Countermelody

Episode 167. Denise Duval


Listen Later

Denise Duval, whose 101st birthday we posthumously commemorate on October 23, will forever be associated with the music of Francis Poulenc, and specifically his operas, in which the lead soprano roles were either created by her, or were written with her in mind. This episode not only presents Duval in excerpts, in live concert and stage performances, of all three roles: Thérèse in Les Mamelles de Tirésias, Blanche de la Force in Les Dialogues des Carmélites, and the unnamed heroine in his searing 1959 monodrama La voix humaine, alongside her performance in the world premiere of her final creation for Poulenc: the brief 1961 monologue La Dame de Monte-Carlo. But Duval was a versatile singer whose many and varied roles may surprise you. I present her also in both French and Viennese operettas by Lehár, Kálmán, Planquette, Messager, and Hervé, as well as operatic roles by Ravel, Debussy, and Saint-Saëns, concert works by Florent Schmitt and Louis Durey, and, from a joint recital with Poulenc, a breathtaking excerpt from Debussy’s Proses lyriques. Duval’s unusual voice and artistic profile defy classification, but this episode seeks to present as full a portrait as possible of this great singer and actor. Heard alongside Duval are tenors Jean Giraudeau, Alain Vanzo, Michel Hamel, and Jean Pomarez; baritones Jacques Jansen, Robert Massard, and Hans Wilbrink; and in an amusing turn, Francis Poulenc himself.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

CountermelodyBy DANIEL GUNDLACH

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

45 ratings


More shows like Countermelody

View all
Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,245 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,825 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,872 Listeners

Opera Box Score by Opera Box Score

Opera Box Score

61 Listeners

Pod Save America by Crooked Media

Pod Save America

87,466 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,842 Listeners

Stay Tuned with Preet by Preet Bharara

Stay Tuned with Preet

32,358 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,221 Listeners