Opera Club ‘Dialogue of the Carmelites’
All are welcome to watch Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogue of the Carmelites” on Tuesday, July 15, at 1:30 p.m. in the Learning Center of Clubhouse 3. Knowledgeable Opera Club member Cynthia Stone will introduce this devastating masterpiece about a group of nuns caught in the maelstrom of the French Revolution.
Act 1 opens depicting remaining revolutionary unrest in France of 1794. Blanche de la Force (an aristocrat) decides to enter the Order of Carmelites but Mother Superior warns her that the nuns are not a retreat from the world. A fellow nun, Sister Constance, tells Blanche of a dream showing the two of them dying young together.
In Act 2, Sister Constance further recounts that as Mother Superior did not find an easy death, perhaps someone else may benefit from an easy death. Blanche’s brother, Chevalier de la Force, arrives to inform Blanche that their father thinks she should withdraw from the convent as the people are also anti-clerical. Blanche however refuses saying she has found happiness there. The subjects of fear and martyrdom are discussed with the new Mother Superior saying only God decides who will be martyred. A public officer then arrives to say the convent has been nationalized and the nuns must give up their habits.
Act 3 depicts the nuns taking a vow of martyrdom (provided they all agree). Sister Constance at first declines but then changes her mind. Blanche runs away and is found in her father’s library where she learns that he has been guillotined. The nuns are arrested— with the exception of Mother Superior who is away and declared by the chaplain as spared by God—and condemned to death. At the place of execution, they one-by-one proceed to the guillotine singing “Hail Holy Queen.” Blanche appears last, offering her life to God.
The production is in French with English subtitles. People are encouraged to wear masks indoors, if desired. No dues or fees are collected. For more information, contact Margaret Gillon at 562-370-3844 or Margaretgi@yahoo.com. —Sylvan von Burg
