Opera Scotland

Voix Humaine 2023Cumnock Tryst

Read more about the opera Voix Humaine

Cumnock Tryst, the festival now well-established in the home territory of Sir James MacMillan, is not usually associated with opera.  However this opening concert brought to Scotland the great soprano Danielle de Niese in a performance of Francis Poulenc's late monodrama La Voix Humaine.

The nameless lady, known simply as 'she', spends the duration of the work talking on the phone to her ex-lover, who, it seems, has not only dumped her, but is about to marry someone else. This being the 1920s, there are all sorts of technical problems involved in a forty minute phone call, and she shouts variously not just at her ex, but also at the operator and other phone users, the victims of crossed lines. At last it becomes clear that her ex-lover is scarcely listening, and certainly uncaring (and we get a fair idea of why that may have happened) as she prepares to end it all.

Jean Cocteau's play dates back to the 1920s and Poulenc's version to 1958.  It received its British premiere at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival, performed as part of a triple-bill by the Glyndebourne Festival company and presented Denise Duval, for whom the role was composed.  Since then it has been performed in Scotland by two wonderful artists in Elisabeth Söderström at the 1992 Edinburgh Festival, and Dame Felicity Lott (twice) with the RSNO. Glyndebourne later gave a second staging, in 1977 and only in Sussex, featuring the farewell performances by the great Graziella Sciutti.

With such strong Glyndebourne associations it is therefore entirely appropriate that Danielle de Niese should tackle the role - she is, after all, as Mrs Gus Christie, a resident of the house, with her family, and it would be entirely reasonable to expect the Festival to stage the piece.  Here the simple staging was all that was required - essentially a couch, a table and a period-style phone.

This formed an excellent opening event for the Tryst in Cumnock Old Kirk.  The Poulenc was preceded by two new songs composed by Sir James MacMillan to texts by Michael Symmons Roberts - 'The Vows' and 'Soul Song'.  The excellent pianist was Matthew Fletcher