Maybe it is not quite as good as the 1999 production with Ann-Sophie Schmidt and Patricia Petibon, but it is still a great production. Some may be turned off by the fact that it is in English, I had no problem with that and I absolutely buy that Poulenc himself specified that any production of Dialogues Des Carmelites should be performed in the dominant language of the country it's performed in. The sets are beautifully evoked, and the costumes are lovely if perhaps too splendid for a convent. The staging is very moving and never dull. The musical values are outstanding, the orchestral playing successfully brings out the many and beautiful colours of Poulenc's music and the chorus are very well balanced and involved.
Richard Bonynge has often been criticised(mainly on Youtube and Amazon)for being a second-rate conductor who only got a career because of his wife the late Joan Sutherland. While I haven't always been consistently impressed by his conducting in the DVD productions of Norma, Il Trovatore and Anna Bolena which did show some slackness, I do think he has shown through his wonderful Rigoletto and Lucia Di Lammermoor recordings- the DVD productions of Lakme, Lucia Di Lammermoor and Les Huguenots were also good- that he is perfectly capable even if I'll never consider him one of the greats. And I do think he does a very good job here.
The performances are simply great. Isobel Buchannon is a wholly believable and poignant Blanche, and also displays a voice that has all the notes and in tune. Her diction is also clear. Heather Begg is hauntingly riveting as the Prioress/Mother Superior, especially in her death scene. As always her voice is very well-projected and rich in tone. Anne Maree McDonald's Sister Constance is disciplined and instantly appealing. She may not be as photogenic as Patricia Petibon is the 1999 production but still convinces in that factor, and her singing has no major problems either. Joan Sutherland is a great surprise. She may not be at her very best vocally, with signs of a beat in her voice and times when her diction(never a strong suit with Sutherland) was not always clear, but there is a lot of beautiful tone and excellent technique evident. What was surprising was that the role of Madame Lidoine is very different to any other role she's done, and Sutherland does wonderfully with it being very gracious, dignified and morally courageous.
Overall, a very, very good production, that is almost as good as the 1999 performance but not quite. 9/10 Bethany Cox
