Danielle De Niese to star in film of LA VOIX HUMAINE (THE HUMAN VOICE) premiering on BBC Two this Spring

Actor, singer and television personality Danielle de Niese will star as ‘Elle’ in a new film of La Voix Humaine, Jean Cocteau’s one-woman drama set to music by Francis Poulenc, shot on location in London and Paris.

Directed by James Kent, with cinematography from Laurie Rose and designed by Peter Francis, the film will have its UK premiere on BBC Two in the spring.

With an orchestral store recorded at the Royal Opera House, conducted by Antonio Pappano, the film breaks new ground, with de Niese singing her entire role live on location for her film debut. This allowed de Niese – a performer known for her high calibre dramatic performances – the freedom to approach the work in a way that no live stage performance could ever allow, resulting in an innovative cross genre work of art.

La Voix Humaine is a theatrical tour de force – a work of less than one hour featuring only one performer, the character known only as ‘Elle’. De Niese’s performance, captured in the intimate and claustrophobic setting of a single apartment, is the entire focus of the film. A silent observer of her desperate conversation, we witness her decline; a journey from hope and nostalgic memory of her love, to despair and finality of love’s end, over the course of one late afternoon via a single, suspenseful, often interrupted, telephone call with her departing lover.

Visceral, heart-breaking, and with extraordinary intimacy and emotion, she takes us deep into her personal grief supported by some of Poulenc’s most beautiful and emotionally telling music.

Danielle de Niese said: “I am thrilled to bring Elle to life for the cinema screen and to be collaborating with such a wonderful team of world class award-winning creatives. The piece, which is focused on a single psychological trajectory, feels like it was born for the film lens, not least because the entire work centres solely around the heroine. One of the most frightening lines in the film is: “If you didn’t love me and you were clever, the telephone would become a terrifying weapon, a weapon that leaves no trace... that makes no noise.” This has never been more relevant than today where technology can be both a blessing and a curse – it can connect us but also isolate us. If you have ever felt isolated, misunderstood, led on, heart-broken, hopeful, desperate, desolate, nostalgic… I hope this unique film will resonate.”