Once again, the unforgettable hour.
In November of 1945, only a few months after the end of World War II, the British philosopher and diplomat, Isaiah Berlin, returned to his native Russia. A chance remark led to an introduction to the legendary poet Anna Akhmatova, living in a corner of the once splendid Fountain Palace in Leningrad. All that is known for sure is that the 35-year old Berlin entered Akhmatova’s flat at 3pm and left at 11 the following morning. The memoirs of the young philosopher speak of a night spent discussing authors and exiles. The poems and reminiscences of Akhmatova, 55-years old at the time of the encounter, testify to something considerably more momentous. As a result of her night spent with a foreign diplomat, Stalin himself denounced Akhmatova and removed all her privileges – she never published again until after his death. According to Akhmatova, the Cold War started that night – indeed, Winston Churchill made his famous Iron Curtain speech only a few months later. But equally important, that night inspired some of Akhmatova’s most moving love poetry and re-imagined Berlin as the Guest from the Future, a character in her masterwork, Poem Without a Hero.
Mel Marvin Composer
Jonathan Levi Libretto
David Chambers Director
David Levi Music Director
Gil Morgenstern Music Advisor
Darcy Scanlin Sets
Christopher Parry Lights
Alixandra Englund Costumes
Paul LaBarbera Soundscape
Lillian Sengpiehl Young Anna Akhmatova
Jonathan Hays Isaiah Berlin
Brian Jauhiainen Vladimir Orlov
Tracy Wise Mikhail Zoschenko
Daniel Okulitch Nikolai Gumilyov
Kathryn Friest Olga Sudhekina
Christopher O’Connor Vsevolod Knyazev
Scott Hogsed Andrei Zhdanov
Michaela Martens Anna Akhmatova
Vale Rideout Amadeo Modigliani
Gloria Parker Virginia Woolf
Vale Rideout Osip Mandelstam
Daniel Okulitch Lev Gumilyov
Tracy Wise Nikolai Punin
Gloria Parker Anna Arens
Kathryn Friest Irina Arens
Jan Opalach Josef Stalin
Christopher O’Connor Randolph Churchill
GUEST FROM THE FUTURE
DATE
2004
World premiere: World Premiere: July 23, 2004 Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College