Singapore Symphony Orchestra Announces July Online Concert Programme
The SSO relaunches its online concert series with a programme of events in July, including a rarely performed one-act opera by Poulenc and a pair of specially curated playlists.
La voix humaine is a one-woman tour-de-force written by the 20th-century composer Francis Poulenc to a text by Jean Cocteau. Elle, sung in this performance by soprano Jennifer Lien, is alone in her bedroom, clinging on to her ex-lover’s every word over the telephone. Flirting, pleading, manipulating and threatening, she does everything she can to keep him on the line on the eve of his wedding. Her heartbreak is at once frightening and universally recognisable.
This audacious staged production took place in the Victoria Concert Hall in May 2018 and was directed by Cultural Medallion-winner and WILD Rice's Founding Artist Director Ivan Heng. Pianist Shane Thio performs alongside Jennifer Lien while the production features multimedia visuals by artist Brian Gothong Tan.
The digital premiere of this performance will be streamed online on Saturday 18 July at 8pm, on SISTIC Live on a pay-as-you-wish basis, with tickets starting at $10.
Alongside this streamed event, the orchestra will be launching two free specially curated playlists on Spotify. The first, Work from Home Classical, will go live on 16 July at 10am and will be designed to help people focus with the aid of a calming soundtrack of classical music. The second, Just Strings, will be available from 10am on 30 July and will celebrate music for String Ensemble by the likes of Dvořák, Grieg and Tchaikovsky, plus Sibelius, Howells and Warlock.
These events are in addition to the SSO's previously announced Season Opening Concert, taking place on SISTIC Live on 11 July.
![[ONLINE] SSO Season Opening Concert](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fweb-assets.sso.org.sg%2Fimages%2F_620x372_crop_center-center_none%2Fopening-concert-visual.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
[ONLINE] SSO Season Opening Concert
Hans Graf, Chief Conductor / Karen Gomyo, violin / Chloe Chua, violin / Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Sat / 11 Jul 20 / 7.30pm
SISTIC Live [Online]
Join us in rekindling music in our 20/21 season with our new Chief Conductor Hans Graf. This online concert features Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, recorded in January 2020 and released for the first time online, while guest violinists Karen Gomyo and Singapore’s Chloe Chua follow up with the soothing, universal beauty of the Largo from Bach’s Double Violin Concerto.
This concert is dedicated to the people of Singapore.
This event will be streamed on the recently launched SISTIC Live platform and using a pay-as-you-wish model, with tickets available for free or for $10, $20, $30 or $50. Registration is required.
FeaturingHans Graf, Chief Conductor / Karen Gomyo, violin / Chloe Chua, violin / Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Programme| Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Tchaikovsky) | Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 “Pathétique” |
|---|---|
| Johann Sebastian Bach (J.S. Bach) | Largo from Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 |
Work from Home Classical
Thu / 16 Jul 2020 / 10.00am
SSOLounge
![[Online] La voix humaine (The Human Voice)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fweb-assets.sso.org.sg%2Fimages%2F_620x372_crop_center-center_none%2Fla-voix-humaine.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
[Online] La voix humaine (The Human Voice)
Jennifer Lien, soprano / Shane Thio, piano / Ivan Heng, direction & set design / Brian Gothong Tan, multimedia & set design / Suven Chan, lighting design / Goh Lai Chan, costume design / Mirabel Neo, stage manager / Artfactory, set coordinator / Ashley Lim, hair / Bobbie Ng, makeup (of The Make Up Room)
Sat / 18 Jul 20 / 8.00pm
SISTIC Live [Online]
Francis Poulenc’s tour-de-force, one-woman opera gets a rare outing, directed by Cultural Medallion winner and WILD RICE's Founding Artistic Director Ivan Heng.
The piece may just be one-act long, but the role of Elle is one of the most demanding ever written – perfectly captured here by soprano Jennifer Lien. Alone in her bedroom, Elle clings on to her ex-lover’s every word on the telephone. Flirting, pleading, manipulating and threatening, she does everything she can to keep him on the line on the eve of his wedding. Her heartbreak is at once frightening and universally recognisable.
Poulenc used a text by Jean Cocteau, who said the role of Elle demanded “more than a singer: a tragic actress”. This audacious staged production, with pianist Shane Thio alongside Jennifer Lien, was performed at the Victoria Concert Hall in May 2018 and features multimedia visuals by artist Brian Gothong Tan. When our relationships are as much enabled as they are limited by technology, breaking up is hard to do.
Duration: 45 minutes
Sung in French, with English surtitles
Jennifer Lien, soprano / Shane Thio, piano / Ivan Heng, direction & set design / Brian Gothong Tan, multimedia & set design / Suven Chan, lighting design / Goh Lai Chan, costume design / Mirabel Neo, stage manager / Artfactory, set coordinator / Ashley Lim, hair / Bobbie Ng, makeup (of The Make Up Room)
Programme| Poulenc Francis (Poulenc) | La voix humaine |
|---|
For press enquiries, please contact:
Singapore Symphony Group
80 Bencoolen Street, NAFA Tower Block
08-01 Singapore 189655
T +65 6602 4239
M +65 8622 3766
elizabeth.davis@sso.org.sg