The Dialogues of Carmelites ( French Dialogues des Carmélites ) is an opera in 3 acts (12 scenes) by Francis Poulenc , one of his most famous works. It was commissioned by the La Scala theater in Milan, where it was staged for the first time on January 26, 1957 (in Italian, conductor Nino Sanzogno ).
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Brief
The libretto is based on the play of the same name by Georges Bernanos , written according to the German short story Gertrud von le Fort, “The Last on the Scaffold” ( German: Die Letzte am Schafott ). The duration of the performance is 2.5 - 3 hours. The action takes place in a Carmelite monastery in the Picardy town of Compiegne and ends with a scene of sixteen martyr sisters being guillotined by French revolutionists on June 17, 1794 in Paris. The music of this tragic scene is based on the text of the famous Marian antiphon Salve Regina , which begins as a chamber choir, then is interrupted several times by the chilling sound of the guillotine, and the solo Blanche ends, whose voice breaks off the sound of the guillotine.
Main characters
- Blanche de la Force / Blanche de la Force (soprano)
- Marquis de la Force / Marquis de la Force (baritone)
- Chevalier de la Force / Chevalier de la Force (tenor)
- Madame Lidoine (soprano)
- Madame de Croissy (viola)
- mother Maria / Mère Marie (mezzo-soprano)
- sister Constance / soprano
- sister Mathilde / Mathilde (mezzo-soprano)
Stage productions and recordings
The opera was completed by the composer in 1956 and staged for the first time on January 26, 1957 in La Scala, in Italian (conducted by Nino Sanzogno ). The French premiere took place in the same year on June 21 at the Paris Opera , under the direction of Pierre Dervo . Virginia Tseani (Blanche), Leyla Genger (Madame Liduan), Fiorenza Cossotto (sister of Matilda) were busy at the Milan premiere, Denise Duval (Blanche), Rita Gorr (mother Maria), Regin Crespen (Madame Liduan) in Paris. The American premiere took place on September 20, 1957 at the San Francisco Opera House (in English translation), and on March 3, 1966, the opera was first staged in New York by the New York City Opera . In Russia, the stage premiere took place in 2004 at the Moscow Helikon-Opera Theater (dir. D. A. Bertman ).
In the archival discography of the opera, the studio audio recording of 1958 (EMI France, mono) under the direction of P. Dervo is highlighted, in which the main participants of the French premiere of 1957 are occupied. Marty (1980) and C. Nagano (1990). A well-known video recording of a performance from the Rhine Opera , made in 1999 (conductor J. Latam-König ).