(The Human Voice)
by Francis Poulenc
text by Jean Cocteau
soprano Leona Peleskova
directed by Riccardo Canessa
production by Teatro Diana OR.i.s.
Teatro Diana
June 19 H 21.00
timing 1 H
In 1958 French composer Francis Poulenc wrote a music version of La voix humaine, a tragédie lyrique by Jean Cocteau. He himself was author of the libretto, and the single-act “pièce” was presented for the first time at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique in Paris, performed by the soprano Denise Duval and with the orchestra direction by Georges Prêtre.
This “chamber” version for piano and voice of the pièce, as opposed to the orchestrated one, gives more importance to the original elements from the drama; the main character’s solitude goes from a sentimental affliction to an alienating illness.
