Baltimore Opera Company

Study Guide

La Forza del Destino

Get Thee To A Nunnery

In Act 3, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the moody Dane, perhaps exhausted and angst-ridden due to his prior “To be or not to be” speech, takes Ophelia to task and orders her “to a nunnery”, where she will not “be a breeder of sinners.” There are numerous operas in which characters seem compelled to enter cloistered religious walls, both convents and monasteries, to seek a nobler life. Sometimes they take the veil (or other monastic garment) for far less exalted purposes!

One of the practical problems with an operatic depiction of such a place is that the musical instrument of choice for such is of course the organ, and many opera houses, at least up until the advent of the electronic organ, did not have a large pipe instrument at their disposal. Consequently, the harmonium was used, essentially a reed organ, and because of the rather light tonal ability of the instrument was not able to make a large musical statement in the opera house. Therefore, many of the scenes containing an organ, such as found in La Forza del Destino, Roméo et Juliette, and Il Trovatore, contain the sound of the organ primarily as a background musical texture. However, the actual installation of large organs, both pipe and electric, later on has given us some grand moments in the theatre. One non-church scene related note is of interest here. By the time of the first performance of Otello in 1887, La Scala had installed an enormous pipe organ with a significant pedal division. For the opening storm scene, Verdi instructs the organist to play the two lowest notes on the pedal board together. The two notes played together vibrate in such a way that the entire theatre shook!

There are of course operas which have scenes that take place inside churches – among them Tosca, Faust, and Die Meistersinger, and one that even takes place outside a church – Cavalleria Rusticana. However, monasteries and convents are not themselves actual churches, though they are frequently attached to one. Although monasteries and convents are not exclusively Christian and are found in Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, and Islamic culture, most operatic examples do take place in Christian holy places. These are places where the supplicant has desired a life apart from the world in a completely spiritual existence. Social interaction ranges from being completely cloistered with no interaction with the world to a complete interaction with the world while living communally with other nuns and monks/friars.

Sergei Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery sounds very interesting and certainly intriguing from an ecclesiastical standpoint but in actuality the opera is about a Spanish duenna in 18th century Seville. The duenna masquerades as her young charge, Louise, and gives come-uppance to the portly middle-aged Mendoza who is in love with Louise. Prokofiev’s neo-classical style very much fits the Beaumarchais and Watteau inspired story line.

Massenet’s Manon has the very famous St. Sulpice scene, where Manon uses her considerable wiles to seduce Des Grieux to come back to her. Perhaps due to the fact that many might consider such an act blasphemous in an actual church, the Abbé Prévost, who wrote the original story, sets the scene in a seminary, as opposed to a church or monastery. Nevertheless the organ peals sonorously, and in that holy place, Manon and De Grieux seal their path to destruction.

La Forza del Destino has a significant number of scenes that take place outside the convent of the Madonna of the Angels near Hornachuelos. Leonora has come there to find peace and refuge, and in her first aria “Madre, pietosa Vergine” she prays to the Virgin Mary, accompanied by the organ and the monks, and likens the sounds she hears to sublime music ascending like incense to God in heaven. She has come to the convent not to live there, but to gain access to an even more solitary place, a cave on a cliff that is overseen by the monks, where she can live out her miserable life. The kindly priest agrees to this and he and the monks swear that her place of asylum shall be inviolate. Another scene takes place in the courtyard of the convent where beggars are seeking food from the comic relief in this otherwise unrelievedly dark opera, Fra Melitone. Through him we learn of Father Rafael, who is actually Don Alvaro, Leonora’s former lover, who also has sought refuge in a spiritual community. The last scene takes place in Leonora’s sacred cave where the presumed peace of such a holy sanctuary is violated by the inexorable force of tragic destiny.

Gounod’s certainly knew the ecclesiastical world – he was not only a student of early church music specializing in the choral music of Palestrina, but also seriously considered a vocation as a Priest. Act Three, Scene One of his Roméo et Juliette takes place in Friar Lawrence’s cell in the monastery. The mysterioso quality of the music that begins the scene yields to rapture at the end as the lovers, Friar Lawrence and the faithful nurse Gertrude declare that the God of Goodness shall bless their happy hearts.

Verdi’s Don Carlo is one of the grandest of all operas, including an auto-da-fe scene led by the Grand Inquisitor that rivals Aida for sheet amplitude of personage and passion. The opening and closing scenes take place in the Cloister of the Monastery of San Giusto. The moody Don Carlo is moping about the tombs of his ancestors, including Charles V. He is despondent because the woman he loves, Elizabeth de Valois, is promised to none other than his own father, Philip II. Don Carlo’s angst is comforted somewhat by the arrival of his best friend, the Marquis of Posa, and they sing one of the most stirring tenor/baritone duets in opera “Dio, che nell’alma infondere” in which they affirm their dedication to liberty and brotherhood, an affirmation that will come back later to haunt them. Another haunting occurs in the very last scene, which takes place back at the monastery. Although Don Carlo and Elizabeth have tried to deny their love, they decide the only way to solve their illicit relationship is to bid one another complete farewell. Unfortunately their valedictory embrace is seen by King Philip as well as the Grand Inquisitor. Guards are called to seize Don Carlo, but then a rather miraculous thing occurs (and one which is highly criticized because of its complete implausibility) - the ghost of Charles V appears and drags Don Carlo into the darkness of the tomb.

It appears that in Italian opera, whenever things get bad for the soprano, she enters a convent. In the previous opera discussed, Don Carlo, the Princess Eboli has manipulated things badly, and is given a choice of exile or the convent. At first she longs for the peace of the convent, but first decides that in the one day she has left she will endeavor to atone for her misdeeds and save the live of Don Carlo. In other Verdi opera, Il Trovatore, Leonora has two suitors in Manrico and the Count Di Luna. Although she loves Manrico, she sees the Count in the darkness, and mistaking him for Manrico, affirms her love. This of course infuriates Manrico, who in the spirit of chivalry then challenges the Count to a duel. This makes Leonora so distraught she swoons and decides to enter a convent. Later on in Act 2 she has entered the convent and is about to profess her vows, but the Count and his men intercede in the hopes of carrying her off; the Count’s desire for Leonora is so great that he has taken this rather self-indulgent and presumptuous action. As the Count and his men are about to spirit Leonora away, who should serendipitously appear but Manrico, who must have been positively clairvoyant in knowing the exact time that the Count would arrive and what he would have in mind. The scene ends in a furor as the men’s chorus, divided into the adherents of the tenor and baritone, storms around the set and terrifies the poor nuns.

Jules Massenet’s Thais is a truly gorgeous opera that is seldom produced but hopefully will be heard more frequently in the future. Thais is a beautiful courtesan in the city of Alexandria, and the opera concerns her spiritual journey from being a licentious temple prostitute to being a devout nun who mortifies her flesh in the name of atonement. Her path to spirituality is both assisted and confounded by her relationship with the young Cenobite monk, Athanaël. The first scene of the opera takes place in the huts of the Cenobites, a monastic order who lives in the Egyptian desert. Athanaël has returned from Alexandria and tell them of Thais, whose depravity is corrupting the entire city. The monks tell him to have nothing to do with this Godless woman, but in a dream he sees her in her corrupt glory. He then tells the monks that he will go back to the city and save her. Thais does have a spiritual conversion, but at Athanaël’s expense – he himself has fallen in love with her. The last scene takes place in the convent where Thais has come to die. Athanaël appears and the nuns think that he has come to give his blessing; however, when he sees Thais he again feels his passion returning. In a beautiful duet based on the theme of the famous Meditation she reminds him of her spiritual journey, while he declares that he still loves her, and in the name of God has destroyed what he loved the most. On a climactic high D, Thais has a vision of God, and then falls lifeless into Athanaël’s arms.

The last scene of Act 1 of Richard Wagner’s Parsifal takes place in a castle-cum-monastery, Monsalvat, in the Spanish Pyrenees. Therein live and worship the Knights of the Holy Grail, led by Amfortas. Although not “officially” a religious order, they have a communal life-style dedicated to the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist and the Holy Grail. In a profoundly moving scene the male chorus extols the rite of Holy Communion, accompanied by sonorously pealing bells in a mantra-like ostinato. Amfortas tries to celebrate the rite, but cannot – he is sick with his own sin. He was seduced by the errant Kundry, who Delilah-like, having weakened his defenses through her beauty, then wounded him by plunging the Holy Spear of the Crucifixion into his side. The Knights are seeking someone of pure heart who will be worthy to celebrate the rite. Parsifal has wandered into the forest of Monsalvat and has befriended the Knights, who have invited him to witness the ritual. As the holy mysteries unfold, in polychromatic music of sublime beauty, he does not comprehend anything, and is driven out of the hall. At this point a voice from heaven intones “Knowing through empathy, the Pure Fool” and we are aware that Parsifal’s destiny is as a guileless fool who will restore the community of God. For many years, when this scene was performed at the Metropolitan Opera Company, applause at the end of the act was banned due to the sacred quality of both music and drama.

Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, discussed further in another part of this Study Guide, has scenes that take place in various parts of the convent. We first get a glimpse of the cloistered order in the parlor of the convent, where Blanche is to be received into the order. Other scenes take place in the infirmary of the convent, the chapter room, the sacristy and the chapel. In perhaps no other opera do we get such a sense of the serenity as well as the anxiety of the cloistered life. However, the nobility of the reflective life is clearly shown in one of the opera’s main themes, first voiced by the happy-go-lucky Constance, a peasant girl entering the convent who befriends Blanche. Blanche explains, in her very simple way, one of the profoundest concepts imaginable – that when we die, perhaps we die in someone else’s place, and therefore we die their death.

Puccini’s Suor Angelica is certainly the ultimate opera with a “conventual” distinction – it takes place entirely in a convent. Sister Angelica is an unwed mother, and was banished to the convent by her noble family which considered her a disgrace. Her child was taken away from her at birth, and she longs to see the child once more before she dies. Her imperious aunt comes to ask Angelica to legally sign away all her rights to the family, so there can be no more disgrace or liability. As she leaves, she mentions to poor Angelica, almost as an afterthought, that Angelica’s child has died. With her last hope gone, Angelica takes poison, but then realizes she has committed a mortal sin, and will die damned. She prays to the Virgin Mary to pardon her. At once a vision of her child appears to her, and as the nuns sing a canticle to the Blessed Mother, Angelica dies in a halo of celestial light.

James Harp

Box Office Gift Shop Home