The Israeli premiere of Dialogues des Carmélites, the 1957 French opera by Francis Poulenc set during the Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France at the end of the 18th century, was off to a good start from the moment conductor Asher Fisch approached the orchestra pit.
Recently chosen to serve as the chief conductor of the Tyrol Festival in Erl, Fisch was lauded by the audience as soon as he emerged to lead the Israeli Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion in this production under revival director Daniel Izzo.
Soprano Yael Levita inhabited the role of Blanche de la Force, a young noblewoman who seeks a spiritual life within the seclusion offered by the Discalced Carmélites, a Catholic order established in 1562 inspired by the words of the biblical prophet Elijah: “I am moved by zeal for the eternal, the God of Hosts” (I Kings 19:14). “Discalced” means living in poverty, literally “barefooted.”
Embraced by the aging Prioress (Shay Bloch) and guided by her successor Madame Lidoine (Alla Vasilevitsky), de la Force develops a powerful friendship with a younger nun, Constance (Shira Patchornik), and seems to find herself.
This all comes crushing down when the eye of the state is turned to examine these double reminders of the previous order – the women are both devout Catholics and noblewomen during the days of the sharp-blade guillotine – and they are destroyed
The well-casted Oded Reich, whom we last saw in the role of Herzl, is the officer who promises to give the sisters identity cards during the Citoyennes ,nous vous félicitons interlude (Citizens, for your loyalty), offering them freedom “under the watchful eyes of the law” if they prove loyal to the new secular rulers of France.
This opera presents the viewer with palatable grand drama inspired by real events, yet Poulenc composed highly personal, subjective music for it. We’re offered the unusual experience of feeling intimate emotions closely, opera critic Amir Mendel noted (in contrast with, for example, the big emotions in Wagner’s operas). This is a major current flowing through the entire work.
De la Force sees the prayer of a single shepherd as a symbol for all the pleas of mankind. Her aging father (Ionut Pascu) sees riots, or pogroms, lurking behind the new ideal of Liberty being whispered about among his servants and written in chalk on the set. During her agonizing death, the Prioress rebels against the established hierarchy – God is great, and humanity must contemplate Him – and cries out that “God should think of me!” The response is swift: Madame Lidoine assumes command, seeing that her beloved mentor is no longer of sound judgment.
A visual masterpiece
VISUALLY, set designer Pierre-Andre Weitz crafted a magical expression to this shift in perspectives. When we see Bloch, it is as if we are her own soul, hovering above her sick bed watching her speak.
When Karita Mattila performed the part in the 2019 Met Opera production, she was bedridden during the entire scene but shared the stage with the other performers. La Force (Maria Ewing) was able to touch her departing mother-figure before saying goodbye. The intimacy gained at the Met was replaced here with an enormous distance between the dying and those who are still living.
Adding much needed gaiety to this otherwise very somber opera, Patchornik excelled in the role of a young woman blessed by heavens with a cheerful disposition. One scene between her and Levita, with Constance blowing soap bubbles during chores in front of an aghast de la Force, was excellent.
Poulenc was a highly sensitive and intelligent composer with a deeply religious side. This opera is not a preachy tale of salvation, and the sisters are not fanatics eager to stretch their necks out and be sent to paradise. When de la Force is separated from them and has a chance to escape, Levita sings the scene from the opera hall, facing the stage next to the audience, becoming a spectator herself as she is very much frightened of making the wrong choice.
The final scene of Salve Regina (Hail to the Queen), during which the nuns embrace their fate and soar into the inky heavens to shine like stars – was a marvel to experience.
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathaniel of Cana asked Philip (John 1:46). This week in Tel Aviv, we got one possible answer – this great opera.
‘Dialogues des Carmélites’ by Francis Poulenc is now offered at the Israeli Opera, with the final performance to be given on Monday, June 3, at 6 p.m. Ticket prices range between NIS 195 and 455. Sung in French with English and Hebrew titles. Two hours and forty-five minutes, one intermission. Call (03) 692-7777 for bookings. The Israeli Opera, 19 Shaul Hamelech St., Tel Aviv.