Infos
Strasbourg
Opéra, salle Bastide
Artists
Soprano Nathalie Gaudefroy Baryton Laurent Koehler Piano Alessandro Zuppardo
Presentation
Francis Poulenc recital
Francis Poulenc drew inspiration from the restless ages he lived through, from Picasso's Paris, through the German occupation, to the era of Coco Chanel. From his frivolous Poupoule character in the guinguettes along the banks of the Marne to his pious alter ego in "Dialogues of the Carmelites," from the Parisian salons to the Grand Coteau in Touraine, he strove to be "the musician of the poets." To him, adding music to their words was a quest. A grand master of prosody, Poulenc also took pride in his skills as a melodist: "It's a fact – if you love Apollinaire, Eluard, Aragon, Loulou, etc., there's no way around me. I'm still being modest." Experience "Métamorphoses" by Loulou, Apollinaire's "Quatre poèmes," Aragon's "Ponts-de-Cé" as well as the "Chansons gaillardes" based on anonymous texts from the 17th century. Poulenc explained: "In this collection I’m trying to show that obscenity can submit to the music. I really hate sleaziness."
