DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES

"It’s hard to imagine not being moved by a performance like this one - the Met at its very best." (New York Classical Review)

Ever since John Dexter’s striking production marked the companypremiere of Dialogues des Carmélites in 1977, Poulenc’s
devastating masterpiece has been a favorite of Met audiences. Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard is the fearful Blanche de la Force, who joins a convent of Carmelite nuns in order to escape the terrors of the French Revolution. The exceptional cast also features sopranos Erin Morley and Adrianne Pieczonka and mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill as some of Blanche’s fellow sisters, with tenor David Portillo as the protective Chevalier de la Force. Maestro Nézet-Séguin leads a gripping performance throughout – from the opera’s chaotic first bars to the chilling death scene of Madame de Croissy (sung by the incomparable Karita Mattila) to the work’s harrowing final moments.