Customer Reviews

Pelléas et Mélisande

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As I own nine recordings of this opera, and clearly have my biases as to interpretation and appropriateness of style, I have always been perplexed by the bad rap this recording elicits from listeners. I will admit to loving the Karajan/EMI, Ansermet/OLSR (Stereo), and Boulez DVD recordings; and will pay due tribute and awe to the wartime mono recording with Desormiere. I've also found the Abbado recording somewhat lacking vocally, and the orchestral playing on Jordan and Baudo recordings to be either uneven or poorly captured in the studio. THe Haitink recording, I found quite similar to the later Boulez reading in terms of subtlety and restrained tension. But this Dutoit recording I feel is a lost gem. Yes, it reads more as an orchestral work than an opera, but the singing is fresh and unaffected, and for a generation who may come to opera not through the stage, but through recording, this reading is one of the finest examples of the work. Each character reads so clearly, and when Dutoit and Montreal were on, they were sublime. Not since the Munch / BSO years has this repertoire read so beautifully, and in this recording, Dutiot and cast carry listeners across the rich landscape of Debussy / Maeterlinck's masterpiece as if in a dream. Though 'stronger' vocalists have taken various of these roles over the decades, I feel this cast comes across as a true ensemble (something lacking in the Abbado and Jordan recordings), which makes the experience all the richer. This recording resides in or out of print, depending on the year, so if you find it, I can only recommend that you not let this experience pass you by.

Claude Debussy's only opera, "Pelleas et Melisande", is for me a confluence of art noveau, symbolism and pre-Raphaelite style. A few years before beginning work on "Pelleas", Debussy had set a major poem by Dante Rossetti , "The Blessed Damozel," a precursor to "Pelleas." The polymath Rossetti not only wrote the poem but then painted a picture depicting "The Blessed Damozel" in pre-Raphaelite style which you can see at Harvard's Fogg Museum, if you live in Boston. These artistic currents blended together in "Pelleas," which takes place long ago in a magic garden, a neurasthenic princess at the center of a damned romantic triangle.

When premiered in 1903, "Pelleas" immediately attracted a coterie of admirers as well as criticism from the traditionally-minded members of the audience. Debussy's younger colleague, Maurice Ravel, attended every performance in the initial run in 1903. I understand both viewpoints. It is a difficult opera due to the lack of repetition and it few obvious melodic hooks but is full of incredible beauty and just plain magic.

The Dutoit performance under review here is difficult to evaluate. Objectively, it is a consistently good recording, nothing outstanding - the singers, orchestral interpretation and sound engineering are all good -- without any obvious flaws. Despite its consistency, I do not find the interpretation compelling and am simply not enthusiastic about it. While I think "Pelleas" is often an amazing and enthralling work, the Dutoit interpretation leaves me cold and had my mind wandering repeatedly during different listening sessions. As an alternative, I strongly recommend the beautiful Abbado-led release on DG. Note that I listened to the 2011 London re-issue.

Some specific comments: I thought the best cast-member was the Melisande, French soprano Colette Alliot-Lugaz, who is associated with the role. Dider Henry is also fine as Pelleas. The weakest lead is well-known bass Gilles Cachemaille, who I have enjoyed listening to in other roles, but he has too gruff a voice for delicate music such as this, with some pitch problems thrown in. Charles Dutoit is known as an exceptional conductor in this repertory, but I think he underwhelms here. The orchestra playing is polished but lacks life. I also thought the recorded sound was washed out, a bad trait for Debussy's sophisticated orchestration.