Groupmuse: The Human Voice – A World Premiere
$10+ donation, RSVP required
Natalia Pavlova, soprano
Igor Stepanitch, piano
Francis Poulenc – La voix humaine ("The Human Voice")
La voix humaine ("The Human Voice", after Jean Cocteau) is an experimental film concert, created and performed by Natalia Pavlova during the complete lock down this summer at her apartment in Rome. The video on the screen that serves as the backdrop of her performance was made on the rooftop of her building, a special place where it was possible to walk freely and breath in the fresh air during this time... (as it was not possible to walk on the street without special permission).
The opera The Human Voice was composed by Francis Poulenc for Maria Callas – although the great singer would never go on to perform it; during the final two years of her life, Maria never left her Paris apartment, and it is said she would frequently listen to her own recordings and sing along at full volume, forming a duet with her own voice.
"The sole role in The Human Voice depicts a young, elegant woman who has been abandoned by her lover. The entire play consists of a telephone conversation with this lover who has left her.”
-Poulenc, in the preface to the score.
The telephone is the only thing that still connects a single woman with life; when the telephone falls out of her hands, she falls by herself, alone...
Coincidently, Pedro Almodóvar was filming his short film The Human Voice around the same time this year, as if there was a telepathic connection between the two artists.
Natalia Pavlova would like to dedicate this work to Maria Callas, as well as to all artists today who are unable to go on stage and share their talents due to our current global situation.
The livestream will take place at 2pm Eastern / 11am Pacific.
RSVP for details/livestream link.
$10+ minimum payment to musicians, $3 reservation fee.