In hindsight Marie would probably agree that the Reign of Terror that precedes the French Revolution was probably not the best time to become a nun. Robespierre is not a fan of the Christians.
When Marie says she is strong enough to pass the tests to live the life of an austere nun, she is chided by Madame de Croissy with one of my favorite lines from tonight scolding that God is not “testing her for her strength, but for her weakness.” Later when Karita Mattila who plays de Croissy sings her guttural death bed scene along with the strings and horns… Whoas. Reminds me of Violetta.
Hold the presses. I am pretty sure Yannick Nezet-Seguin just walked into the Starbucks, wearing white leather shoes. He conducted the Carmelites I am writing about, but unfortunately by time I complete a duet with myself debating whether to approach him, he has swiftly walked across the street and in the direction of the Met.
I wish I didn’t hesitate to tell him how much I enjoyed his conducting the pines of Rome in Philadelphia in 2012, how he let loose the reigns for the crescendo of Elektra, and the tight attention to last nights Carmelites. I, opera fanboy, missed the chance to say thank you, I mean I literally have lasts nights playbill in front of me writing about an opera he conducted.
I thought this was an incredible historical opera and the crowd is old school respectful. It makes me laugh when this older crowd who came out for this lesser known opera the Carmelites gets quite a chuckle when a character asks, “who even lives past 59 years of age?” A both wise and youthful reaction.
This has to be one of the most devastating endings in the oeuvre… It takes me a quick minute to realize the choir sounds one member shy suddenly, then two, then three.
So what is the Dialogues Des Carmelites all about? It begins when Blanche joins a convent during the French Reign of Terror. The nuns vote if they will sacrafice themselves as martyrs or hide and run away and they choose to hold their ground and trust gods plan if it happens to be for martydom. The end is devastating.
Notes on the production
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Composer………………………..……..…Francis Poulenc
Blanche De La Force…………..……..Isabel Leonard
Sister Constance………………..…..…Erin Morley
Madame De Croissy……………..….. Karita Mattila
Mother Marie…………………………….. Karen Cargill
Sister Mathilde……………………..…… Emily D’Angelo
Chevalier De La Force…………..……David Portillo
Marquis De La Force……………….…..Jean-Francois Lapointe
Thierry……………………………………….…Eduardo Valdes
Metropolitan Opera
5/3/19