The third edition of the Zagreb Opera Festival also featured a solo piece for soprano and piano. Francis Poulenc’s The Human Voice, composed in 1958, is based on Jean Cocteau’s one-act play from 1930. Cocteau directed and designed the set for the opera’s premiere himself. The story unfolds during a phone conversation between a woman (referred to only as She) and her former lover, who is leaving her for another. The telephone connection, serving as an intermediary between them, is repeatedly interrupted by noise and disconnection, underscoring their physical distance and the emotional rift that now separates them.
Francis Poulenc was a member of Les Six, a French group of composers who sought a new French aesthetic in contrast to the subtlety of Impressionism and the philosophical symbolism of Wagnerian tradition. The music of Poulenc’s The Human Voice vividly portrays the heroine’s emotional states, ranging from jealousy, denial and rage to anxiety, self-pity, nostalgic reminiscence, and ultimately, attempted suicide. At the same time, the piano accompaniment acts as another participant in the opera’s unfolding.
The Zagreb Opera Festival production of The Human Voice is staged by the distinguished Croatian dramaturge Sanja Ivić.
