Powder Her Face: Vocal Score

Adès writes for the voice with crystalline clarity and emotional directness. This opera, scandalous, intimate, and relentlessly modern, sits at the intersection of chamber opera and grand theatrical statement, making it ideal for advanced programs ready to tackle something genuinely contemporary without sacrificing lyrical beauty.

Brittle, elegant, and psychologically raw. The vocal line glitters with theatrical flair while the accompaniment creates an atmosphere of controlled chaos and emotional exposure, as if overhearing a confession designed for maximum discomfort.

Advanced opera singers and pianists capable of navigating contemporary vocal writing and complex harmonic language. University opera programs and serious student singers looking to expand their repertoire beyond 19th-century staples will find substantial artistic and technical challenge here.

• Treat the vocal line as speech that happens to be sung. Adès's text setting privileges clarity and dramatic timing over traditional bel canto phrasing, so prioritize articulation and word stress over sustained legato.
• The piano reduction demands a pianist with strong ensemble instincts and confidence with dissonance. Rehearse vocal and keyboard parts separately before combining, as the rhythmic relationship between voice and accompaniment can feel unsettled on first read.
• Commit to character and dramatic action from the opening moment. This score thrives on psychological specificity; singers must understand their dramatic arc fully and inhabit each moment with complete presence.

Use this in an advanced vocal literature course to model how 21st-century composers approach operatic form and text setting. It works powerfully in a program pairing contemporary works with historical opera, or as a centerpiece for a chamber opera production that emphasizes artistry over grand production values.

• Performing contemporary vocal music with accurate intonation in extended harmonic contexts
• Coordinate irregular rhythmic patterns between voice and accompaniment
• Interpret stage directions and dramatic subtext from a modern operatic score
• Navigate rapid shifts in dramatic character and emotional intensity
• Sustain vocal presence and technique in a psychologically demanding role