Blanche de la Force
Final Performance is October 30
Dialogues of the Carmelites
By Francis Poulenc
Overview
Dates
October 15–30, 2022
Composer
Francis Poulenc
Price
Starting at $26
Run Time
2 hours, 50 minutes including one intermission
Language
Sung in French with English supertitles
Libretto
Francis Poulenc
To live in fear—or die in faith.
Outside, scaffolds rise in city squares as priests, nobles, and political prisoners face the merciless blade of the guillotine. The aristocrat Blanche de la Force had hoped the convent would serve as a sanctuary. But now, death is at the sisters' doorstep. And one by one, their faith will be tested.
Francis Poulenc’s profound drama returns to San Francisco in honor of the Company’s U.S. premiere of the work in 1957. Olivier Py’s award-winning staging pairs striking tableaus with Poulenc’s haunting, poetic score conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim.
Dialogues of the Carmelites Pre-Opera Talk
By Laura Prichard
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The Buzz
“Magnificently sung from top to bottom, conducted with fluid assurance by Music Director Eun Sun Kim and staged with an eye to both grandeur and immediacy, ‘Carmelites’ conjures up every expressive strand in [Francis] Poulenc’s suave score and weaves it into a rich dramatic tapestry.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
“This new production isn’t merely successful, it’s a potent triumph.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
“Soprano Heidi Stober’s appearances with the company have been reliable sources of joy… But her performance as Blanche added a new and even deeper level of psychological specificity to her expected vocal brilliance.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
Synopsis
A fearful young noblewoman seeks sanctuary in a convent on the eve of the French Revolution—only to discover herself facing a much greater crisis of faith, as death comes for the nuns.
Read Complete Synopsis
Synopsis courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera
Cast
Creative Team
Production
Olivier Py*
Production Designer
Pierre-André Weitz*
Lighting Designer
Bertrand Killy*
* San Francisco Opera Debut
PERFORMANCES
October 15, 18, 21, 26, 30, 2022
Co-production of Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Bruxelles
Related Articles
Dive deeper by exploring articles before or after the opera!
Made Possible By
This production is made possible, in part, by Louise Gund; Bernard and Barbro Osher, and Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem.