Director
Phyllida Lloyd
Design
Anthony Ward
Lighting
Hugh Vanstone
Translation
Joseph Machlis
Performers
Madame de Croissy
Felicity Palmer
Mother Marie
Josephine Barstow
Blanche de la Force
Catrin Wyn-Davies
Marquis de la Force
Ashley Holland
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Dialogues of
the Carmelites
Poulenc
English National Opera
London Coliseum
5 Oct - 3 Nov 2005
Poulenc's one large-scale opera Dialogue des Carmelites has divided his supporters. Some regard it almost as his masterpiece, others as a flawed adventure outside his natural territory of fun, wit, irony and, to create a neologism, miniaturism.
The truth does not lie between the two views but there are elements of truth in both. Poulenc was a superb writer of short pieces, but he had shown in the post-WW2 years that he could broaden his canvas to great effect. He was also not always just witty, but capable of powerful emotions as the wartime song C had shown. In turning to George Bernanos's account of the Carmelite nuns in the early days of the Reign of Terror, Poulenc set out to write a wholly serious piece that has, at least not deliberately, no comic moments. What he achieved was a most powerful work capable of deeply moving an audience, provided it is well performed. This it was by the forces of ENO, and more.
The first problem of staging Dialogue is the preponderance of women's voices. Too many of the same sort of voice tends to lead to lack of characterization. At first, I though this might be going to be the case; but, then, Felicity Lott appeared with her searing performance of the dying Prioress. Lott's hard-edged voice seemed made for this brittle character, whose authority is stamped on her nuns but which is not stamped on herself. She evokes admiration, perhaps a little fear, and sympathy. To an intelligent singer such as Lott this role is a gift, and she embraced it with open arms, if that is the part of her anatomy that did the embracing! The Prioress confides in her 'favourite' sister, the newly recruited aristocratic Blanche, that the path towards sanctity holds many pitfalls, and the journey is never over. As she dies she not only is haunted by Blanche's choice of convent-name (Sister Blanche of the Agony of Christ) but has premonitions of her own about the desecration of her convent. In one spasm of agony the Prioress says that she has served God, now it is time for him to serve her in her hour of need. Her 'garden of Gethsemane' is counterpoised to the two young nuns Blanche and Constance, playing innocently in their garden. The Prioress has psychological depths and Felicity Lott explored these emotionally and musically to the full.
The dying Prioress cannot hold a performance alone. Dialogue is a slow opera that takes its time to reach its climax. Poulenc also chose not to infuse it with prominent melodies but to suffuse it with continuously elegant melody and gorgeous orchestration. It is not without its inevitably moments of super-charge but in the wrong hands it is full of longuers. But these did not occur in Paul Daniel's masterful handling of the score. His sharp ear attended at all times to the balance both between stage and orchestral, but equally tellingly between the various instruments in the orchestra. This allowed the quiet sumptuousness of the Poulenc's score to shine, and allowed some very telling wind playing to add colour to the sound and articulate the drama. Poulenc's subtle regulation of the harmonic intensity was beautifully handled, perhaps even just allowed to speak for itself. All this compelled all forces to build up to the final gruesome scene with a kind of frightening intensity. As the nuns marched one by one to the scaffold the audience was conscious of the slow and careful build-up to this terrifying scene. A conductor is nothing without his orchestra. The ENO players responded with outstanding sensitivity to Daniel's inspired direction, as the Act 1 Scene 2 and Act 2 Scene 3 showed to perfection.
Lott and Daniel may have been the most glittering stars, but the rest of the performance was equally strong. Josephine Barstow as the assistant prioress brought both a vocal and dramatic command to her role, as did Catrin Wyn Jones to the central character, Blanche de la Force (aka Sister Blanche of the Agony of Christ). The new Prioress, sung by Orla Boylan, was beautifully executed being at once sympathetic and authoritative.
The score is permeated with echoes, some of which Poulenc was more conscious than others. The 'fate' motif (three repeated notes followed by three more a minor third higher) cannot help recalling Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, but its reference adds to the drama. The unfolding inevitability of the nuns' fate is as relentless as that of Oedipus and caused as much by hard-hearted gods. Perhaps only unconsciously did Poulenc refer to the work, but it is a revealing insight into his perspective on the plot.
As the opera draws on more men's voices appear, notably the Priest sung by Ryland Davies. He took a while to warm into the part and regrettably only every so often did his gestures suggest the agony of his situation and his training as a priest. Vocally convincing, it was pity his portrayal did not match his voice. This was in contrast to the superb portrayal of the Chevalier de la Force sung by Peter Wedd who seemed made for the role of Blanche's brother.
The staging was restrained and so allowed the singers full scope to make the drama themselves. The final scene with its sequence of state-murders by guillotine has compelled some to stay away from performances of the opera. In this production there is no blood, and a limited number of visible descents of the guillotine. One by one the nuns are killed, as finally is the one-time reluctant Blanche who returns at the last minute to join her sisters in death. This awesomely repelling scene was handle with restraint and thus with greater power. Only hard-hearts left the theatre chattering of high notes and voices: the rest could see these as just means to an end.
Roderick Swanston
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