The Biola Conservatory of Music’s rendition of “Dialogues of the Carmelites” was met with success. Opening on Friday, Feb. 10, the first performance catered to a large audience of students, faculty, members of the community and alumni.

After the show, those in the audience as well as cast members were talking about the power of the performance.

“It brings reality to the fact that this was happening all the time during the French Revolution. Thousands of people died on the guillotine. In a lot of versions of the show, they kind of do it symbolically, but I don’t think it has near the effect,” director Jeanne Robison said after the show.

The pace of the plot increased as the show progressed, eventually culminating in the final guillotine scene. The audience seemed to sense the tension building throughout the third act.

The nuns sang “Salve Regina” to a quiet yet triumphant tune, and the triangular screens — meant to hint at the coming guillotine — were removed, as the real thing took their place. The opera ended on a painful note for many, yet the message seemed to resonate.

“We hit a chord, and I’m glad,” production manager Donte Apperwhite said.

He was glad that the first performance suffered few mistakes and was met with a very positive response from the audience.