Faith vs. fear: Dallas Opera’s gripping portrayal of the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne

Joyce El-Khoury (right) and Deanna Breiwick in "Dialogues of the Carmelites" at the Dallas Opera. (courtesy photo/Lynn Lane)

DALLAS — One of the most fundamental human rights is the freedom to seek truth and live according to conscience. Throughout history, people of faith have been targeted and terrorized for their religious expression and worship. More recently, the attacks on Christians in Nigeria have drawn the world’s attention to the persecution that whole communities face today. 

Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly condemned violence against Christians, calling for “security, justice, and peace” while offering prayers and support for the victims. He has emphasized that the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is “rooted in the dignity of the human person, created in God’s image, and endowed with reason and free will.” 

More than 230 years ago, freedom of religious expression was also under assault. During the aptly named Reign of Terror phase of the French Revolutionary War, a law was passed that subordinated the Catholic Church, banning religious orders and seizing Church property. 

One of the communities affected was a Carmelite convent in Compiegne, a small town to the northeast of Paris. The cloistered religious women lived completely apart from society with the expectation they would never leave its enclosure. Their contemplative life of prayer for the world was made possible by their separation from it. 

As religious communities were being disbanded, these nuns decided to offer themselves in service to God as a sacrifice to restore peace to France and the Church. They agreed to defy the ban on their way of life and resist the confiscation of their monastery. As a result, 16 of them were arrested and imprisoned in June 1794. The following month, they were taken to a prison in Paris, accused of treason, condemned as traitors, and sentenced to death on July 17. 
 

Wearing their outlawed religious habits, the nuns journeyed to their execution chanting the “Miserere,” the penitential Psalm 50: “Have mercy on me, O God, in your kindness…”. As they approached the guillotine, they sang hymns including “Veni Creator Spiritus,” “Salve Regina,” and “Te Deum” and chanted “Laudate Dominum omnes gentes” from Psalm 117: “Praise the Lord, all ye nations.” 

One by one, from youngest to oldest and ending with their Prioress, Mother Teresa of Saint Augustine, they were killed. One of the nuns, Sister Mary of Jesus Crucified, pardoned her executioners saying, “I forgive you, my friends. I forgive you with all that longing of heart with which I would that God forgive me!”  The 16 Carmelite nuns were martyred just one day after the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, their namesake.

Ten day later, on July 27, 1794, the revolutionary government fell and the Reign of Terror ended. The Carmelites were canonized as saints on December 18, 2024, by Pope Francis and their feast day is celebrated on July 17. 

Their powerful demonstration of faith was commemorated in a German novel by Gertrud von Le Fort, which novelist Georges Bernanos later adapted into a play, Dialogues des Carmelites. Bernanos’ script inspired French composer Francis Poulenc to write an opera that debuted in 1957. 

Poulenc’s opera, Dialogues of the Carmelites, is a gripping and dramatic performance that retells the Carmelite martyrs’ story through a fictional character, Blanche de la Force, the daughter of a French aristocrat. Frightened for her life during the Reign of Terror, she seeks safety in the cloistered convent and becomes a nun. As the sisters face persecution and execution from the revolutionary government, Blanche must decide whether she will pursue a path of faith or fear.  

This week, the Dallas Opera features three performances of Dialogues of the Carmelites on November 9 (matinee), 12, and 15 at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House. The opera includes three acts and is sung in French with English subtitles.
 

The performance beautifully displays a centerpiece of Catholicism — sacrifice through love. The Carmelite Sisters’ demonstration of faith and trust in God, as they take up their cross and follow the Truth Himself, is gripping. The dramatic final scene is an evocative representation that both stirs and stills the soul. 

Dialogues of the Carmelites is a heroic example of one community’s decision to surrender to God and trust in His will. We are reminded that faith is not expressed through outward appearances, but by uniting our hearts and minds to Christ. As Mother Marie says in Act II, “Surely you understand, it’s the man who makes the soldier, not the uniform. No matter what we wear, we always will be servants.” 

The Carmelite martyrs of Compiegne confronted death with courage and unwavering faith that is said to have helped end the Reign of Terror. Their brave example is still relevant today and their intercessory prayers, as the patron saints of persecuted Christians, are necessary for our suffering sisters and brothers around the world.

To purchase tickets and learn more about Dialogues of the Carmelites, visit dallasopera.org.