DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES*

THE OPERA DIVISION

presents

Francis Poulenc

Revised English version by Joseph Machlis

Conductor

Director

Scenic and Costume Designer

Lighting Designer

THE MARQUIS DE LA FORCE

BLANCHE, his daughter (Sister Blanche of the Agony of Christ)

THE CHEVALIER, his son

MADAME DE CROISSY, prioress of the Carmelite Convent

MADAME LIDOINE, the new Prioress

MOTHER MARIE OF THE INCARNATION

Assistant Prioress

SISTER CONSTANCE OF ST. DENIS

A novice

MOTHER JEANNE, Dean of the

Community SISTER MATHILDE

THE FATHER CONFESSOR OF THE CONVENT

James Craig (March 7, 14) Michael Evans (March 8, 15)

Constance Fisher Elsie Sawchuk

Michael Whitfield

CAST March 7, 14

Paul Massel Frances Ginzer

James McLean (March 7, 15)

Laetitia Snethen Laurie Bassett Janet Coates** (March 7, 15) Shawna Farrell Kristine Anderson Donna Hurst

Robert Missen (March 7, 15)

March 8, 15

Ross Thompson Joanne Kolomyjec

Michael Shust (March 8, 14)

Lilian Kilianski Marianne Freeman Lynn West

(March 8, 14)

Lee Ryan

Donna Hurst Kristine Anderson

James McLean (March 8, 14)

* By permission of the Publishers and Copyright Owners G. Ricordi & Co. (Milano) Ltd. Text of the drama by Georges Bernanos, adapted to a lyric opera with the authorization of Emmet Lavery; the drama inspired by a novel of Gertrud von le Fort and by a scenerio of Rev. Father Bruckberger and Philippe Agostini.

** Graduate

MOTHER SISTER SISTER SISTER SISTER SISTER SISTER SISTER SISTER SISTER MARTHA SISTER ST. CHARLES lst COMMISSIONER

GERALD

CLAIRE

ANTOINE

CATHERINE PELTCELY.

GERTRUDE

ALICE

VALENTINE

ANNE OF THE CROSS

2nd COMMISSIONER OFFICER

JAILER

THIERRY, a servant M. JAVELINOT,

a physician

The The The The

ACT 1

The The The The The

ACT 11

The The The The

ACT 111

Cristen Gregory Martha Collins Mary-Jo Masterson Beverley Bell Margot Sim Dianne Parke Mary Peterson Tania Parrish Corinne Avers Carolyn Hart Brenda Luka

Robert Missen (March 8)

Ross Driedger Daniel Neff Timothy Cruickshank

David Fawcett (March 7, 14,

Thomas Goerz

15)

Timothy Cruickshank Gregory Cross

Ross Driedger Thomas Goerz

Daniel Neff Gregory Cross

THE DIALOGUES

Library of the Marquis de la Force Parlor of the Carmelite Convent Workroom

Infirmary

Cloisters Chapter Room Cloisters Parlor Sacristy

Chapel

Cloisters

Library of the Marquis de la Force Prison

A Street x Place de la Revolution

The action takes place in

and near Paris between the years 1789 and 1794.

There will be two fifteen minute intermissions

THE OPERA DIVISION GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE ASSISTANCE OF SISTER BARBARA IANNI OF THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH, REV: BONIFACE MALOWANY O.S.B.M. AND THE CARMELITE ORDER AT CARMEL HEIGHTS, MISSISSAUGA.

THE STORY Based on the historic event of 1794, when sixteen nuns of the Carmelite Congregation of Compiegne were guillotined by the French Revolutionaries, the story revolves mainly around Blanche de la Force, daughter of Marquis de la Force, who, because of her chronic fear, seeks refuge in the convent as a Carmelite nun. The transformation of Blanche from the timid and periodically hysterical young girl of the first Act, into the calm and almost radiant martyr of the final scene, forms the core of the drama. Her spiritual development is strongly influenced by her companions in the convent; the unique affinity she has for the old Prioress, the naive faith of the novice Constance and the spiritual

strength of Mother Marie.

ACT 1 - Conscious of his sister's exceeding sensitivity, the Chevalier worries about her delayed return from an outing. His fears remind the Marquis of the events surrounding the birth of his daughter Blanche. Blanche arrives visibly shaken, her carriage

having been blocked by revolutionaries. Later, frightened by a servant drawing the curtains in her room, she returns to the library to ask her father's permission to enter the Carmelite Order. In an interview with the Prioress, Blanche feels encouraged and strengthened. The old nun, in spite of sensing Blanche's weakness, feels a strong attachment to her. At work Blanche and another novice, Constance talk of fear

and death. Blanche is unnerved by the simple faith and confidence of the voung Constance. When the old Prioress dies in agony and fear, Blanche's own obsessions increase.

ACT 11 - Constance reveals to Blanche her conviction that the old Prioress took upon herself the agonizing ''death of another" and that because of this someone will find

death ''easy and comfortable."' Swearing obedience to the new Prioress, Mme. Lidoine, the community prays for courage during the difficult times ahead. The Chevalier arrives to take Blanche out of the convent to care for their father. She refuses to leave her present safety. The persecution of the Church by the revolutionary forces increases. As the Priest completes his final mass, the Commissioners arrive to announce the expulsion of the nuns from the convent. The new Prioress escapes to Paris to consult with her superiors

as Mother Jeanne attempts to comfort the distraught Blanche.

ACT 111 - In the absence of the Prioress, Mother Marie influences the community to take the vow of martyrdom, After taking the vow, Blanche flees from the convent. As the nuns leave the convent an officer warns them against any organized religious activities. Mother Marie finds Blanche back in her own home working as a servant. She orders her to return

to the other sisters who are living in small communities and continuing their religious life. Blanche, more fearful than ever, refuses to go. The nuns are arrested and imprisoned. As the Prioress offers them words of comfort a jailor enters to announce that they will be executed the following day. The Priest informs Mother Marie of the fate of the sisters but prevents her from returning to die with them; her martyrdom is to remain alive. As the nuns mount the scaffold Blanche finds the courage to join her sisters.

DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES ee ER ARMELITES

Dialogues of the Carmelites received its world premiére (in Italian

translation) at La Scala on January 26, 1957. The Paris premiére followed in June and the opera quickly achieved a firm international reputation, the first and still the only French opera since Ravel's

L'Enfant et les Sortiléges (1925) to do so.

The Italian publisher Ricordi had commissioned a ballet from Poulenc. He was unenthusiastic and Proposed an opera instead. The director of Ricordi, Valcaranghi, himself Suggested a subject: Bernanos' play Dialogues des Carmélites. Though Poulenc had seen the play twice

he was unsure of its Suitability for setting to music. Coming across

a copy in a bookshop window he opened it, at random, to the £ITSit speech of the Old Prioress. "Incredible as it may seem," he wrote,

"I found immediately the melodic sweep of this long answer." Making his own cuts in the play, Poulenc occupied himself over the next three years with the composition of this, his only full-length serious opera.

Those familiar with Poulenc's work, sacred or profane, will find his unmistakable imprint everywhere in Dialogues. He saw no virtue in Originality per se, indeed he proudly acknowledged the profound influence of a rich musical heritage. This score is dedicated to Debussy, Moussorgsky and Verdi, but a dozen other names might easily be substituted. The aristocratic Mother Marie, for example, is identified by a courtly motif suggesting a Lullian Sarabande. The New Prioress' prison scene is a consoling and serene Bachian Cantilena. Blanche de la Force, approaching the Old Prioress' death- bed for the second time, elicits an orchestral melody that Puccini would have prized. An ostinato modified from Stravinsky accompanies the Old Prioress' death and underpins the entire closing scene of the Opera. Yet these and many other examples are at once the glories of the score and the most idiomatic Poulenc. "He laid eggs like a cuckoo in every nest but his own," writes Ned Rorem, "yet every nestling warbled pure Francis."

Poulenc's life-time friend and colleague, Pierre Bernac, attests to his humanity and Simplicity; the very qualities that are the musical heart of the Dialogues. It is Poulenc's compassion that enables these Carmelite nuns to reach out and touch us.

VIOLIN I

Paul Thompson (Concert Master) Angelo Calcafuoco

Mark Wells

Pauline Salesse

Suzanne Begin

Douglas Brierley

Allyson Lyne

Samuel Ho

Ken Mizumoto

Martha Campbell

VIOLIN II

Marc Destrube* Norman Hathaway Toni Stanick Veronica Moloney Donna Mazur

Luigi Baccin Roderick MacDonald Patricia Kuschak

VIOLA

Charmain Louis* Kathleen Hogan Ronald Hay Claudio Vena

Mary Carol Nugent Catherine Whelan

VIOLONCELLO

Perry Foster* Derek Gomez Jonathan Ingham Stephen Buck Maurizio Baccante Patricia Pulliam

ORCHESTRA

DOUBLE BASS

John D. Taylor* David Longenecker Brian Quebec James Vivian

Paul Rogers

FLUTE

Susan Karpo* Laurel Trainor Lynne Piening (Piccolo)

OBOE

David Sussman* Tina Levy

ENGLISH HORN Catherine Calderone

CLARINET

Joseph Orlowski* Catherine Picket Greg James (Bass

Clarinet)

BASSOON

James Jamieson*

Margaret Hooper

Heather Chesley (Contrabassoon)

HORN

Bonnie Worthen* Diane Fair

Carol Dennison Duncan Brinsmead

Donna Bennett, Norman Brown, David Campbell,

TRUMPET

Robert Venables* Elspeth Carruthers Daniel Warren

TROMBONE

Michael Newnham* Stephen Fralick

Leon Racine

TUBA

Douglas Burrell

TIMPANI David Campion

PERCUSSION

Kenneth Erskine John Mele

HARP

Gianetta Baril Nora Bumanis

PIANO/CELESTE Dean Bradshaw

*Principal

Orchestra Manager/ Carol Dennison

Alan Derr, Joanne Jaluvka,

Robert Pilon, Debra Selig, Blaine Sharpe, Jane Smiley,

CHORUS : Susan Fenton, Judy Garich, Brenda Holloway, Lisa Sullivan, Patrick Timney,

SUPERS: Hugh Conacher, Raymond Dionne,

Hereward Pooley, Philip Price,

Lenard Whiting, Anne Yardley.

Jason Leonard, John McKeown, Walter Scherzer, Eric Tatrallyay.

OPERA DIVSION Co-crdinator, Constance Fisher

MUSICAL DIRECTOR MUSICAL STAFF

James Craig George Brough

Rehearsal Pianist/Assistant Conductor

STAGE DIRECTORS Michael Albano

TECHNICAL STAFF

Technical Director

Assistant to the Technical Director Master Carpenter

Carpenters

Scenic Artist

Properties

Furniture

PRODUCTION STAFF

Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Managers Wardrobe Mistress Cutter/Seamstress Seamstresses

Make-up Supervisor Make-up Assistants

Hairdressing and Wigs

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Administrator Music Co-ordinator

Michael Evans Stephen Ralls

David Boothroyd

Constance Fisher Leon Major

Fred Perruzza

Richard Clarke

Blaine Rittinger A Tain McLean, Mike Comeau Kim Sisson

Suzanne Hodson, Suzanne Johns ton Ludwig Seiler

James Livingstone**

Susan Hendersont John Bobre1t Diane McCann

Elizabeth LeMoine Isabelle Kaczmarek Lorraine O'Leary

Jack Medhurst Jeanne Armstrong, Manuela Cezanne Carmen Rukavina

Martha Gleason

Lynn Slotkin Michael Albano

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND CREDITS

Canadian Opera Company, Canadian Opera Women's Committee, The Rotary Club of Toronto (Armour Heights), Canadian Opera Guild (Peel Branch),

Canadian Opera Guild (Oakville Branch), Jim Yates, Warren Hughes, Costume House,

Ceramics Department, Robert Grenier, Tricia Bentley, Dennis Patrick.

Toronto Musician's Association, Jim Louie, George Brown College

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute.

A By Permission of Canadian Actor's Equity Association, t In CO-Operation with Ryerson Polytechnical Institute.

LAST YEAR THE FACULTY OF MUSIC ASKED ITS MANY FRIENDS FOR SUPPORT OF ITS ACTIVITIES, THE RESPONSE TO THIS PLEA WAS GRATIFYING AND THE FACULTY THANKS YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS. OF THE MANY CHALLENGES STILL FACING US, THE MOST TROUBLESOME IS THE NEED TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL AID TO THOSE STUDENTS WHOSE RESOURCES ARE LIMITED, IF YOU WISH TO HELP, WE WOULD BE PLEASED TO DEPOSIT YOUR CONTRIBUTION IN OUR SCHOLARSHIP AND BURSARY FUND. PLEASE MAKE CHEQUES PAYABLE TO: .

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF MUSIC A RECEIPT SUITABLE FOR TAX PURPOSES WILL BE PROVIDED.

Gustav Ciamaga, Dean

RKKRKKEE

NEXT OPERA EVENT: . Opera excerpts, May 22, Di 27, “291.5, 1980, 8:00 p.m.

’ MacMillan Theatre. .

Unreserved tickets available from the Box Office from 5:00 p-m. on the evening of each performance. Tickets are $2.00 each.

NEXT EVENTS: / Thursday Afternoon Series, Recital: Collegium Musicum. March 20, 1980, 2:10 p-m. Walter Hall.

Faculty of Music Jazz Ensemble, March 22, 1980, 8:00 p.m. MacMillan Theatre. § :

Box Office: 978-3744