Il Parle, Elle Chante
Melissa Errico and Adam Gopnik have many onstage collaborations in which Ms. Errico does the singing and Mr. Gopnik acts as a lively and illuminating raconteur, putting the musical material (some of which he writes the lyrics for) in unique context of an evening’s subject. Together, they are entertaining, engaging, and knowledgeable, and have brought their virtuosic skills together time and time again.
Gopnik is the sort of renaissance man who should be writing for The New Yorker, where he has been since 1986. Adam and Melissa have performed as a duo several times at Lincoln Center—to celebrate Judy Garland, and to explore the play Pygmalion with Kevin Kline completing the trio—as well as at Symphony Space to sing and discuss gender politics in the music Kiss Me, Kate. They have also created original programs for The National Sawdust and for The Public Theater.
Their most recent collaboration was a 3-part series called Il Parle, Elle Chante for The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF). They co-curated a film festival Out of The Dark: The Mystery Of Film Noir, and hosted the screenings with vibrant musical, historical and art historical content. Critics have said, “the wit is effortless, the music sparkling, and the company so engaging. With their words, their melodies, and most of all their warmth, Il Parle, Elle Chante resists the academic, and instead becomes that most universal of salves: the heartfelt examination of our delicate humanity.”
Out of the Dark: The mystery of Film Noir
Playlist
The New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik and Broadway star Melissa Errico joined forces to curate FIAF’s CinéSalon series Out of the Dark: The Mystery of Film Noir. The series ran weekly from May 4 to July 5, 2021, and marked the first in-person events presented in Florence Gould Hall by FIAF since March 2020.
Incorporating both French and American examples—and some that involve French filmmakers who immigrated to America—the series explores the many sides of the ‘noir’ vision in cinema. A special attention is paid to the Franco-American dialogue at its core. Each film is prefaced by a video introduction by Gopnik or Errico created exclusively for FIAF. They discuss each film’s place in the evolution of the genre, pointing out its musical and dramatic affinities with their concert Mystery.
Sing the Silence
“Hard to capture, hard to describe the quality of deeply felt tribute and respect for women this show slowly and surely revealed. Women are silent for many reasons and encouraged to be so. But Melissa Errico has created a piece of theater that, through her humor, deep honesty and enormous talent, expresses the value of learning from, and then breaking through, silence.” – Susan Hasho, Theater Pizzazz
Reviews
“Melissa Errico is an artist who wears her heart on her sleeve. The mysterious and emotionally opaque figure of the femme fatale is not what you would think of in the same breath as the intense and heartfelt Errico. And yet, she manages to infuse all the songs with a world-weary melancholy and an economy of body language that is perfectly in the style. It is a beautifully restrained performance. As always, she is at her absolute best when singing the music of Michel Legrand. She sings two of his songs at this concert. A rare treat, ‘Amour, Amour,’ and a standard, ‘The Windmills of Your Mind.’ The latter is presented in a rhapsodic arrangement, that not only shows off Ms. Errico’s brilliant technique but also showcases the virtuosity of her musical director, Tedd Firth.”
– BroadwayWorld
“Go! Watch! Satisfy your itch for a great concert! Stream on your own schedule! Satisfy at least one desire for an intellectually stimulating performance piece! This meditation and examination of ‘Desire’ (as a concert) is simultaneously an easy conversation, as well as a celebration of French culture’s predilections: chanson (AKA art songs), food, fashion, writing, love, and language—to describe all of the previous passions.”
– EDGE Media
“FIAF has conceived a delightful three-part series, Love, Desire & Mystery—Il Parle, Elle Chante, with Broadway actress-singer, Melissa Errico, pianist Tedd Firth, and writer and lyricist, Adam Gopnik…the result is pure enjoyment for Francophiles and non-Francophiles alike. The easy chemistry between Errico, Gopnik, and Firth is a delight—it’s the kind of warm collaboration that makes you feel cozily at home on their welcoming turf.”
– Theater Pizzaz