere of this work occurred in April 2005 in London with the Choir of Clare College Cambridge and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin. Its U.S. premiere followed two years later. In 2014, Westminster Choir College Williamson Voices released a recording on NAXOS under the baton of James Jordan which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance in that year.”
“Annelies” is a 70-minute work and will be performed by the 50-member Portsmouth Pro Musica mixed chorus with a soprano soloist and chamber orchestra comprised of clarinet, violin, cello and piano.
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