Debussy Pelléas et Mélisande

 Day 56

Debussy Pelléas et Mélisande

Orchestra and Chorus (unnamed)

Roger Désormière

It was only when I was researching the Dukas opera (day 46) that I realised to my embarrassment that I had never actually listened properly to the most famous Maeterlinck opera of them all - Debussy’s Pélleas. I’d heard bit and pieces of it over the years and I think that must have written an essay about it at some point, but I’ve never seen it on stage but this was the first time that I sat down with a score and followed it from beginning to end.

It is an extraordinary piece and I can quite see why it is regarded as such an important milestone in the development of opera. To be honest it took me a little while to get property attuned to the ethos of the piece but once I had got into the right frame of mind I found it utterly absorbing. The declaration of love between the two main characters is about as far removed from the world of La Bohème as it possible to be. That’s not a criticism of Puccini - music which I love - but a reflection of two very different approaches to music and drama.  The end of Pélleas is wonderfully moving and I was so pleased to, at long last, atone for my neglect hear the whole score in its entirety.

This is a classic performance recorded in France during the war with singers who were coached by some of the original performers of the opera.  There is a particular quality to French voices of this era which is highly attractive and fits the music like a glove. That style has more or less disappeared now as singers have much more international careers. The mono recording is showing its age and couldn’t compare with a modern performance but it doesn’t get in the way of enjoying the intricacies of the score.