Wolf Trap’s strong cast delivers a compelling “Dialogues of the Carmelites”
Erin Wagner stars as Blanche de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites at Wolf Trap Opera. Photo: Rich Kessler/Wolf Trap
For its second opera of the 2025 season, Wolf Trap Opera turned to Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites, which opened Friday night. This 1956 fictionalization of the true story of an order of Carmelite nuns who martyred themselves during the Reign of Terror follows the unhappy Blanche de la Force as she abandons her wealthy family for a convent, her desire for a “heroic life” eventually satisfied as she shares the same grim fate as her sisters.
Wolf Trap Opera fielded a strong group of young artists to meet the substantial dramatic demands of Carmelites’ principal roles, starting with Cecilia McKinley as Madame Croissy. Credibly inhabiting the aging prioress presents inevitable challenges for a younger singer, and McKinley’s introductory scene with the newly arrived Blanche was not entirely convincing. Yet for the character’s iconic death scene that closes the first act, McKinley turned in a hugely compelling performance, her dense contralto conveying the despair and savagery in the Mother Superior’s ravings.
Erin Wagner presented a rueful and downtrodden Blanche in the Act I scenes with her family and introduction to the convent, her mezzo-soprano blossoming nicely in the character’s more lyrical passages. Wagner added a steelier core to her sound as Blanche became increasingly enmeshed in convent life, evident in moments like a powerful Act II confrontation with her brother. As Blanche’s unlikely young compatriot at the convent, Sister Constance, Gemma Nha had the winning stage presence to bring off the character’s memorable mix of naivete and obsession with death. Her ebullient soprano proved a fine fit for the part if occasionally betraying some tightness at the top.
Gabrielle Beteag’s richly-colored mezzo produced some of the most impressive sounds of the evening as Mother Marie, the alternate candidate for Reverend Mother who rashly initiates the vow of martyrdom for the sisters. Her richly-colored mezzo and flashes of astonishing power made the character a dominant presence on stage. and occasional flash of astonishing power made the character a dominant presence on stage.
Beteag’s Mother Marie offered a stark contrast with Madame Lidoine, the new prioress who also grapples with leadership of the community after the death of the Mother Superior. Here, Keely Futterer’s shimmering soprano communicated Lidoine’s gentler maternal approach in gorgeous long-breathed phrases as in her benediction to the sisters in prison in Act III.
Cecelia McKinley as Madame Croissy and Gabrielle Beteag as Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites. Photo: Rich Kessler/Wolf Trap
Elsewhere in the cast, Travon D. Walker offered a dynamic tenor and strong French sound for the Chevalier de la Force, while Jonathan Patton was a robust if perhaps overly excitable Marquis de la Force. As Sister Mathilde, Midori Marsh’s vibrant soprano stood out amongst the extended group of nuns.
Geoffrey McDonald led the Wolf Trap Opera Orchestra in a reading intent on bringing out the red-blooded drama in Carmelites. That frequently made for a bracing sense of immediacy, though in some places, like the beginning of the finale, more restraint might have better served the sense of inexorable tragedy in Poulenc’s score. McDonald and the orchestra nicely brought forth the nuanced colors in the orchestration as well as a fluid sense of momentum in Poulenc’s atomized figures. The memorable ensemble passages, in which Poulenc hauntingly adapts various hymns and chants, were also a highlight here.
The production, directed by Katherine M. Carter largely lets Carmelites speak for itself. Effective choreography of the large cast kept the interactions clear (no small feat with everyone in identical outfits), though the staging of the harrowing ending, as the nuns submit to the guillotine one by one over the strains of the Salve Regina, felt a bit anti-climactic.
The physical production, with sets by Lawrence E. Moten thoughtfully utilized the intimate Barns space with a raked platform in the shape of a cross and a simple set of archways.
The Dialogues of the Carmelites runs through July 26 at Wolf Trap. wolftrap.org
2 Responses to “Wolf Trap’s strong cast delivers a compelling “Dialogues of the Carmelites””
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Posted Jul 20, 2025 at 10:31 am by Kenneth Warlick
I agree with everything in this superbly detailed review. All,of the singers were superb. Unfortunately, “anti-climactic” does not adequately describe the ending which is ordinarily “harrowing.”
The small stage limited options but simply turning the lights off of the nuns faces as they proceeded to the guillotine was tediously boring.
The orchestra also failed to produce crashing guilotine sounds to add terror to the very dull ending.
The Paris opera recording with Crespin, Duval, Gorr, and Dervaux demonstrates in sound alone how shocking the ending can be.
Posted Nov 03, 2025 at 6:41 am by susan
When is this opera returning?!