Dialogues des Carmélites

Francis Poulenc Dialogues des Carmélites opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2008 by Nikolaus Lehnhoff at The Staatsoper Hamburg. Stars Wolfgang Schöne, Alexia Voulgaridou, Nikolai Schukoff, Kathryn Harries, Anne Schwanewilms, Gabriele Schnaut, Jana Büchner, Olive Fredricks, Susanne Bohl, Benjamin Hulett, Mortiz Gogg, Frieder Stricker, Wilhelm Schwinghammer, Jan Buchwald, Peter Veit, and Rainer Böddeker. Simone Young conducts the Philharmoniker Hamburg and the Chor der Staatsoper Hamburg (Chorus Master Florian Csizmadia). Sets by Raimund Bauer; costumes by Andrea Schmidt-Futterer; associate direction by Heiko Hentschel; dramaturgy by Annedore Cordes; lighting by Olaf Freese; TV direction by Andreas Morell. Released  2010, dilc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: A+

Finished in 1957, Dialogues des Carmélites may have the most beautiful music of any modern opera. Poulenc himself apologized for this saying he had to match the music to his subject, a group of nuns who lived during the time of the French Revolution. Poulenc also provided a libretto as powerful as the music is glorious. As directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff on stage and directed by Andreas Morell for HDVD, this production can only be described by paraphrasing Joseph Conrad, "The harrow; the harrow; the harrow." "Harrow" here means a circular plow with sharp teeth that grinds up everything in its path, which is exactly what this show does to its audience. If the audience speaks or is learning French, they also will benefit from admirably clear diction (I think) deployed by most members of the cast. The editors of Opera News in the January 2010 issue praised this as one of the 12 best opera videos to come out in 2010. Every serious HDVD opera fan must have this title, which earns Arthaus Musik its first "A+" grade on this website.