Organization

Stage director

Marcus Shields

Conductor

Lisa Keller

Pianist

Singer

Soprano

Ruby Dibble

The woman

Translator

Matthieu Cognet

Curtis Institute of Music

Orchestra

Curtis Symphony Orchestra

French

La Voix humaine -  (The Human Voice)

Philadelphia

United States

Curtis Opera Theatre

Black Box Theater

Public

The Human Voice

English

Approved

La Voix humaine Poulenc

Mezzo-soprano Ruby Dibble stars as “Elle” (“She”) in composer Francis Poulenc’s gripping, one-woman monodrama, La voix humaine. Adapted from Jean Cocteau’s iconic play, this intimate “musical confession” is a searing, psychological portrait of a woman slowly unraveling over the course of an anguished 45-minute phone call. Led by acclaimed visual artist and opera director Marcus Shields and featuring the piano accompaniment of master opera coach Lisa Keller, this devastating one-act opera will be presented in Curtis’s Black Box Theater.

Confronted with a truth she is unwilling to acknowledge, Elle teeters on the brink of sanity as her lover of the last five years reveals he is to marry another woman the following day. As grief gives way to denial and rage, she attempts to keep him on the line for as long as possible to postpone the inevitable last goodbye. This intimate production explores the illusion of connection and over-reliance on technology in the modern world through timeless themes of isolation, loneliness, heartbreak, and despair.

The Human Voice by Poulenc, From (2023/2023), Directed by Marcus Shields,, Conductor Lisa Keller, Curtis Opera Theatre, Philadelphia, United States

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues