Francis Poulenc - Dialogues des Carm?lites / Marthe Keller ? Schmidt, Denize, Petibon, Millot, Dale, Henry ? Latham-Koenig (L'Op?ra National du Rhin)

Francis Poulenc - Dialogues des Carm?lites / Marthe Keller ? Schmidt, Denize, Petibon, Millot, Dale, Henry ? Latham-Koenig (L'Op?ra National du Rhin)
by Don Kent, Marthe Keller

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Anne-Sophie Schmidt, Jan Latham-Koenig, Laurence Dale, Nadine Denize, Patricia Petibon
Director: Don Kent, Marthe Keller
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: French (Original Language), PCM Stereo; English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Classical, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 156 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-11-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Arthaus Musik

Movie Reviews of Francis Poulenc - Dialogues des Carm?lites / Marthe Keller ? Schmidt, Denize, Petibon, Millot, Dale, Henry ? Latham-Koenig (L'Op?ra National du Rhin)

Movie Review: This is the one to have
Summary: 5 Stars

Unlike some reviewers, I have found no fault with the technical aspects of this recording. It is in stereo only, but despite this the sound is first rate.

I have written at length praising this production as distinct from the TDK production from La Scala. Here is a copy of my review of that production:

" Get the Arthaus production, September 30, 2007
By Archie (Ottawa ON Canada) - See all my reviews
I usually tend to agree with Scott Morrison's reviews. However, this time I only partially agree with him. Yes, "Dialogues of the Carmelites is one of the greatest Twentieth Century operas. Yes the minimalist set is stunningly effective, as is the lighting and the choreography of the nuns. And yes, it is a very good production on stage; although I do hate it when there is a scene change and suddenly from the relatively dim lighting on stage one gets a bright full shot of the orchestra and then a close-up on Mr. Muti. This is jarring and grossly interferes with the atmosphere and momentum of the piece.

But Dr. Morrison must not have seen the other DVD of "Dialogues" by Opera national du Rhin (1999) on Arthaus. I suspect that were he to have done so, he would have held back the superlatives on the Scala production because there would be nothing left to use to praise the other, which in my opinion is so much better. I do not want to detract too much from this production, because it is very good and one should experience it. But if you are to have only one, I would strongly recommend that you get the Arthaus production.

Dr. Morrison has written at length about the TDK production, so I will briefly make a few points about the Arthaus one. The set and the costumes are equally minimalist, stark and extremely effective. The final scene which Dr. Morrison has praised is done better here, (and was done first); and the lead up to it in the prior scenes is much more emotionally telling. This feels like a much more intimate production with the singers and the orchestra very well balanced. The singing and acting are wonderful. There is a much better flow and momentum to the piece, and this is greatly enhanced by the camera work. Normally I do not particularly like too many close-ups (and have been severely critical of Don Kent for his editing of Lucie de Lammermoor on TDK), but here it feels right and appropriate, and it greatly enhances the psychological and moral issues which are so central to this opera.

In my opinion, the Opera national du Rhin production, directed by Marthe Keller and conducted by Jan Latham-Koenig is the one to have and to experience again and again.

[I have not seen the Kultur production, because reading the reviews it appears that they have yet again come up with a sub standard recording (no subtitles, no liner notes) of what probably was a good production. As I have written in reviews of very disappointing Kultur recordings where they sabotage a good production with a bare minimum (if even that) DVD, it would be a blessing if they would go bankrupt.]"

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Summary of Francis Poulenc - Dialogues des Carm?lites / Marthe Keller ? Schmidt, Denize, Petibon, Millot, Dale, Henry ? Latham-Koenig (L'Op?ra National du Rhin)

French composer Francis Poulenc was both an ardent Catholic and a free-loving homosexual, making the achievement of his intensely personal opera, Dialogues des Carm?lites, even more remarkable. Although widely known as a mere purveyor of endlessly charming and witty music (including some of the most perfectly constructed songs of the entire 20th century), Poulenc also wrote many substantial compositions, of which the three-act Carm?lites ranks highest. Based on Georges Bernanos's story about young Blanche, a selfless nun martyred along with the rest of her convent during the French Revolution, Carm?lites, thanks to its composer's considerable musical and dramatic skills, is one of the most emotionally direct and unapologetically moral of all modern operas.

For this 1999 production at the Op?ra national du Rhin in Strasbourg, France, actress-turned-director Marthe Keller does a superlative job of conveying Poulenc's intentions. Her spare staging effectively evokes the austere world of the cloistered nuns, and there are many striking images, notably the opera's final tragic moments when the women literally drop, one by one, to the musical sound of the guillotine's blade. In a first-rate cast, Anne Sophie Schmidt is an especially touching Blanche, and conductor Jan Latham-Koenig has masterly control over the emotional ebb and flow of Poulenc's score. The DVD sound is full and rich, the subtitles are adequate, and Don Kent's video direction includes visual felicities--like slow-motion, still images, and black and white--that underscore the preordained doom without overdoing it. --Kevin Filipski

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