The Order of Grace in Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites

Abstract

This paper looks into the structure of spiritual domain in Dialogues of the Carmelites, a
work by Francis Poulenc which depicts a monastic feat in the name of God. Poulenc shows
other Carmelites. The composer reveals the main characters’ inner world in spititualibus as an
ordinary development of a perfect Christian life (ref. Jordan Aumann). The study has identified
that: the projection of universal catholic philosophy notions onto the foundation of the opera’s
spiritual sense forms an understanding of its world’s special features; the opera gives a glimpse
of particular mystical experiences and ascetic practices related to monastic way of living that
work as major elements to the order of Grace; the world of Dialogues of the Carmelite shows
Poulenc’s perfect understanding of the Grace as a mystery.

Keywords: Francis Poulenc, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Christianity, Grace, nuns, martyrdom,
spiritual world.