Organization

Singer

Soprano

Ekaterina Levental

The woman

Stage director

Chris Koolmees

Pianist

Yoram Ish-Hurwitz

Tekst

Jean Cocteau

Jibbe Willems

Geluidsopname Piano

Bert van Dijk

Sound designer

Opera2day

French

LA VOIX HUMAINE EN QUARANTAINE

Sittard

Netherlands

Schouwburg De Domijnen

LA VOIX HUMAINE EN QUARANTAINE: La Voix humaine Poulenc

Public

The Human Voice

Dutch

Approved

OPERA2DAY, LEKS compagnie & Classical NOW presented a moving and - due to the corona pandemic - very topical solo by mezzo-soprano and performer Ekaterina Levental: La Voix Humaine en Quarantaine

Lonely in her room, a woman has a live video chat with her ex - he will be getting married to another woman the next day. She is desperate and makes one last attempt to mend the rift between them. He is weak. He's lying. She knows that. Inevitably, she heads for the loss of her relationship.

Who could have thought of predictive value for the future when the French all-rounder Jean Cocteau wrote La voix humaine in 1928 : a timeless, ultimate farewell letter in the form of a telephone conversation. Francis Poulenc adapted this intense stage monologue into an opera in one act in 1959, and the piece has graced the repertoire of many companies. Some years ago, the music theater company LEKS developed La voix humaine – Facetime , a staging that adds an entirely new dimension to this classic, namely the individual who becomes detached from society as a whole, in a dangerous game with ever-changing truths. The phone from the original version was replaced by a webcam.

OPERA2DAY asked LEKS company to adapt their adaptation of La Voix Humaine to the current developments in the Covid-19 crisis. The fact fitted wonderfully in the year of social distancing and quarantine. In this version, the text Spiug by Jibbe Willems was incorporated as a prologue, specially written for the corona time on behalf of Theatergroep Oostpool for their video program Troostpool. This text about a young woman yearning for her lover was first performed on stage in La Voix Humaine en Quanrantaine .

English

LA VOIX HUMAINE EN QUARANTAINE by Poulenc, From (2021/2021), Directed by Chris Koolmees,, Schouwburg De Domijnen, Sittard, Netherlands

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

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