The psychological complexity of 20th-century opera is on full display in a new pairing of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s The Seven Deadly Sins with Francis Poulenc and Jean Cocteau’s La Voix humaine at Charing Cross Theatre this September. The ten-performance run promises psychological intensity, with central vocal demands carried in both works by New Zealand soprano Katherine McIndoe.
Argentinian director Alejandro Bonatto’s production unites two landmarks of 20th-century opera. Together they form what he describes as “one continuous psychological portrait of a woman pushed to her limits”, seeing the pairing as two halves of a single emotional journey.
The Seven Deadly Sins (1933) was Weill and Brecht’s final collaboration before their forced emigration from Nazi Germany. Audiences meet Anna, a woman divided into two personalities – originally represented by a singer and a dancer – who embarks on a protracted journey across the US in pursuit of money to build a house for her family. Passing through seven American cities, each encapsulates a different sin, presenting its own moral compromise. The work’s Brechtian satire is matched by a score blending the sharpness of Weimar cabaret with the energy of 1930s American jazz.
By contrast, Poulenc’s La Voix humaine (1958) turns inward. Adapted from Jean Cocteau’s play of the same name, the one-act opera unfolds through a telephone conversation between a woman and her ex-lover. Awkward silences and fragile reassurances accumulate, before the conversation cuts out completely. The protagonist Elle, obsessed with the telephone, lies with it in her bed – its cord eventually wrapped around her neck.
Bonatto believes the two heroines are closer than audiences might initially suspect. “Anna and Elle read almost as two moments in a single woman’s life,” he argues. It is a shared emotional landscape that places enormous demands on its leading performer, requiring significant stamina given the sustained dramatic intensity.
Wellington-born soprano McIndoe has quickly established herself as an exciting singer to watch, since graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2021. Her engagements with English Touring Opera, Garsington Opera, Glyndebourne Opera, New Zealand Opera and Green Opera have seen her tackle repertoire ranging from Mozart to Donizetti and Britten.
The role of Elle is already one with which McIndoe has enjoyed success. Her previous performances of La Voix humaine with Green Opera at Grimeborn Festival earned her an Offie Award nomination, making this production an opportunity to revisit a character she knows intimately, while introducing audiences to the equally demanding world of Anna.
Supporting her in The Seven Deadly Sins is baritone Phil Wilcox, whose career has encompassed opera, concert work and conducting. The production is musically led by Adrian Salinero for Weill’s score and Elspeth Wilkes for Poulenc’s – with two conductors enabling the contrasting musical languages of the two operas receive individual attention.
For Bonatto, whose own training spans music, theatre and composition, the pairing represents an opportunity to illuminate connections between two seminal 20th-century works. Brecht’s political satire and Cocteau’s intimate monologue both examine women navigating impossible emotional and societal expectations. Weill’s cynical wit gives way to Poulenc’s heartbreaking intimacy, while McIndoe remains a consistent presence guiding listeners through both worlds.
With only ten performances scheduled at Charing Cross Theatre between 11th–19th September, both works are compact, emotionally direct and dramatically accessible – ideal introductions to composers whose influence continues to resonate today.
Whether drawn by Brecht and Weill’s sharp social commentary or Cocteau and Poulenc’s devastating study of heartbreak, audiences can expect drama revealing the many faces of a woman’s inner life – channelled through music of great emotional power.
The Seven Deadly Sins and La Voix humaine are at Charing Cross Theatre from 11th–19th September.
This article was sponsored by Make A Noise Ltd
