The French call the period from Sept. 5, 1793, to July 27, 1794 La Terreur -- The Reign of Terror -- a time of mob violence and mass executions of persons considered "enemies of the revolution." One such incident involved 16 Carmelite nuns who were guillotined on July 17, 1794. Their order had taken a collective vow of martyrdom and they became known as the Martyrs of Compeigne. Eventually sainted by the Catholic Church, their story became the subject of Francis Poulenc's opera "Dialogues of the Carmelites," which will have its Pittsburgh Opera premiere Saturday in the Benedum Center
Where: Pittsburgh Opera at Benedum Center, Downtown.
When: 8 p.m. Saturday; 7 p.m. Tuesday; 8 p.m. May 6; and 2 p.m. May 8.
Tickets: Start at $20; 412-456-6666.
The opera's central character is Blanche de la Force, a timid daughter of an aristocrat who joins the convent out of fear of the events going on around her, only to find that her cloister is no less a target of the mob. At the end, she gives up the chance of escape to a "safe house" to join her sisters at the guillotine.
But the opera is populated with vivid supporting characters, each of whom faces death in her own way. Most interesting are two Prioresses: the old Prioress Mme. De Croissy, who dies of an agonizing illness at the end of Act 1; and the young Prioress who replaces her, Mme. Lidoine. They will be played this week by mezzo-soprano Sheila Nadler and soprano Julianna Di Giacomo, respectively. Their characters face death in very different ways. Mme de Croissy suffers a crisis of faith, while Mme. Lidoine gains strength and preaches sacrifice to her spiritual daughters.
Ms. Nadler, who made her Pittsburgh Opera debut in the 1970-71 season, is a veteran in the role of the Old Prioress. "She didn't anticipate the kind of pain she's going through, and now she's lost her faith in God," says Ms. Nadler. "She's spent 40 years in the convent doing good works, and now it all means nothing. The whole thing is a metaphor for pain and human suffering. Poulenc made her death scene the dramatic center of the opera."
Ms. Di Giacomo is a star on the way up. She participated in the EPCASO (Pinza Foundation) program, debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in a supporting role in Bellini's "Norma," then made a sensation in January 2010, when she substituted at the last minute for an indisposed Sandra Radvanowsky in the nationally broadcast Saturday matinee of Verdi's, "Stiffelio." She makes a contrast between her character and the Old Prioress:
"Madame Lidoine has no crisis of faith," says Ms. Di Giacomo. "She has a big heart. She thinks that prayer will solve everything, and she's surprised when she finds that it didn't work out. She goes first to the guillotine to set a good example."
"Her music in the jail scene is so amazing, her big aria is so beautiful, but the most difficult moment for me is not that aria. It's later -- after the jailer reads the names [of the nuns to be executed] and Mme. Lidoine realizes that her prayers haven't worked -- that I get choked up and have to work hard to stay in control."
To which Ms. Nadler adds, "Poulenc was upset about the state of the world after World War II, but there are a lot of parallels to today's religious wars. It's about the horror of aimless hate."
First Published: April 28, 2011, 8:00 a.m.