At the start of the opera “Dialogues des Carmelites,” Blanche de la Force, the daughter of a French nobleman, decides to become a nun and join the Carmelite sisters at Compiegne. The French Revolution is underway and it’s the beginning of the Reign of Terror, and Blanche’s decision is prompted by encountering a mob on her way home.
Although she feigns calm, she’s disturbed by the escalating violence and seeks refuge at the convent. Ultimately, though, the Terror comes for the Compiegne convent as revolutionaries demand the dissolution of religious orders around France.
In the true events, 16 members of the convent were executed for refusing to submit to the suppressive laws and became known as the Martyrs of Compiegne. Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogues des Carmelites” focuses on the tensions between faith and doubt, courage and fear, and the work has been highly regarded since its premiere in 1957.
Although the venue may be of a different religious order, the New Orleans Opera Association has found an appropriate place to stage “Dialogues des Carmelites” this week. The organization presents the opera at the Old Ursuline Convent Museum on Tuesday, March 24, Thursday, March 26, and Saturday, March 28, as part of the first New Orleans Opera Festival.
Directed by Valentina Ceschi and conducted by Joshua Anand Slater, the performance will feature Stephanie Doche as Blanche de la Force, Norman Garrett as Le Marquis de la Force, Phyllis Treigle as the convent prioress Madam de Croissy and a number of other visiting vocalists and opera professionals.
The New Orleans Opera Festival runs March 24-29 with performances around the French Quarter and Central Business District. It’s the first time the Opera Association, which was founded in 1943, has organized a festival.
“This is a transformative moment for the company,” NOOA General and Artistic Director Lila Palmer said in a press release. “We are raising the bar, expanding our vision, and building something that will resonate far beyond this season.”
Palmer, a librettist and vocalist, took on the NOOA leadership role ahead of the 2024 season.
Another performance with religious themes will bookend the opera festival. “Pilgrimage” on Sunday will blend American opera composer Carlisle Floyd’s cantata of that name — which draws on Biblical texts — with the work “Vers toi qui es si loin” (“Towards you who are so far away”), a piece from Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho.
Co-directed by Palmer and Bennett Kirschner, the founding artistic director of New Orleans’ Intramural Theater, “Pilgrimage” begins at St. Louis Cathedral but will proceed to other undisclosed spaces around the Quarter. Soprano Leah Crocetto and baritones Darren Drone, Norman Garrett and Jorell Williams will perform.
On Wednesday, celebrated South African soprano Golda Schultz will perform at the Civic Theatre. She’ll be joined by pianist Jonathan Ware for a recital including works by Florence Price, Richard Strauss and George Crumb.
And on Saturday, the riverboat City of New Orleans will host another appropriate site-specific performance. Vocalists Cadie J. Bryan, Jonathan Bryan, Brittany Olivia Logan and Darren Drone will be joined by host and accompanist Gerald Steichen to perform pieces from “Show Boat.” The musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein is set on a Mississippi River show boat and produced several classics songs, including “Ol’ Man River.”
The festival kicks off Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. with an opening reception at The Cabildo. And there’s a closing party at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Later this fall, the Opera Association will stage “Der Rosenkavalier” at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. The opera by Strauss was originally planned for the festival, but it has been rescheduled to November.
Tickets for New Orleans Opera Festival productions are available individually via neworleansoperafestival.org.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com ’
