Opera Allsorts
LA VOIX HUMAINE
A mix of tidbits and tales about Poulenc's emotional monodrama
ONE ACT WITH DROPPED CALLS The opera La Voix humaine was originally based on a single act play by Jean Cocteau, completed in 1928 and originally premiered in 1930. Cocteau’s intent was to create a drama refined to the most basic elements. The play lacks the act breaks that typically create story structure. Instead, the structure is only punctuated by the intermittent dropped connections in the sole character’s phone call.
A CALLAS CONNECTION Composer Francis Poulenc adapted Cocteau’s play into an opera in 1958 after the success of his second opera Dialogues des Carmélites (1957). Legendary soprano Maria Callas was initially suggested to him for the role of Elle, but Poulenc had another singer in mind.
FRANCIS POULENC AND JEAN COCTEAU
16
| LA VOIX HUMAINE
