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oa De uitwerking van een religieuze opera op een seculier publiek Een empirisch onderzoek naar Dialogues des Carmélites
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion, Volume 57, Issue 1, Jan 2003, p. 49 - 61
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- 01 Jan 2003
Abstract
We researched the impact of Poulenc’s opera Dialogues des Carmélites as performed in the Amsterdam opera house, March 2002. The main question was: What feelings and associations does this explicitly religious opera evoke in the allegedly secular audience and performers? The audience was asked to fill in a questionnaire, and eight ‘performers’ (singers, musical and dramatic director) were interviewed. A striking result was that the opera was experienced as highly moving and recognisable, irrespective of the religious affiliation and religious commitment of the interviewees. Religious commitment turned out to be the variable that is significant with respect to evoking existential/religious feelings. It is concluded that art may influence religious sensibility, in the broad sense of the word.