This is a brief excerpt from a DVD of a performance
by Mario del Monaco with La Scaala in Japan (available from VAI).
I have zoomed in on the tenor's face so that one
could see and study just how he sings the orgasmic high Bb.
The Galatea of Poulenc, Denise Duval, sings
an excerpt from La voix humaine in the role of the suicidal broken woman,
written for her and accompanied here by the composer, Francis Poulenc,
from a concert at Paris' Salle Gaveau in 1959.
One may find fault with her technique but
her style, declamation, spontaneity and commitment in her performance
are incredibly moving. It's as if
she is creating the music as she sings.