"La voix humaine" - "Die menschliche Stimme"
Im Rahmen der Zusammenarbeit der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf,
Robert Schumann Hochschule und Deutsche Oper am Rhein
zur Eröffnung des Rungangs an der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.
© Renata Jaworska VG Bild-Kunst
Sopran:
Sandra Burchartz
Inszenierung:
David Walsh
Musik:
Prof. Thomas Gabrisch
Stage design:
Renata Jaworska (Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Klasse immendorff)
La voix humaine (English: The Human Voice) is a forty-minute, one-act opera for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. The work is based on the play of the same name by Jean Cocteau, who, along with French soprano Denise Duval, worked closely with Poulenc in preparation for the opera's premiere. Poulenc's tragédie lyriquewas first performed at the Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique in Paris on 6 February 1959, with Duval singing the female role and Georges Pretre conducting; the scenery, costumes and direction were by Cocteau.
The libretto consists of a woman's last phone conversation with her lover, who now loves someone else. During the call, the woman reveals that she has attempted suicide because her lover has abandoned her.
The work has been frequently revived. Sopranos from France, other continental European countries, the UK and the US have performed the solo role, and several of them, beginning with Duval, have recorded it.
Aula der Kunstakademie Düssldorf
