The Dialogues of the Carmelites
An opera in three acts by Francis Poulenc
Libretto by the composer, based on material by Georges Bernanos
German text by Peter Funk and Wolfgang Binal
3 hours
Debut performance 1957 - Premiere on 26 June 2011
Revolutionary France: these are confused, blood-thirsty times, when
everything is torn apart and the entire social order is toppled. Even the abbey of Compiègne near Paris, once a place of refuge for young members of the aristocracy, is no longer safe. Blanche de La Force hopes that she can conquer her fears among the strictly governed, austere, unworldly existence of the Carmelites. But Blanche learns from her encounters in the monastery that even a strong faith cannot protect one from fear, be it of life or of death. Only on the executioner's scaffold does Blanche manage to conquer her fear, the emotional sister of doubt. She willingly follows the Carmelites to the guillotine, defending the idea of free human will against the tyranny of fear. As the last one to be executed, she calmly sings against the senselessness of death.
Francis Poulenc, himself a deeply religious Catholic, composed is second great opera for La Scala, where the triumphal first performance was held in 1957. Poulenc set himself against the tenets of the musical avant-garde of his day by never abandoning tonality. For him, the primacy of melody was supreme: in Gespräche der Karmelitinnen, the orchestra may be large, but it is put to discreet and ingenious use, and is dominated by the voices, giving the piece a predominant, lyrical tone infused with Romanticism.
I have always loved singing, and my first great musical impressions were of Don Giovanni, Pelléas,Boris, and Rigoletto. So it is very natural that the names of Debussy, Mussorgski, and Verdi appear in the Carmelites' dedication. If the name of Mozart is missing, that is only because one cannot very well dedicate something to God the Father.
Francis Poulenc