An ambitious update of Dialogues of the Carmelites in Prague

Jana Sibera (Blanche de la Force)

Tamara Morozová (Madame Lidoine) and the State Opera Chorus

Jana Sibera (Blanche), Daniel Matoušek (Chevalier de la Force) and Tone Kummervold (Mère Marie)

Tamara Morozová (Madame Lidoine)

By Frank Kuznik, 23 May 2026

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“the convent need not be literal, but there’s never any sense of a sacred space”

Reviewed at State Opera (Státní opera), Prague on 21 May 2026

Poulenc, Dialogues des Carmélites

Prague State Opera

Hermann Bäumer, Conductor

Barbora Horáková, Director

Ines Nadler, Set Designer

Annemarie Bulla, Costume Designer

Sascha Zauner, Lighting Designer

Prague State Opera Orchestra

Prague State Opera Chorus

Sergio Verde, Video

Ondřej Hučín, Dramaturgy

Jana Sibera, Blanche de la Force

Tamara Morozová, Madame Lidoine, the new prioress

Ekaterina Krovateva, Sœur Constance

Markéta Cukrová, Madame de Croissy, the prioress

Stanislava Jirků, Sœur Mathilde

Lucie Hilscherová, Mère Jeanne

Tone Kummervold, Mère Marie

Vít Šantora, 1er commissaire

Daniel Matoušek, Chevalier de la Force

Michael Skalický, Le Père confesseur

Paul Gay, Marquis de la Force

Radek Martinec, Gaoler

Prague National Theatre Opera Ballet

Jan Adam, Choreography

Adolf Melichar, Choirmaster / chorus director

Parsifal reconsidered: A provocative improvisation in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 26th March

Timo Riihonen and Ester Pavlů stand out in a strong cast which carries Andreas Homoki's revised version of Wagner's final opera.

****1

Calixto Bieito’s Idomeneo runs out of time in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 28th September

At the Prague State Opera, Calixto Brieito relocates Mozart's opera seria to modern times, with disastrous results.

***11

Reimann's Lear makes for a dark season finale at Prague State Opera

Frank Kuznik, 7th June

Aribert Reimann's Lear takes no prisoners in a disturbing portrayal of a world gone awry, but Barbora Horáková's scattergun direction adds to the confusion.

***11

A politically charged new Manon in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 27th March

Puccini's classic takes on a harsh contemporary edge in a dark treatment by director Sláva Daubnerová at Prague's National Theatre.

****1

A rambunctious Platée revival in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 23rd November

SKUTR's daring direction and Václav Luks's early music expertise combine to bring new vitality to a Baroque classic.

*****

To the apocalypse and beyond: Le Grand Macabre in Prague

David Karlin, 14th June

Nigel Lowery’s new production at Prague State Opera is a gusher of ideas, starting as slapstick but profoundly moving by the end.

****1

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Frank Kuznik

Frank Kuznik is the former Editor-in-Chief and Culture Editor of The Prague Post, Central Europe’s premier English-language weekly newspaper. He currently divides his time between Prague and his hometown in the US, Cleveland, where he covers northeast Ohio's dynamic classical music scene. In Prague he is an habitué of the Rudolfinum, National Theater, State Opera and other storied classical music venues, and an unabashed fan of Czech music.

Barbora Horáková directs an ambitious update of Dialogues of the Carmelites in Prague