Poulenc : Dialogues des Carmélites

Poulenc : Dialogues des Carmélites

Dmitri Tcherniakov’s sensational new production of the Francis Poulenc masterpiece at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, after having been withdrawn from the markets for eighteen month due to a judicial decision (following a request from the legal successors of Georges Bernanos and Francis Poulenc), available once again on DVD & Blu-ray !

A passionate lover of the human voice, Francis Poulenc composed the Dialogues des Carmélites in 1953, using a libretto he himself had written from a screenplay by Georges Bernanos. The work had never been performed in Munich and this rendering was entrusted to Dmitri Tcherniakov, whose worldwide reputation is underpinned by productions like Eugene Onegin and Macbeth at the Paris Opera and Don Giovanni at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

The international cast includes a fine Blanche de la Force by Susan Gritton and an excellent Madame de Croissy by Sylvie Brunet. They are superbly backed up by Soile Isokoski (Madame Lidoine), Susanne Resmark (Mother Marie), Hélène Guilmette (Sister Constance), Alain Vernhes (Marquis de la Force) and Bernard Richter (Chevalier de la Force).

Kent Nagano, who has the Dialogues at his fingertips — he recorded a landmark version some years ago — conducts the Bayerische Staatsoper Orchestra and Chorus.

Poulenc : Dialogues des Carmélites

Opera in three acts 

Music by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

Libretto : Francis Poulenc after Georges Bernanos

Marquis de la Force Alain Vernhes
Blanche de la Force Susan Gritton
Chevalier de la Force Bernard Richter
Madame de Croissy Sylvie Brunet
Madame Lidoine Soile Isokoski
Mère Marie Susanne Resmark
Sœur Constance Hélène Guilmette
Mère Jeanne Heike Grötzinger
Sœur Mathilde Anaïk Morel

Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper

Conductor Kent Nagano

Stage direction and sets Dmitri Tcherniakov

Costumes Elena Zaytseva
Lighting design Gleb Filshtinsky