Dialogues of the Carmelites

by JS

Anastasia and I went to see Dialogues of the Carmelites Friday night at the Long Center. The show was notable for several reasons. First, the Austin Lyric Opera director welcomed the audience by warning us about the length of the first act and implying that the second act would be revelatory, and we should definitely stick around.

Having seen the entire opera I can attest to the length and relative unimportance of the first act, and the captivating second. (I also noticed a number of people left in between.) Overall, I was struck by how this opera’s modern aesthetic. I was unaware of its mid-20th century vintage.

The use of dissonance throughout the first act evoked a mood of foreboding. Unfortunately, where the music was subtle, the libretto was overwrought. I began hoping that the instrumental interludes would last longer. (Certain horn passages where particularly interesting – utilizing the full range of the horn’s tonal palette.)

The lighting and staging were terrific, and probably the main reason I wanted to stay for the second act. The sets were minimal and the clever and precise lighting effects perfectly complemented the mood. The vocal work was capable, better than Rigoletto a few months ago, but hampered somewhat by the pondering initial pace.

The character development was confusing. Blanche, in particular, did not seem to have any sensible motivations. The first act was certainly not devoid of emotion. A women behind us began sobbing throughout the extended death scene near the end.

The second most notable aspect of the performance was our location. This is best described using a picture:

seats

We were literally 3 feet directly behind the conductor, in the very first row. Nice seats for music geeks, but the libretto translation was a little difficult to read from our location.

The second half of the second act was mostly in Latin, and played out like a perverse celebration of Mass. The foreboding tone from the first act was replaced by alternating kinetic and sombre passages, reflecting the two sides of revolution. The final scene was perfectly staged, affecting and effective in describing the terminal nature of death, and the spiritual and social implications of martyrdom.