Poulenc La voix humaine
Sung in French with English surtitles
Barbara Hannigan conductor, soprano & presenter
London Symphony Orchestra
Barbara Hannigan, Denis Guéguin, Clemens Malinowski direction & video
Clemens Malinowski live video for Poulenc’s La voix humaine
Julien Bourdin sound engineer
Michalis Boliakis rehearsal pianist & musical assistant
Generously supported by the Jeremy and John Sacher Charitable Trust.
Tickets: £35 £24 £18
£3 online booking fee, £4 telephone booking fee per transaction - click here for more information on booking fees
Discounts
£10/£15 Wildcard tickets
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Multibuys
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Young people
£5 for under-18s
Young Barbican 14–25
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Groups
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Barbican Access members
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Please note that finish times are approximate and subject to change
A different way to experience the LSO, with a burst of music to kick-start your evening: one piece, with introductions from the conductor about what makes the music so great, then we play straight through. If you want to delve deeper, there’ll be digital programme notes to view on your phone while we play.
In this Half Six Fix: Barbara Hannigan conducts, presents and sings Poulenc’s one-woman opera La voix humaine: a heart, a soul and a whole human life, in one devastating telephone call. Hannigan does all this with the added element of live video on the big screen, expect no compromises: just uncompromising emotion, and souls stripped bare.
‘Just a look could change everything … but with this telephone between us, what’s done is done. Don’t worry – no-one ever tries to kill themselves twice’. Alone in her bedroom, a young woman makes a call. We don’t know who she’s calling, or the story that has brought her to stake everything on a single shaky connection – but as the one-sided conversation unfolds, we find ourselves living every tear, every memory and every bitter, desperate hope.
La voix humaine turns a monologue by Jean Cocteau into a drama that burns itself into your memory. Who better to take the central role than Barbara Hannigan, a performer who charges everything she performs with the immediacy and honesty of life itself?
'Barbara Hannigan is simply extraordinary in the Poulenc. A true tragédienne, she switches from tenderness to violence to distraction in an instant. Her high notes are heartbreaking, her pronunciation is flawless; her timbre shades from bell-clear to dark and warm'. (Bachtrack)
'The London Symphony Orchestra’s regular Half Six Fix is a quick shot rather than the full classical cocktail: one hour; one symphony; no messing around.' (inews)
Click here for the latest infomation on the measures that are being taken for the safety and comfort of visitors to the Barbican Centre, including wearing a face covering.
Standard seating is being used in most of the Hall for this concert. Audience members who would prefer to sit in a socially distanced environment can choose to book seats in the Balcony.
Available seats will be spaced 1 metre apart, and are indicated by an information flag when making your selection during the booking process. Those booking two or more adjacent seats are welcome to move together to sit as one group on the evening of the concert. All audience members are asked to wear a face covering unless exempt.
Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions.
The Barbican Centre is fully accessible. Please visit this page for full details or contact us at [email protected] at any point ahead of your visit to let us know how we can support you.