Theater: Dialogues of the Carmelites

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Get your tickets to see one of the most inspiring and thought-provoking operas that the stage has ever seen- come get your tickets to see the Dialogues of the Carmelites! This opera has been experiencing a revival of sorts with interest in it growing to such an extent that televised productions of the opera are now available on DVD. However nothing can beat seeing this awe-inspiring opera live on stage.

The opera was written by Francis Poulenc, who was approached by Valcarenghi to do a ballet for la Scala. The subject was discussed but ultimately Poulenc found it uninspiring. Another screenplay that was based on the novella Die Letzte am Schafott was then proposed- the story revolved around the events that took place in a Carmelite convent during and after the French Revolution. The idea was accepted and the piece was first performed in Italian at la Scala in 1957. The French version was staged a few months later on that same year.

The opera shows Poulenc at his pinnacle and is representative of some of his best vocal compositions. Abundant with rich harmonies and peppered with the occasional twists that have become the trademark of Poulenc's work, the opera is also representative of Poulenc's religious sentiments. It is also an extremely interesting study into the psychology of fear and the various forms it takes.

The story opens on Blanche de la Force who has come to a Carmelite convent- she is timid by nature and hopes to find a refuge at the convent but the Mother Superior makes it very clear that the convent is not a place of escape- rather they are protectors of the Order. Blanche stays but is taken aback when Sister Constance says that she has had a vision that the two of them will die young. Things are made worse when Blanche witnesses the agonizing death of the Mother Superior, who in the end states that God has forsaken her.

Events on the outside get worse and Blanche's brother comes to say that her father wishes her to leave the convent as it is unsafe. However Blanche stays, saying that she is happy but the truth is that she is now scared of leaving. Soon the priests are banned from preaching and Mother Marie tables the idea of martyrdom. In the meantime the church is seized and the nuns are arrested and sentenced to death. Mother Marie is not present at the time and hence escapes- thus it is observed that God has spared her as she was not supposed to be a martyr. Blanche initially hides in her father's library but later joins the nuns on the scaffold.