Anne Frank died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Zef, an Albanian boy from our time, is the victim of a blood feud. They meet in heaven and discover that despite cultural differences, they have much in common. Anne is a writer, Zef likes to act. Both sometimes have problems with their parents. They talk about their lives and get closer to each other as a result.
That is in short the story of the compelling youth opera Anne & Zef . Anne is sung by the Dutch-Iranian soprano Lilian Farahani (1990), baritone Benjamin de Wilde (1994) takes on the role of Zef. The music is played by musicians from the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra | Netherlands Chamber Orchestra conducted by Huba Hölloköi.
Playwright Ad de Bont wrote the libretto for this opera, basing it on his successful play Anne and Zef . The starting point for this was Anne Frank's diary. The Dutch composer Monique Krüs wrote the music. The director is Corina van Eijk: 'Both children were locked up until they died. But they meet in absolute freedom: the afterlife. We want to show that little has changed since Anne Frank. There are still people locked up in places we don't know about. There are no news reports about that, those facts only come to light years later. Thanks to Anne Frank, we know a lot more about life during the Second World War. It is not a light subject, but the compelling music that has been specially composed for the young singers makes it clear Anne & Zef is both an exciting and heartwarming performance.'
Suitable for lower secondary education and children from 12 years and adults. Anne & Zef is commissioned by Nedpho and a production by Nedpho and Opera Spanga.
