About the work
Francis Poulenc's „Dialogues des Carmélites" was premiered at La Scala in Milan in 1957. The libretto is by Poulenc himself after Georges Bernanos's drama (1948), which in turn is based on Gertrud von Le Fort's novella „Die Letzte am Schafott" (1931). The opera depicts the historically documented martyrdom of the 16 Carmelite nuns of Compiègne, guillotined in 1794 during the French Revolution.
Plot
Paris 1789, at the outbreak of the French Revolution. The fearful aristocratic daughter Blanche de la Force enters the Carmelite convent of Compiègne out of fear of life. She befriends the young Sister Constance, who prophesies that they will die together. The old Prioress, Madame de Croissy, dies in a famous, terrible scene — tormented by pain and doubts of faith. The new prioress, Madame Lidoine, takes over the convent. The Revolution spreads; the convent is banned and its property confiscated. The sisters take a voluntary vow of martyrdom. Blanche flees in panic to Paris to her family; she returns only when the others are already being led to execution. In the closing scene — a peak of operatic history — the Carmelites walk singing to the guillotine. During the hymn „Salve Regina" voice after voice falls silent under the blade — until the last. Then Blanche steps from the crowd, unites with her sisters and dies with the song „Veni Creator".
Cultural significance
Dialogues des Carmélites is the most important French opera of the post-war era and Poulenc's principal work. The final scene, with the Salve Regina cut short by the guillotine, is considered one of the most shattering moments in all opera. Carmelite productions under John Dexter (Met, 1977), Robert Carsen, Dmitri Tcherniakov and Olivier Py have firmly established the work in the repertoire. The spiritual depth — Poulenc was a devout Catholic — and the searching, modernist sonorities make the opera a theological-musical special case.