Comments on Dialogues des Carmélites

Perhaps Dialogues des Carmélites could also be named flood of tears – the music and the themes got to me on many levels.

First of all, that death scene of the prioress, Madame de Croissey (Karita Mattila) is so intense, calling for more meds, calling for the doctor, trying to remain calm but flailing on her bed, her fingers trembling. I come from a tradition where opera singers just stood on the stage or walked stiffly back and forth. Now the acting almost surpasses the singing.

The themes of the opera were swirling in my head: fear, anxiety, whose lives are protected during harrowing events, friendship, mothering, and respect.

The audience clapped at the opening of the curtains, the nuns all laying as though they were crosses on a stage where the cross was the central element painted on the floor. I was glad to have Yannick Nézet-Séguin direct my mind to thinking about columns and about the slowness of the music and that maybe I should think about going even deeper into it. That made for some wonderful moments for me in the second half.

And the crowd gathering at the Place de la Révolution and singing the "Salve Regina"? I was glad I had familiarized myself with the music before-hand. It didn’t matter how many times the swish to the cut of the guillotine was heard, it was chilling.

I had fun thinking about the story line in the context of the Catholic faith and by extension, other faiths -- groups being seen as resisting civil government, or having misunderstood values.

I was interested in the translation of the text. I think for the next opera, I am going to go out and read the translation before I go. I have done that before and I think I am going to do it again. Oh, I always have a long list of “next times”. Next time I am going to memorize the names of the people who sing the lead roles. Next time I am going to read more reviews of the performances. Next time I am going to learn more about the history of this time period, and the history of this opera. Oh, so many next times.

On a more surface note, did you like the fact that Renee Fleming’s necklace looked like the silver intertwined circles that you make, Rebecca? Of course you noticed. But did you notice that the credits mentioned which business supplied her jewelry.

I needed more than one Kleenex to dry my eyes during this performance. I can’t tell if it is the timbre of the voices of the singers, or the role the orchestra plays or the depth of score, or if it is all of these together that can make opera such an emotional experience.

Arta

See the review from OperaWire here.