Dialogues of the Carmelites
an opera in three very long acts by Francis Poulenc
Reviewed by Walter
This opera is in the french language but the basic plot is easily understood even by those of us who do not speak French. There is a group of nuns, the Carmelites, who have taken up the practice of recitativ which is a largely successful undertaking by the human voice to blend the sound of fingernails scraping across a chalkboard with that of pigs being slaughtered.
In the first act their friends and the general populace plead with them to stop, but to no avail. Pleas are made to the government to put a stop to the recitativ. The government does not respond, so the populace rises up and overthrows the government. This is the cause of the French Revolution.
The second act consists of various well meaning attempts by several officials of the revolutionary government to abate the nuisance, without effect. This leads to the third act where the Carmelites are taken one by one to the guillotine and beheaded. When the last nun is beheaded the racket stops and the audience bursts into applause.
This is a production of historical significance as a demonstration of opera as it existed before composers of opera began using music. Poulenc makes an impressive argument for participatory democracy and the death penalty - both important themes of his era. The old regime is tolerant of the oppression of the people, but a revolutionary government deals with the worst abuses by direct action.
The opera is seldom performed since the adoption of the Geneva Conventions.
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