Pegasus Opera Company and Hagemann Rosenthal Associates are proud to presenting a double bill featuring the gripping female driven stories of Roman Fever by Philip Hagemann and The Human Voice (La Voix Humaine) by Francis Poulenc, play by Jean Cocteau at Susie Sainsbury Theatre, Royal Academy of Music, London.
The double bill will be led by an all-female cast and creative team which reflects the powerful narrative of both operas. Roman Fever, originally a short story by the acclaimed American writer Edith Wharton, comes to life on the operatic stage for the first time in the UK at Susie Sainsbury.
The story revolves around Grace Ansley and Alida Slade, both widows from Manhattan, who take their daughters to Rome to sharememories of their youth. However, whilst in Rome tensions rise as Alida’s jealousy towards Grace, who has always looked down on her, comes to the surface. The story takes twists and turns as it dissects the mysteries of relationships culminating in a shocking revelation. Hagemann’s music cradles the words, moods, and action in silken melodic strokes with touches of dissonances to highlight the feelings of the ladies toward each other.
The Human Voice (La Voix Humaine) is a forty-minute, one-act opera for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. The opera focuses on a single character known as “she” who was abandoned by her lover who in now about to be married. The production highlights her last telephone conversation with him and probes the dynamics of relationships. Poulenc waited thirty years before composing this opera as he felt he needed to experience relationships himself before committing to the music. The result is a powerful fusion of words and music and a must see.
This double bill features libretto and music by Philip Hagemann, with direction by Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE and is conducted by Rebecca Tong.
Roman Fever and The Human Voice (La Voix Humaine) will be staged at Susie Sainsbury Theatre, Royal Academy of Music, Marylebone Road, London NW1 5HT on Friday 12 April, 7.30pm, Saturday 13 April 7.30pm and Sunday 14 April, 2.30pm 2024. Tickets are £15 conc, £25, £35.
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/pegasus-opera-company/e-vqpogl
