Arianna Zukerman to Perform Whitbourn's ANNELIES, 4/26

Soprano Arianna Zukerman returns to her hometown in April 2014 to sing the New York City premiere of James Whitbourn's celebrated oratorio at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Annelies, the first major choral setting of the writings of the world's most famous teenager, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl will also include clarinetist Bharat Chandra, the Lincoln Trio, The Westminster Williamson Voices, and conductor James Jordan. The concert is presented by Daniel Schwartz of Schwartz Arts & Entertainment.

Ms. Zukerman is also the featured soloist in the Grammy nominated (Best Choral Performance) critically acclaimed January 2013 Naxos release of Annelies, The recording includes her colleagues in the April 26 Lincoln Center concert, which also marks the first time this group has performed the work together since making the CD. The Guardian (UK) praised Ms. Zukerman's performance on the CD¸ stating, "Arianna Zukerman sings with subdued beauty."

"This is timeless music, setting extracts from the diaries of Anne Frank. ...for me it joins Britten's War Requiem and Tippett's A Child of our Time as a major work bewailing the inhumanity of twentieth-century man to man, though it's very different in tone from either of them. The music is uplifting, yet never in such a way as to draw attention to itself from the words of Anne Frank - with one brief exception, describing the fate of the family, everything here comes from her. Performances are exemplary." -MusicWeb International

"...soprano Arianna Zukerman sings with a supremely controlled tone that never strays from pure beauty, but sublimely imparts the contrast of isolation vs. devotion and buoyant hopefulness." - The Whole Note

Ms. Zukerman, who sang the chamber version premiere of Annelies in The Hague, Netherlands in 2009, is herself the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, and is deeply committed to ensuring the stories of the victims continue to be told. She has since performed the oratorio several times around the country, including at Chicago's Harris Theatre (presented under the auspices of the US Holocaust Museum's 20th anniversary year) this past June.

Ms. Zukerman, considered one of the premiere vocal artists of her generation, is renowned for her pure, luminous, rich soprano, persuasive performances and dramatic ability. An international artist in demand for concert and opera performances, Ms. Zukerman is also an avid chamber musician, and regularly collaborates with some of today's foremost chamber players. The Washington Post has acclaimed, "Arianna Zukerman possesses a remarkable voice that combines the range, warmth and facility of a Rossini mezzo with shimmering, round high notes and exquisite pianissimos that would make any soprano jealous."