Dialogues of the Carmelites

DEMBE Theatre, Station Road, Tring, HP23 5QY. Fri 28th and Sat 29th March 2025 at 7.30pm, Sun 30th March 2025 at 2.30pm

Aylesbury Opera presents a fully staged production of Poulenc's only full opera, sung in English with orchestra. Directed by Emma Large and conducted by Sam Laughton.

Cast includes:

Blanche de la Force - Robyn Pullen

Madame Lidoine - Jacqueline Varsey

Mother Marie - Isobel Hughes

Sister Constance - Camilla Foster Mitchell

Madame de Croissy - Salome Siu

Sister Gérald - Solenne Swinscoe-Dedieu

Marquis de la Force - Crispin Lewis

Chevalier de la Force - Jacob Cole

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The Opera

One of the most devastatingly powerful pieces in the repertoire, a compelling portrait of faith, fate and human endurance, Dialogues of the Carmelites is Poulenc’s only full-length opera. Thematically it is both a widescreen historical and political tragedy, and an intimate psychological exploration of faith. Poulenc’s score moves between grandeur and austerity, to tender introspection in music that has all the melodic beauty of his songs, now intensified into sung drama.

The Story

The opera is set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror and retells the true story of the Martyrs of Compiègnes. The regime’s increasing hostility towards religion creates an existential crisis for the Carmelite priory and its resident nuns. The opera focuses particularly on a young member of the order, the aristocratic Blanche de la Force, who must overcome a pathological timidity in order to answer her life’s calling.