Dialogues des carmélites
December 2007 Reviewed by: Wes Marshall Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

People have differing reactions to the French Revolution. Some saw it as the people breaking free from the yoke of royal tyranny, and others saw only anarchic mobs using their fresh sense of empowerment to kill anyone they liked. Francis Poulenc chose the latter view in his 1957 opera Dialogues des carmélites. It is the story of a small Carmelite convent caught up in the "nationalization" of church property and the reaction of the sisters to martyrdom.

Poulenc’s opera is tragically poignant, relentlessly sad and heartbreakingly gorgeous. Poulenc never resorts to cheap modernisms. Instead, he writes 149 minutes of lyrical music, punctuated with stabs of violent sound only when the story calls for it.

The main voices are perfect for their roles, especially Dagmar Schellenberger's Blanche, who must be shy and brave all in one voice. This performance will be a constant thorn in the side of the La Scala management, reminding them just how much they lost when they got into a pissing match with their music director, Riccardo Muti. His shaping of the sound is as close to perfect as you could ever hope for, carefully tracing Poulenc’s emotional arc.

Michael Levine’s sets, Falk Bauer’s costumes and Jean Kalman’s lighting all create that rarest of opera beasts: a dramatically compelling minimalist production. Filming is clean without too much busyness, which must have been a real temptation with all the black and white. Sonically, everything is clear, although there is virtually no sense of depth, even when using the DD 5.1 track.

As usual with TDK, there are zero extras. Nonetheless, this DVD is a superb introduction to Poulenc’s opera and highly recommended.

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