The soprano Naomi Beeldens is presenting her own interpretation of La Voix humaine by the French composer Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) on the basis of a written work by Jean Cocteau (1889-1963). 

In this monologue in the form of a telephone conversation, a woman makes a final attempt to win back her beloved. She creates a web of words – fearful, yearning, hysterical – as a safety net in her struggle for survival in the looming void. The gradual realisation that her lover has made an irrevocable choice for someone else drives her to despair, until the connection is literally broken off.
The stage is designed as a mind-map in which the props and chalked lines are the only remaining tangible evidence of a lost relationship. In an obscure, film-like space, the woman seems to be staging her own death and in an endless repetition tries obsessively to keep her love alive. In the background, a female dancer represents the absent lover. The pianist and composer Jeroen Malaise assists Naomi in her interpretation and performance of Poulenc’s unique score, and the director Wouter Van Looy coaches her in her distracted monologue.

Credits

  • Composition • Francis Poulenc
  • Text • Jean Cocteau
  • Concept | Vocals • Naomi Beeldens
  • Direction | Scenography • Wouter Van Looy
  • Lighting design • Peter Quasters
  • Costumes • Lotte Stek
  • Piano • 
  • Dance • Azahara Ubera
Location Dates Hour  
Liers Cultuurcentrum (Lier)
+32 34 88 06 79
www.lierscultuurcentrum.be
6/5/2017
20:15