Q&A with Mezzo-Soprano Ruby Dibble

Mezzo-soprano Ruby Dibble, from Kansas City, Missouri, stars as Elle in the Curtis Opera Theatre’s production of Francis Poulenc’s gripping, one-woman monodrama, La voix humaine. Ms. Dibble entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2019 and studies in the opera program with adjunct faculty member Julia Faulkner. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Dibble is the Margaret Aull Wynne and Milly E. Wynne Fellow.

What challenges have you faced while learning this role and embodying a character like Elle, one who carries the full dramatic weight of a one-person opera like La voix humaine?

One of my biggest challenges when learning this role has been being patient. This show took longer than expected to sink into my deep memory, and I had to frequently remind myself just to take it day by day and learn/ memorize small section by section so that eventually I would be able to string all of those small sections together into the entire show. Elle, as a character, is also a tough nut to crack. At face value, she can be viewed as a woman who is powerless while waiting on a man to call her back. When first learning the piece, I, too, thought that Elle was yet another portrayal of the “crazy ex-girlfriend” or woman dying of heartbreak. But, as I’ve worked with Marcus on this version of the show, it seems that Elle is actually a very strong person, and perhaps the 40 minutes of La voix humaine is the story of a woman transforming in the face of tragedy.

What do you love the most about performing in French and singing Poulenc’s music?

I grew up speaking French, so I feel at home in the language; I went to a French immersion elementary school and spoke exclusively in French from Kindergarten through 8th grade. Perhaps I’m biased, but I think French is the most beautiful language to sing in because of how the lines are often set up to facilitate stunning legato. Poulenc is funny about this, actually. He writes in direct opposition to the flowing line that French can provide for the singer. So much of La voix humaine borders on Sprechstimme or talking on pitch, and the vocal line is broken up in an extremely percussive way. But then, when Poulenc does give into the legato of the French language, his long sweeping musical lines are all the more meaningful. Poulenc’s choice of harmony reminds me so much of the Jazz harmonies of his contemporaries. My first musical love was Jazz, so I find it to be quite poetic to sing in this piece in a classical vocal style while being supported by such Jazz-like textures.

Click HERE to watch Ruby Dibble’s On Stage at Curtis episode from 2022, or click the video below.

“Technoference,” or the way technology interferes with human interaction, seems just as relevant in the 21st century as it was over six decades ago when Poulenc adapted Jean Cocteau’s play into an opera. In 1958, Elle’s mode of communication was a landline telephone, but Marcus Shields’s production is of the now. Why do you think audiences still connect so deeply with this character after all these years later?

Audiences today can connect with Elle’s story because now, more than ever, we are isolated by our technology. Elle longs for meaningful and honest communication from Monsieur but, instead, has to settle for just a phone conversation—a cheap imitation. Elle says to Monsieur, “if only you could see me, everything would be different, but with this phone receiver, that which is done is done.” If Elle and Monsieur could be in the same place and speak face to face, perhaps their situation could be remedied, and she wouldn’t feel so alone. Today, with smartphones and all the opportunities to connect with one another, our society has seemed to do the opposite. We struggle to call strangers on the phone, make eye contact, or even look up from our phones when crossing the street. Elle’s phone being the thing that is stopping her from having a meaningful connection is the same plight we face today.

The audience only hears your side of the story, not the silent “Monsieur” on the other line. What is your perception of this gentleman and his relationship with Elle? 

The beauty of this piece is that we really aren’t supposed to know all the details of Elle’s relationship with Monsieur. If Cocteau needed the audience to know exactly what is said between them, it would be a two-person play. With the backstory between Elle and Monsieur being so purposefully obscured, I’m sure every person who has taken on the role has a completely different version of that story. That being said, in our production, we have discussed the idea that there may be a significant age gap between the two lovers. Poulenc notes at the beginning of the score that Elle is an “elegant young woman” and that her breakup should have nothing to do with her getting older and Monsieur leaving her for a younger woman.

Later in the piece, Elle says that she has been with Monsieur for five years at this point. Bearing all that in mind, there is a chance that Elle could have been pursued by a man much older than her before she was ready for that kind of relationship. Other context clues in the text point to Monsieur being a wealthy man, a man who has an assistant or a butler named Joseph. Elle also briefly asks about a court case that Monsieur may be working on: “Quel Procès?” There could be a world where Monsieur is a high-profile lawyer who should not be seen with a woman as young as Elle, and perhaps that is why he ultimately chooses to marry someone else—perhaps someone who looks better in the public eye. It seems to me that their relationship was born out of secrecy and an unbalanced power dynamic, and ultimately that is what tips the scale to end their relationship.

Do you have any dream roles that you’d like to perform in the future, and why?

I would love to sing Bizet’s Carmen and Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther. Both are sung in French, which would be meaningful to a French speaker. As a performer who has done a lot of comedy, I am so intrigued to walk in the shoes of these tragic figures for a change. I am also a lover of Strauss, and I would be thrilled to get to sing Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier or Der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos

Interview by Ryan Scott Lathan. 

Read OperaWire‘s article about Ms. Dibble’s upcoming performance as Elle, featuring the piano accompaniment of master opera coach Lisa Keller.

Director Marcus Shields discusses his production of La voix humaine with Curtis Opera Theatre:  

Set in the present moment, the visual and audio aesthetic will be what director Marcus Shields calls “contemporary collage. ‘Collage’ refers to the conscious combination of elements—sound, video, and live performance—placed together. The technology used in the creation of the piece (cameras, microphones, etc.) will be in view of the audience. Essentially, there will be no attempt to hide any aspect of the room; however, all elements are very specifically chosen and arranged in a meaningful picture. The architecture of Curtis and the Black Box Theater will contribute heavily to the visual component” of the piece.

Mr. Shields continues, “This piece is a virtuosic emotional/vocal showcase for the performers, in our case, Ruby Dibble and Lisa Keller. It is a piece about the relationship between a human and another human, and it is a piece about the relationship between a human and technology. The opera was written some 65 years ago, but we are still very much struggling to sort out these same exact relationships. Maybe the stakes are even higher today. This production will try to place this all into a single frame.”

CURTIS OPERA THEATRE: La voix humaine
Love is on the line in Poulenc’s gripping psychological drama

February 14, 2023 | Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Curtis Institute of Music, Black Box Theater, 1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia

Marcus Shields, director
Ruby Dibble, mezzo-soprano
Lisa Keller, pianist

Click HERE for more information.

Visit Ruby Dibble’s official website HERE.

Photos of Ruby Dibble by Daniel Welch and Brian Paulette. Photo of Marcus Shields, courtesy of artist’s official website.