Feb 1, 2023
Author and music critic Robert Reilly joins the podcast to
discuss one of the greatest operas ever composed, Francis Poulenc’s
1957 Dialogues des Carmélites, which host Thomas Mirus
recently saw at the Metropolitan Opera. Based on the true story of
sixteen Carmelite nuns who were martyred in the French Revolution
(famously singing the Salve Regina as they went to the guillotine),
the opera is an adaptation of Georges Bernanos’s play, which in
turn was adapted from Gertrud von le Fort’s novella Song at the
Scaffold.
With outstanding spiritual realism, Dialogues
dramatizes the inner struggle of a soul. Its examination of the
complex blend of motives for pursuing a religious vocation, the
fear of death, and the transference of grace, is all the more
moving when combined with Poulenc’s gorgeous music.
In addition to this opera, Reilly introduces us to some other
great music by this Catholic composer.
One of the more popular 20th-c. operas – Georges Bernanos
screenplay/stage play, based on Gertrud von le Fort Song at the
Scaffold
Links
Robert Reilly, Surprised by Beauty: A Listener’s Guide to the
Recovery of Modern Music
https://www.amazon.com/Surprised-Beauty-Listeners-Recovery-Modern/dp/1586179055
Surprised by Beauty website with music reviews and album
recommendations https://surprisedbybeautyorg.wordpress.com
Poulenc recordings heard in this episode:
Mass No. 2 in G Major, RIAS Kammerchor, conducted by
Marcus Creed
Dialogues des Carmélites, Dervaux, Duval, Crespin
Videos shown:
Metropolitan Opera 1987 performance of finale from Dialogues
des Carmelites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbRpYJsqhpE
Metropolitan Opera 2019 excerpts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehyz-CH4QHI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wchkYKj5n8A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqtgq-SkpRA
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