POULENC - Dialogues des Carmélites
It is hard to believe that Francis Poulenc’s opera on the fate of a group of Carmelite nuns during the French Revolution was first performed less than 50 years ago, in January 1957 at La Scala, Milan. Poulenc, a member of Les Six, was renowned for producing cheerful, witty, even rather frivolous, scores. But this subject inspired him to write a deeply humane work: the end is particularly moving, with the group of nuns becoming smaller as the guillotine claims them one by one. In its short life the opera has established itself as one of the masterpieces of the 20th century. This recording was made by Radio France in 1990 using a predominantly French cast and the orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon under their conductor, Kent Nagano.

0946 3 58657 2 1 (2CDs)
0946 3 58657 5 2 (Digital Download)