by Mike Telin
We have all been there — sitting near someone who is having a telephone conversation. We don’t know who is on the other end of the call, but we do know the person near you is not pleased — their tone of voice and body language makes that clear.
It’s a similar one-sided telephone conversation that serves as the basis for Francis Poulenc’s forty-minute-long, one-act opera, La voix humaine. This week at Severance Music Center, French soprano Sarah Aristidou will make her Cleveland Orchestra debut in Poulenc’s mono-drama under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst.
The performances — Friday, May 23 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, May 24 at 8:00 pm — are presented as part of The Orchestra’s Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival. Tickets are available online.
During a recent WhatsApp call, Aristidou explained that Poulenc’s opera is based on a 1928 one-act play by Jean Cocteau, who also wrote the libretto. And like the play, the opera revolves around a single character who is alone in a room having a telephone call.
“We have no indication of who she is — she’s referred to only as “Elle” or “she” in French — or where the conversation is taking place. What we do find out is that Elle has been abandoned by her lover and reveals that she has attempted to commit suicide. And because we only hear her side of the conversation, you need to express what the person on the other end of the call is saying. So the challenge is figuring out what to do with only a phone and a huge stage for 40 minutes.”
Aristidou, who in 2022 was the first singer to be awarded the Belmont Prize for Contemporary Music, given biannually by the Munich-based Forberg Schneider Foundation, said this week’s performances also mark her debut in the role of Elle. “The piece has a huge color palette in the orchestra, and I have been attracted to Poulenc’s music since I was seven or eight years old. He’s a fascinating composer and his music goes straight to my heart.”
Why did the soprano decide to learn such a demanding role for her debut? “Because Franz asked me to, and I’m very excited to be making my Cleveland Orchestra debut with this piece. And I can’t wait for the first rehearsal — you can prepare all you want but it’s not the same as being with the Orchestra.”
The program also includes J.S. Bach’s Concerto & Aria from Komm, Jesu, komm, Galina Ustvolskaya’s Symphony No. 5, “Amen,” and Richard Strauss’ Symphonic Fantasy on Die Frau ohne Schatten.
In addition to her success as a singer, Aristidou is also an accomplished photographer. Check out her website here.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com May 21, 2025
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