Local Talent on Unconventional Stages

The Voices of Poulenc:

An Evening of Music, Talk, and Culture

An immersive evening of music and movement dedicated to innovative composer Francis Poulenc, with an unforgettable collaboration of Pittsburgh-based artists.

May 16 & May 18, 7:00PM at Third Presbyterian Church

Presented in collaboration with Music@Third

Click Here to Register – May 16

Click Here to Register – May 18 (More seats available!)

Tickets are pay-what-you-wish.

CMP and Music at Third present an immersive evening of music and movement dedicated to innovative 20th century French composer Francis Poulenc. The Voices of Poulenc evokes the emotional connections between his instrumental and dramatic music through two remarkable works: his final piece, the Oboe Sonata, and the solo opera La voix humaine (The Human Voice). Join us to learn the history of a unique composer, enjoy a glass of wine, and experience an unforgettable collaborative production featuring talented Pittsburgh-based performers.

Utilizing three spaces within Third Presbyterian Church, this unique program includes a lecture and performances by mezzo-soprano Raquel Winnica Young, oboist Lenny Young, pianist Nathália Kato, and dancer/choreographer Michele de la Reza. 

The program begins with Poulenc’s final composition, the Oboe Sonata, which The New York Times described as a “paradoxical mix of the elegiac, the suave and the clever.” Then, Winnica Young and Kato join forces for an immersive staging of La voix humaine, a 40-minute opera work inspired by the Jean Cocteau play. With “beautiful lyricism and powerful drama” (San Francisco Classical Voice), La voix humaine illustrates the resonant intensity of a love unraveling.

Meet the Artists:

David Bernabo is an oral historian, musician, artist, and independent filmmaker. His film work has documented western Pennsylvania food systems, climate change, the studio practices of composers and artists, and the histories of iconic arts institutions like the Mattress Factory. He is most noted for Moundsville, a documentary co-directed with former Wall Street Journal writer John W. Miller, which screened on PBS for three years, and the biographical documentary Just For The Record about avant-garde composer “Blue” Gene Tyranny.

Michele de la Reza is Co-Founder of Attack Theatre, which works at the intersection of art and community, resulting in productions and programs that are personal, authentic, welcoming, and fearless. Michele has co-created and performed new dance works and partners with orchestras, opera and theater companies and art museums throughout the region, nationally and internationally. With a core belief that movement is an essential part of living and learning, Michele is a sought-after arts educator working with hundreds of children, university students, educators and administrators each year. attacktheatre.com

Pianist Nathália Kato has extensive experience in orchestral, operatic, and chamber music activities. Currently, she is the staff pianist and opera workshop music director at Duquesne University. Alongside her husband violinist Andrew Giordano, they form the Duo Pragma and often perform rarely-heard repertoire by both well-known and marginalized composers.

Mezzo-soprano Raquel Winnica Young is an Argentinean-American performer and stage director. She specializes in Spanish and Latin-American baroque music, with a deep interest in the influence and transformation of the Spanish language and its origins across the centuries. Her career has taken her to concert halls throughout the Americas and Europe.

Lenny Young is an oboist, improviser, teacher, arranger and conductor who regularly performs with orchestras, chamber ensembles, and theater companies in the Pittsburgh region. He was a founding member of the chamber music group the Bell’Art Ensemble and led several improvisational jazz groups.