Power and poignancy mark Dallas Opera’s ‘Dialogues of the Carmelites’

PERFORMANCE REVIEW:

The Dallas Opera
November 7, 9(m), 12, 15, 2025
Winspear Opera House
Dallas, Texas – USA
Francis POULENC: Dialogues of the Carmelites
Emmanuel Villaume, conductor; Olivier Py, original director; Daniel Izzo, revival director; Francis Poulenc, composer & librettist. Cast: Joyce El-Khoury (Blanche de la Force), Patricia Racette (Mme. De Croissy), Leah Hawkins (Mme. Lidoine), Stéphanie d’Oustrac (Mother Marie), Deanna Breiwick (Sister Constance), Gretchen Krupp (Mother Jeanne),Meridian Prall (Sister Mathilde), Raymond Aceto (The Marquis de la Force), Martin Luther Clark (The Chevalier de la Force), Aaron-Casey Gould (Chaplain), Andrew Potter (Thierry/The Jailer), Brian Post (Javelinot), Samuel “PJ” Lopez (First Commissioner), Armon Golliday (Second Commissioner/First Officer), Kristen Mata (Mother Gerald), Stephanie Jennings (Sister Claire), Carelle Flores (Sister Antoine (Portress)), Tiffanny Lynne Lopez (Sister Catherine), Catherine Swindle (Sister Felicity), Rachel Davies (Sister Gertrude), Silvia Paola Núñez (Sister Alice), Rachel Moon (Sister Valentine), Arielle Collier (Sister Anne of the Cross), Sabatina Mauro (Sister Martha), Susannah Woodruff (Sister St. Charles). Creative: Pierre-André Weitz, set & costume designer; Bertrand Killy, lighting designer; David Zimmerman, wig & make-up designer; Paolo Bressan, chorus director.

Gregory Sullivan Isaacs | 12 NOV 2025

The Dialogues of the Carmelites by Francis Poulenc is an opera that is more known about than heard these days. Dallas Opera audiences are seeing it for the first time, although the Fort Worth Opera produced it in 2006. Most opera fans are familiar with its existence, and that concerns nuns who meet an untimely end. Others may know that it takes place during the French Revolution. But few have actually seen a production.

Enter conductor Emmanuel Villaume, who is marvellous with French operas and just finished a powerful production of Carmen. Although opening night was not sold out, it was well attended by an appreciative audience. If there were any doubters, they were converted to fans soon after the opera started.

The Carmelite order is about living a severely cloistered and restricted life of poverty and devotion, as well as constant prayer and study. As in the opera, Carmelites wear a plain grey scapular (habit). Wearing this garment will spare them from holy fire when they die. That is a promise delivered by Our Lady to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251. ^[1]

Poulenc wrote the libretto himself, based on a play by Georges Bernanos, which in turn was based on a novella, “The Song at the Scaffold,” by Gertrud von Le Fort, which told the tale of the 1794 execution of the Carmelite Nuns of Compiègne. The action is set during the French Revolution when anti-Catholic sentiment vied with anti-royalty bias for a place in line for the guillotine.

As with Carmen, this is a borrowed production, originally designed by Olivier Py for the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels and the Paris-based Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. The minimalist set is stark, mostly in black. There is one wintery scene with white trees that brings such a chill that a return to all black is welcome. There are some uncomfortable-looking chairs, one small chandelier, and a few skeletal set pieces that are held in place.

There is one wintery scene with white trees that brings such a chill that a return to all black is a welcome warming.

While this review doesn’t comment on some of the cast because of the number of singers, all of them are terrific vocally and believable.

The leading character is Blanche de la Force (a fictional person), movingly portrayed by soprano Joyce El-Khoury. She is destined for martyrdom right from the start, when she tells her strictly stuffy father, played by Raymond Aceto, and her supportive brother (played by Martin Luther Clark) that she wants to join the Carmelites.

Probably the most challenging role in the opera, both vocally and dramatically, is the terminally ill elderly Prioress, sung by a riveting Patricia Racette. Although Racette is not really a mezzo, as the score requests, her versatility knows no bounds. Her resonant voice and sure acting ability brought the part to the forefront. But her death scene was oddly staged, giving us a surrealistic view from the ceiling of her writhing on her deathbed.

As Madame Lidoine, her replacement as Prioress, Leah Hawkins takes charge immediately. Stéphanie d’Oustrac played Mother Marie with determination. As the chatty Sister Constance, Deanna Breiwick offered a breath of youthful exuberance to the proceedings and managed her transition to a more serious nature with aplomb.

Other characters were also believably created. As the Chaplain, baritone Aaron-Casey Gould was excellent, and Andrew Potter played two roles—Thierry and the Jailer. As the First Commissioner, Samuel PJ Lopez delighted in issuing the death proclamations of the Revolution.

The actual beheadings are subtly done, with the nuns all in a semicircle on the stage, holding hands and singing Salve Regina. Each time we heard the rude sound of the offstage guillotine descending, one of the nuns bowed her head and quietly left the stage while the others continued singing the prayer as before. The execution of the last one remaining was greeted by a quiet gasp in the music and a silent one in the audience. There was stunned silence before the audience delivered an enthusiastic and well-deserved standing ovation. ■

The Dallas Opera continues its production of Piulenc’s ‘Dialogues of the Carmelites’ with performances tonight (November 12) and Saturday, November 15, 2025, at Winspear Opera House. dallasopera.org

^[1] For more information about the order, visit the website of the Carmelite Monastery of the Sacred Hearts in Colorado Springs: sistersofcarmel.com

About the author:

Gregory Sullivan Isaacs is a Dallas-based composer, conductor, and journalist. He is also a coach and teacher with a private studio.

Read more by Gregory Sullivan Isaacs.