Soprano Mireille Delunsch will host a workshop on French operas with vocal master Antoine Palloc at Seoul Arts Center, Monday through Thursday. On Friday she will perform “The Human Voice” at the same venue. / Courtesy of Korea National Opera

By Lee Hyo-won

Diction, in addition to articulating nuance and emotion, is vital to deliver sweeping operatic arias — even top sopranos such as Shin Young-ok continue to work on perfecting the elusive Rs and elongated vowels for French works.

Aspiring opera singers as well as regular fans in Seoul will have a chance to learn from the creme de la creme in French opera through a workshop and unique performance this week.

The Korea National Opera and French Cultural Center have invited famed French soprano Mireille Delunsch and vocal master Antoine Palloc for a four-day session through which participants can learn all about diction and vocal/dramatic expressions that are unique to French operas.

Four sessions will take place four times from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, at the Korea National Opera’s rehearsal room on the fourth floor of the Opera House at Seoul Arts Center, southern Seoul.

Mireille and Palloc will focus on works by modern French composer Francis Poulenc, including “Dialogues of the Carmelites” (1957) and “La Voix humaine (The Human Voice)” (1959).

To wrap up the special lessons, Mireille will perform “La Voix humaine” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Jayu Theater, Seoul Arts Center. The lyric soprano will appear alone to deliver the entirety of the 40-minute monodrama.

Though short, the piece requires the female lead to harness all of her vocal and theatrical skills to artistic ends.

A single woman, living alone in an apartment in Paris, is lying lifelessly on her bed after breaking up with a boyfriend of five years. Her ex calls her and tries to console her, but the protagonist insists that she is OK over the phone. He calls again, worried, and the woman finally breaks downs as she professes her love before committing suicide using the telephone chord.

Call (02) 586-5282 for more information on the workshop and opera performance.