Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande (Great Recordings of the Century) [Box set, Original recording remastered]

Claude Debussy (Composer), Herbert von Karajan (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Frederica von Stade (Performer), Richard Stilwell (Performer), José van Dam (Performer), Ruggero Raimondi (Performer), Nadine Denize (Performer), Christine Barbaux (Performer), Berlin German Opera Chorus (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Frederica von Stade, Richard Stilwell, José van Dam, Ruggero Raimondi, Nadine Denize, et al.
• Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
• Composer: Claude Debussy
• Audio CD (September 21, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set, Original recording remastered
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00000K4FN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,027 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Prélude

2. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 1.: 'Je Ne Pourrai Plus De Cette Forêt'

3. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 1.: 'Qu'Est-Ce Qui Brille Ainsi, Au Fond De L'Eau ?'

4. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 1.: 'Interlude

5. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 2.: Voici Ce Qu'Il Ècrit À Son Frère Pelléas: 'Un Soir, Je L'Ai Trouvée'

6. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 2.: 'Je N'En Dis Rien'

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 1.: 'Mes Longs Cheveux Descendent De La Tour !'

2. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 1.: 'Oh ! Oh ! Mes Cheveux Descendent De La Tour !'

3. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 1.: 'Je Les Noue, Je Les Noue Aux Branches Du Saule'

4. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 1.: Interlude

5. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 2.: 'Prenez Garde; Par Ici, Par Ici'

6. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 2.: Interlude

See all 10 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 1.: 'Où Vas-Tu ? Il Faut Que Je Te Parle Ce Soir'

2. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 2.: 'Maintenant Que Le Père De Pelléas Est Sauvé'

3. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 2.: 'Pelléas Part Ce Soir'

4. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 2.: 'Une Grande Innocence'

5. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 2.: Interlude

6. Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 3.: 'Oh ! Cette Pierre Est Lourde'

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

The payoff to Herbert von Karajan's relentless pursuit of ensemble perfection and beauty of sound can be heard in the playing of the Berlin Philharmonic on this recording: by 1978, when it was made, they were indisputably the most polished and flexible orchestra in Europe, and one of the few orchestras anywhere (including France) that was capable of playing French music with real authority. Fittingly, the orchestra is very much at the center of this account of Claude Debussy's uniquely beautiful opera, magnificently projecting the mysterious, darkly translucent world of its fatally entangled characters. The cast, which is led by two Americans--Richard Stilwell as Pelléas and the incomparable Frederica von Stade as Mélisande --and features a Belgian (José van Dam) as Golaud and an Italian (Ruggero Raimondi) as Arkel, is a superb one, not least because those principals who are not French are nonetheless Francophones, and sing with excellent diction and an authentic delivery. Karajan's pacing of the drama, his skill at eliciting just the right intensity from the orchestra, his surpassing gentleness with the singers (balances are superb and every word comes through clearly), and the overall beauty of the orchestral playing make this not only the finest account of Pelléas et Mélisande yet recorded, but one of the most treasurable opera recordings ever, fully worthy of EMI's Great Recordings of the Century designation. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Karajan and Pélleas, November 16, 2002

By 

Rafael Fernandez Fernandez "kopkopkop" (Madrid, Madrid Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande (Great Recordings of the Century) (Audio CD)

What makes the difference between Karajan and other german conductors up to his generation (and even younger), is their attitude towards non-german repertoire. Furtwängler, Knappertsbusch, Böhm, Klemperer, etc. made their reputations conducting german (or german-like) music. For them, 'german' was sinonimous to 'profound', and had a curious custom to point out the greater 'quality' of a work by slowing its tempo as an indicative of this quality. Listen to Klemperer's 'Matthäus Passion', Böhm's Mozart's Requiem or Beethoven's Ninth, Furtwängler's 'Tristan' or Kna's 'Parsifal'. Of course all the above mentioned works are german.

Karajan was the first to change this attitude. In the sixties he made vigorous and fast-paced recordings of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, etc. (only Wagner remained an exception, at least in terms of tempo) and approached italian, russian, french and other repertoires with the seriousness that was reserved to german masterpieces up to that time. As an example, he was the first to play Italian Opera from Verdi to Puccini from the orchestra and the score, not from the voices.

It's no chance that he applied slow tempi to this non-german repertoire (even his Cav and Pag!), as to underline that he wanted to do it with the seriousness reserved until that moment to Deutsche Requiems, Fifths and Ninths and so on. This is the case of this 'Pélleas', the first recording of this opera to be conducted by a non-french conductor.

From my point of view, this recording is one of the best ever made by Karajan, and a sign of real genious. He makes sound this music different as heard before (darker, calmer, heavier, ominous...), as if some treasure had remained undiscovered for years and years. This happens also in a few more recordings... 'Walküre', 'Tosca', Mahler's Fifth...

The singers are all excellent. There's not much more to say about the great performances of van Dam, von Stade or Stilwell, so I'd like to say that the choice of Christine Barbaux as Yniold is also fantastic. Her scene with van Dam at the end of Act II and with the sepherd in Act IV are terrific.

I strongly recommend this recording to any lover of this opera. Sorry for my horrible English.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible view of Pelleas et Melisande, October 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande (Great Recordings of the Century) (Audio CD)

This is an incredibly dark, rich and moving interpretation of the Debussy masterpiece Pelleas et Melisande. Karajan sees the opera through a Wagner filter with the orchestra playing a powerful role in the drama. Von Stade, Stilwell and especially Van Dam are wonderful in their roles as Melisande, Pelleas and Golaud respectively. This might not be a really French way to approach this most French of creations, but this recording is definitely one of the finest Pelleas and Melisande recordings around.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sound not worthy of EMI Great Recording Series, January 4, 2007

By 

J R Sound Police (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande (Great Recordings of the Century) (Audio CD)

Perhaps the Karajan Pelleas was remastered too early in the EMI Great Recordings series. Unlike most of the other releases in this series, the sound quality is not an improvement upon the earlier CD version. If you have the 1980's release of this opera, there is no need to buy this one. The ART remastering has cleaned up the sound a little, but it represents a step backwards in overall sound quality. The natural echo of music made in a real space is diminished and the recording sounds a few steps removed from real music making.

In the late 1990's EMI issued several ART remasterings with mixed results. Some recordings like the Callas Tosca were a complete disaster with almost all sense of the acoustic space removed (yes, even mono recordings do have a sense of natural echo and depth). However, when the Tosca -- and other recordings such as the Schwarzkopf Rosenkavalier -- were reissued as part of the Great Recordings series, the sound was transformed into a CD with both the voices and the acoustics sounding fuller and more natural.

While by no means a disaster, the sound quality of the Karajan Pelleas seems closer to the failed early ART efforts than to their more recent successes.