MusicUpClose - Jane Bathori – A Voice in the War

Prof Barbara L. Kelly on the French singer, Jane Bathori.

Jane Bathori was given an amazing opportunity to direct the small but experimental theatre, le Vieux Colombier in Paris during the war. She put on concerts of new music by composers including Debussy, Ravel, Satie, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and she promoted the works of the youngest French composers, including Poulenc and Milhaud. With an awareness of the musical past, she programmed early French, English and Italian repertoire and music associated with the French Revolution. We are delighted that Olivia Ray will play the part of Jane Bathori, singing some of the works she made famous, such as Ravel’s Histoires naturelles. The vocal ensemble Verismo will perform some special choral works in the ancient style by Debussy and Ravel. These works will be interspersed with extracts from Bathori’s private letters to theatre director, Jacques Copeau, which give a fascinating insight into the difficulties of putting on concerts while Paris was under attack. They give a vivid sense of her determination to contribute to the war effort musically.

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