Opera

La Voix humaine

3 upcoming performances in New York

Francis Poulenc’s *La Voix humaine* is a one-act opera of about 40 minutes, written for a single soprano and orchestra, drawn from Jean Cocteau’s play about a woman speaking on the telephone as a relationship breaks apart. At David Geffen Hall, Barbara Hannigan performs with the New York Philharmonic, alongside Clemens Malinowski and Etienne Démoulin. The piece has long been a New York recital and opera-house touchstone rather than a landmark NYC premiere, resurfacing whenever a singer is willing to carry an entire drama alone. Its severity can feel almost clinical, which is part of its point.