A dark moment in history, the Reign of Terror—part of the French Revolution—resulted in public executions in response to counter-revolutionary sentiments and protests. It is the subject of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, which the Eastman Opera Theatre performs on Thursday, April 4 to Sunday, April 7 in Kodak Hall.
The opera zooms in on the Carmelite nuns of Compiègne, France, who heroically offered themselves up for execution as a matter of principle—a message that historians believe helped end the Reign of Terror. Driven by their faith, the opera asks questions about the meaning and utility of faith in the face of impossible circumstances.
The plot follows a fearful aristocrat, Blanche, who decides to leave the trappings of aristocratic life and join the quiet life of the Carmelite order. Instead, she finds herself facing the resonances of the French Revolution. Through her relationships with her fellow sisters, she finds an inner strength that she didn’t previously possess.
Darby Schmidt
Darby Schmidt, a senior vocal major who will perform the role of Blanche, first wanted the role of Constance, a light-hearted nun that seems to have no fear. “But now, as I’ve delved into Blanche, she’s so emotionally complex, which is what I love so much about her,” says Schmidt. “She obviously finds faith in the Carmelites and religion, but I feel like the main thing about her is finding faith in herself.”
“There’s something inherently freeing about the idea of faith—and I don’t just mean faith in God or faith in something religious as much as faith in yourself, faith in those around you, in your community, because all those things manifest in this piece as well,” says Patrick Diamond, Associate Professor of Opera and Director of Production for Eastman Opera Theatre, who directs his first mainstage production at Eastman.
And he thinks the messages about faith in uncertain times is one that is needed today.
“With everything going on in the world right now, this is yet another moment where that kind of faith seems to be lacking. I don’t even mean religiously. Faith in each other. Trust. Understanding. … The point of the opera is human beings facing horrific circumstances and being able to face them, being able to meet them. And also, to be able to accept their death or their possible death as a result of those circumstances, to act and behave as leaders, as members of the community, under those circumstances.”
The opera’s production will allow for audiences to see such contemporary resonances. Although the historical elements are inspired by the paintings of eighteenth-century artist Jacques-Louis David, particularly in the world of the nobilities, the world of the nuns is timeless. Walled screens pivot into different configurations allowing the audience to see the terror going on outside the convent, but with the ability to focus on the nuns and their ideological dialogues about faith and martyrdom within it. A third world, that of the citizens, will feel more contemporary.
“There are two things I’m interested in as a director,” says Diamond. “The first thing is to really humanize these characters, to make them less two-dimensional versions of nuns. To make them real people. Also, this piece is so heavy, and it feels like there’s a spiral to their deaths, to their execution, and that’s just such a terrible and tragic thing. But there’s a real positive thing that comes out of that. We have to earn the true freedom and liberty that comes out of the agency that Blanche and the nuns find through their deaths, through embracing their deaths and through dying together as a gesture.”
Blanche and the nuns are not the only ones who find agency in the opera: the students are finding their own agency as they work on it. In rehearsals, Diamond focuses on the inner motivations of each character, along with the greater historical details that the opera is based upon.
Joelle Lachance
Joelle Lachance, a DMA opera major, performs the role of Mère Marie, one of the nuns who helps Blanche adapt to the convent and helps shape her faith. Lachance recalls three-hour rehearsals just working on one scene.
“But the plus side is that the end of those three hours, we know exactly what’s going on, we know exactly what we’re feeling, we know why we’re doing what we’re doing,” she says. “And it has definitely helped with the memorization aspects, not just the words, which are obviously in a foreign language, but also the memorization of what we’re supposed to be doing on stage.”
It’s an approach by Diamond that she feels will pay off.
“He’s dedicated to creating something that is impactful, not just for the audience, but also for the people who are on stage, in the pit, and backstage. That for me is huge because that’s what makes something art: it has to be moving and thought-provoking and I think that’s what he’s very good at doing.”
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Eastman Opera Theatre’s performances of Dialogues des Carmélites are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 4; Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6; with a matinee at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday April 7. This production is double-cast and runs for three hours including two intermissions. Click here to watch music director Tim Long, director Pat Diamond, and vocalist Darby Schmidt discuss the opera further.
Tickets are $20.00 for general admission. Internally, students, faculty and staff may present their URID to receive one free ticket. Tickets can be purchased at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main St., or online at EastmanTheatre.org. Due to sensitive subject matter involving suicide, this opera is not recommended for children.