Charing Cross Theatre has announced a limited season of two acclaimed one-act operas, The Seven Deadly Sins and The Human Voice, presented as a double bill for just ten performances from 11 to 19 September 2026.
Starring Katherine McIndoe, the production brings together two landmark works of 20th-century opera that explore female identity, emotional endurance and self-betrayal through the experiences of two complex women.
Directed by Alejandro Bonatto, the productions feature musical direction by Adrian Salinero for The Seven Deadly Sins and Elspeth Wilkes for The Human Voice.
With music by Kurt Weill and a libretto by Bertolt Brecht, The Seven Deadly Sins follows Anna, whose family sends her on a seven-year journey across America in pursuit of financial security. Blending Weimar cabaret with the sounds of 1930s American jazz, the work offers a satirical examination of ambition and compromise.
The Human Voice, featuring music by Francis Poulenc and a libretto by Jean Cocteau, centres on a woman’s final telephone conversation with her former lover. As the call unfolds, everyday exchanges gradually give way to heartbreak and emotional devastation.
Presented together, the two operas create what the creative team describes as a unified psychological portrait of a woman pushed to her limits.
Alejandro Bonatto said: “Anna (The Seven Deadly Sins) and Elle (The Human Voice) read almost as two moments in a single woman’s life. Seen together, the two works form one continuous psychological portrait of a woman pushed to her limits.”
The production also celebrates two significant composer-writer partnerships, pairing Weill with Brecht and Poulenc with Cocteau across the evening’s programme.
The Seven Deadly Sins features an English translation by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman, while The Human Voice is presented in an English language translation by Joseph Machlis.
The double bill is produced by Steven M Levy for Charing Cross Theatre Productions Limited and will play a limited run at Charing Cross Theatre, with a press night scheduled for 12 September.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
