Episode 167. Denise Duval

Episode 167. Denise Duval

SOCIAL SHARE

SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM

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.

RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE

Francis Poulenc, Jean Cocteau: Voilà deux jours qu’il ne quitte pas l’antichambre (La voix humaine). Denise Duval, Georges Prêtre, Orchestre du Théâtre National de l’Opéra Comique

Francis Poulenc, Maurice Carême: Quelle aventure! (La courte paille). Denise Duval, Francis Poulenc [television broadcast recorded 26.II.61]

Francis Poulenc, Louise de Vilmorin: Au-delà (Trois Poèmes de Louise de Vilmorin, FP 91/2). Denise Duval, Francis Poulenc [live Bordeaux 16.V.58]

Franz Lehár, French version by Gaston de Caillavet, Robert de Flers: Heure exquise qui nous grise (La Veuve joyeuse). Denise Duval, Jacques Jansen, Jules Gressier, Orchestre de l’Association des Concerts Lamoureux [1953]

Duval and Jansen in Pelléas
Duval and Paul Finel in the world premiere of Mamelles de Tirésias, 1947

Francis Poulenc, Guillaume Apollinaire: Ah, chère liberté (Les Mamelles de Tirésias). Denise Duval, André Cluytens, Orchestre de l’Opéra-Comique [live Paris X.53]

Louis Durey (1888 – 1979)

Louis Durey, Jean Cocteau: Le Printemps au fond de la mer. Denise Duval, Georges Tzipine, Instruments à vent de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire [1953]

Florent Schmitt (1870 – 1958)

Florent Schmitt: Il a choisi dans son héritage (Psaume XLVII, Op. 38). Denise Duval, Georges Tessier, Georges Tzipine, Maurice Duruflé, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Chorale Elisabeth Brasseur [1952]

Duval and Schmitt, 1952 recording session
Sibyl Sanderson in the title role of Phryné, which she created in 1893

Camille Saint-Saëns, Lucien Augé de Lassus: Riez! L’éclat joyeux des rires (Phryné) Denise Duval, Nadine Sautereau, Michel Hamel, Jules Gressier, Orchestre Lyrique et Choeurs de la RTF [1960]

Jules Gressier (1897 – 1960)
Michel Hamel

Camille Saint-Saëns, Lucien Augé de Lassus: Si, le front couronné de lierre (Phryné). Denise Duval, Michel Hamel, Jules Gressier, Orchestre Lyrique de la RTF [1960]

Claude Debussy: De rêve (Proses lyriques, L.84/1). Denise Duval, Francis Poulenc [live Bordeaux 16.V.58]

Duval and Paul Payen in L’heure espagnole, 1954

Maurice Ravel, Franc-Nohain [né Maurice Étienne Legrand]: Oh! la pitoyable aventure! (L’heure espagnole). Denise Duval, Robert Massard, Joseph Peyron, Manuel Rosenthal, Orchestre National de la RTF [26.XII.57]

Duval and Wilbrink, Glyndebourne 1963

Claude Debussy, Maurice Maeterlinck: Il y a quelqu’un derrière nous (Pelléas et Mélisande). Denise Duval, Hans Wilbrink, Vittorio Gui, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) [live Glyndebourne summer 1963]

Emmerich Kálmán, Leo Stein, Béla Jenbach, Henri Falk: Te souviens-tu? (Princesse Czardas). Denise Duval, Jean Pomarez, Raymond Chevreux, Orchestre Lamoureux [1959]

Franz Lehár, André Mauprey, Jean Marietti: Qui dans nos coeurs a fait fleurir l’amour (Le pays du sourire). Denise Duval, Alain Vanzo, Orchestre Raymond Chevreux [1957]

Robert Planquette (1848 – 1903)

Robert Planquette, Jaime Rozale, Alfonse Lemonnier: Holà, qu’on se presse! (Paille d’Avoine). Denise Duval, Marcel Cariven, Orchestre Lyrique de la RTF [21.I.57]

Marcel Cariven (1894 – 1979)
André Messager (1853 – 1929)

André Messager, Alfred Capus, Xavier Roth: Que pensez-vous de cette lettre… N’en parlons plus, c’était un rêve (La petite Fonctionnaire). Denise Duval, Jean Giraudeau, Marcel Cariven, Orchestre Lyrique de la RTF [live 09.XI.55]

Jean Giraudeau (1916 – 1995)
Hervé [né Louis-Auguste-Florimond Ronger] (1825 – 1892)

Hervé [né Louis-Auguste-Florimond Ronger], Édouard Montagne: Je suis Lucrèce (Le retour d’Ulysse). Denise Duval, Marcel Cariven, Orchestre Lyrique de la RTF [1956]

Francis Poulenc, Guillaume Apollinaire: Première scène (Les Mamelles de Tirésias). Denise Duval, Francis Poulenc [live Bordeaux 16.V.58]

Duval as Thérèse with Albert Wolff, who conducted the world premiere of Mamelles in 1947.

Francis Poulenc [after Georges Bernanos, Gertrud von le Fort]: C’est vous!… Oui, je viens de vous chercher (Les dialogues des Carmélites). Denise Duval, Suzanne Sarroca, Jean Fournet, Orquestra del Teatro Colón [live Buenos Aires 1965]

Francis Poulenc, Jean Cocteau: Tu as raison… Hier soir… Pour les gens (La voix humaine). Denise Duval, Francis Poulenc [Paris, Salle Gaveau, 14.V.59]

Francis Poulenc, Jean Cocteau: La Dame de Monte-Carlo, FP 180 [excerpt]. Denise Duval, Georges Prêtre, Orchestre National de France [world premiere performance, 05.XII.61]

Francis Poulenc, Guillaume Apollinaire: Il faut s’aimer (Les Mamelles de Tirésias). Denise Duval, Jean Giraudeau, André Cluytens, Orchestre et Choeurs de l’Opéra-Comique [Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, X.1953]

André Cluytens (1905 – 1967)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.