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La Voix Humain poster

The famous one-act opera by Francis Poulenc and Jean Cocteau

Dates
Tuesday 20 June 2023
Wednesday 21 June 2023
Thursday 22 June 2023
6:00 pm

Teatro José Rubén Romero
Calle de Santiago Tapia S/N
Centro Histórico
58000 Morelia, Mich.

La voix humaine (English: The Human Voice) is a forty-minute, one-act opera for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. The work is based on the play of the same name by Jean Cocteau, who, along with French soprano Denise Duval, worked closely with Poulenc in preparation for the opera's premiere.

Poulenc's tragédie lyrique was first performed at the Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique in Paris on 6 February 1959, with Duval as the solo singer and Georges Prêtre conducting; the scenery, costumes and direction were by Cocteau.

The libretto consists of a woman's last phone conversation with her lover, who now loves someone else. During the call, the woman reveals that she has attempted suicide because her lover has abandoned her.