Beyond the Human Voice: Francis Poulenc's Psychological Drama La Voix humaine (1958)
Description:
Francis Poulenc's one-character opera La Voix humaine (1958), a setting of the homonymous play by Jean Cocteau, explores the psychological complexities of an unnamed woman as she experiences the end of a romantic relationship. During the forty-minute work, she sings in a declamatory manner into a telephone, which serves as a sign of the unrevealed man at the other end. Poulenc uses musical motives to underscore the woman's changing emotional states as she recalls her past relationship. The musi…
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Date:
May 2000
Creator:
Beard, Cynthia C.