THROUGH THE CLOUDS Opera, the Untold Story of the Singing Nun by Germaine Shames
It is hard to imagine a more embattled life, nor one that better illustrates social injustice, than that of Jeanne Deckers, aka “The Singing Nun,” aka “Soeur Sourire.”
Best known for her hit song “Dominique,” which in 1964, against all odds, placed at #1 on the U.S. Hit Parade (edging out the Beatles), the shy young Dominican nun catapulted to stardom. Two years later, Debbie Reynolds starred as...
It is hard to imagine a more embattled life, nor one that better illustrates social injustice, than that of Jeanne Deckers, aka “The Singing Nun,” aka “Soeur Sourire.”
Best known for her hit song “Dominique,” which in 1964, against all odds, placed at #1 on the U.S. Hit Parade (edging out the Beatles), the shy young Dominican nun catapulted to stardom. Two years later, Debbie Reynolds starred as Jeanne in the Hollywood film, The Singing Nun—the same year that Jeanne, disillusioned with Church politics and considered a bad influence”by her Mother Superior, left the convent forever. Jeanne’s stated reason for leaving was “to be closer to the people.” But, outside the convent walls, waited quite another reason: Annie Pécher, the young woman Jeanne loved and with whom she would spend the rest of her life.
Shunned by her fellow nuns and denied the right to use the name “Sister Sourire,” the only name by which her European fans knew her, Jeanne reflected, “Life is a struggle. And I struggle.”
Jeanne was not the first nun to have a difficult adjustment to life outside the convent, yet her journey is unique. Having tasted international celebrity while hiding a forbidden attraction, when the convent doors closed behind her, she emerged into a world rocked by loud music, social upheaval and women’s liberation.
Character Breakdown
We currently conceive the work as an all-female opera with four main characters: Jeanne, Annie, the Mother Superior of Jeanne’s convent, and a young autistic woman, Esperance, who, educated by Jeanne and Annie, now narrates their story.
Music
Her Soul Flew Through the Clouds will be an accessible classical opera with a structure containing an overture, recitatives, arias and duets, and leitmotivs for each of the four main characters (Jeanne, Annie, Mother Superior and Esperance) that will evolve and reflect musically their dramatic arc throughout the opera. The orchestra will not only provide the background for each scene, but will also participate actively in a continuous dialogue with the voices on stage, providing comments, reactions and highlighting the dramatic key points.
As some of the composer’s main influences in composition are Italian Bel canto and French Romantic Grand Opera, the opera will have a melodic style, accessible from the first hearing without the need of any prior explanation. In addition, the composer’s Masters’ studies in Film Scoring will lend complementary tools and a 21st-century perspective.
The opera is full-length with an estimated 20 musical numbers. There will be four female voices accompanied by an orchestra. The singers will be: a lyrical soprano (the character of Annie), a high mezzo-soprano for the character of Esperance (in the vein of Mozart’s Dorabella or Cherubino), a lyrical mezzo-soprano for Jeanne, the Singing Nun, and a deep contralto for the character of Mother Superior (modeled upon Verdi’s Azucena).
The intended orchestration is: 1 flute, 1 oboe, 1 clarinet, 1 bassoon, 3 French horns, 1 trumpet, 2 or 3 trombones, timpani, percussion (bass drum, cymbals, triangle…), first and second violins, violas, cellos, double basses, harp. The orchestration will be adapted to the Crane Opera Orchestra’s forces.
Synopsis by Scene
Prologue: At the convent gates, Jeanne and the Mother Superior say their goodbyes. Torn between her vows and long-suppressed desire for independence, Jeanne wavers, but Esperance draws her irresistibly toward an uncharted future. At her back, the Mother Superior intones, “God will find you.”
Scene One: Jeanne and Annie move into a dingy flat. Jeanne, at once terrified and intoxicated by newfound freedom, grapples for a new identity. What is her and Annie’s role in this brave new world?
Scene Two: Jeanne, Annie and the Mother Superior watch the film, “The Singing Nun,” each wishing for the virtues embodied by carefree, flawless Debbie Reynolds. The contrast between their experience of the religious life and the spectacle unfolding on the Big Screen could not be more blatant. (Nonetheless, this scene more than any other will bring the characters’ shared humanity to the fore with gentle, self-deprecating humor.)
Scene Three: Jeanne begins writing protest songs at odds with Church doctrine and emerges as a champion of women’s rights. Many of her most devoted fans desert her. Bereft but unrepentant, she prepares to go on tour.
Scene Four: Jeanne, painfully shy, struggles to earn a new fan base. The tour goes badly. When Jeanne develops an array of physical symptoms, her doctors prescribe barbiturates—to which she becomes addicted. Returning home to Annie, the two women resolve to open a school for children with special needs (including Esperance). Having found renewed purpose, they look to the future with hope.
Scene Five: Belgium’s internal revenue service claims that Jeanne owes back taxes totaling $164,000.00 on profits from “Dominique.” Having taken a vow of poverty and assigned all royalties to her former convent, Jeanne appeals to the Mother Superior, trusting that the claim will be withdrawn. Instead, a battle ensues.
Scene Six: As the battle escalates and Jeanne relapses into illness and addiction, the Church offers a nominal settlement—which Jeanne hastily accepts, hoping to forestall foreclosure on Annie’s and her school. In a masterstroke, she decides to “resurrect” Sister Smile and resume her singing career in order to raise cash to pay their growing debt.
Scene Seven: Jeanne’s attempted comeback takes a toll on her nerves and health without alleviating her plight. The two women at last break their vow of chastity and become the lovers they were always meant to be.
Scene Eight: Belgian authorities close down the school; bailiffs strip it bare. Esperance flashes back to the final defeat, remembering her broken young self and how Annie and Jeanne had lifted her out of isolation and pain. The Mother Superior admits her own guilt, but the Church still does nothing substantive to help the two women as they spiral down into poverty and desperation. Pushed beyond their capacity to cope, they plan their suicide.
Scene Nine: Jeanne and Annie execute their plan. When, days later, authorities forcibly enter the women’s locked flat, they find the women’s two lifeless bodies, love letters, and a final request: that they be buried together. Esperance looks up and sees their souls soaring through the clouds.
Themes and Impact
In the ongoing battle for LGBTQ rights, it is easy to forget how far we have come. Back in the early 1960’s, when Jeanne Deckers left the convent and chose to cohabit with Annie Pécher, to “come out” was not an option. Even now, gay individuals from religious backgrounds or with a religious calling are doubly challenged: Even as societal prejudices abate, anti-homosexual theology and doctrine leave an indelible imprint.
Today, in this country and elsewhere, there exists widespread social malaise, and with it waning hope in our shared future. An exemplary, if embattled, life such as Jeanne’s raises universal questions regarding society, values and the worth of each individual. How can an ordinary person act in accordance with conscience and yet toe the line of social convention? Does capitalism discourage people from doing good? What keeps the examined life livable? Jeanne, despite her personal martyring, continued to the end to look out at the world through fresh eyes and to make a difference in the lives of others. Surely hers is a life worth singing about.