Admin

Organization

Sänger

Bass-Bariton

Samuel Dundas

Golaud

Bariton

Angus Wood

Pelleas

Bass

David Parkin

Arkel

Sopran

Siobhan Stagg

Melisande

Mezzosopran

Liane Keegan

Genevive

Timothy Newton

Ein Arzt

Kinderstimme

Sophia Wasley

Yniold

Stephen Marsh

Die Stimme des Hirten

Dirigat

Rhydderch Hael

Regie

Elizabeth Hill

Bühnenbild

Candice MacAllister

Kostümbild

Lichtgestaltung

Joseph Mercurio

Victorian Opera

Orchestra

ANAM Orchestra

Französisch

Pelléas et Mélisande -  (Pelléas und Mélisande)

Melbourne

Australien

Palais Theatre

Pelléas et Mélisande

Pelléas und Mélisande

Englisch

Genehmigt

Pelleas and Melisande - Act 3, Scene 1 Duet (Debussy; Angus Wood and Siobhan Stagg, Victorian Opera)

A love too great for this world
When Golaud finds Melisande in the woods, alone and with a mysterious past, he claims her as his wife. After she meets his brother Pelleas, a secret love simmers between them while Golaud’s suspicions deepen. A family slowly corrodes as their tragic fates inevitably take hold.

Discover the haunting beauty of Pelleas and Melisande, the only opera from Claude Debussy. This symbolist masterpiece fuses text, ethereal harmonies and floating instrumental colour with an atmospheric poetry unlike any other work.

Hear the crystalline purity of Australian soprano Siobhan Stagg alongside celebrated tenor Angus Wood, in Debussy’s mesmerising opera.

The Story
In the mythical kingdom of Allemonde, King Arkel’s grandson, Golaud, is lost in the forest when he comes upon a young lady weeping at a fountain. She cannot or will not reveal anything of her past, but Golaud manages to draw out her name – Melisande – and persuades her to follow him out of the dark woods. 

Golaud returns to his grandfather’s gloomy castle with the mysterious Melisande, to whom he has been married for six months. Golaud’s half-brother, Pelleas, shows her around the castle grounds and Melisande is attracted by water in a well. She is mesmerised by her own reflection and accidentally drops her wedding ring into the depths. At the same moment, Golaud is thrown from his horse. Sitting by her husband’s bedside, Melisande confesses her persistent feelings of foreboding and as Golaud comforts her, he notices her missing ring. Angrily, he sends her out into the night to look for it with Pelleas. 

Pelleas is making plans to leave the castle to visit a sick friend when he comes upon Melisande combing her hair in the window of a tower. He can’t reach her hand to kiss it but as she leans through the window her hair drapes over him, stirring feelings inside him. 

Passion simmers between Pelleas and Melisande as jealous rage slowly consumes Golaud. Can the family survive this torrid love triangle?

The Music
Debussy’s only opera is a work of uncanny beauty, subtle nuances and deep orchestral colour. The dark and unsettling yet seductive music creates a portentous atmosphere and reflects the story’s ambiguity and Symbolist origins. Dreamy orchestral interludes connect the 15 scenes into a continuous flow of music.

One of the most superb settings of the French language, it is sung mainly in recitative, maintaining the rhythms of natural speech. Leitmotifs for each principal character help express their psychological states and inner lives.

Defying Italian operatic traditions and the dramatic music of Wagner, Debussy created an opera that was highly original in its time and has had few imitators. Devoid of traditional arias or grandiose expressions of feelings, Pelleas and Melisande requires audience members to put aside preconceived notions of what typically defines opera and connect with the music in a more subconscious way.

English

Pelléas und Mélisande by Debussy, Ab (2018/2018), Unter der Regie von Elizabeth Hill,, Dirigat Rhydderch Hael, Palais Theatre, Melbourne, Australien

Aufführungskredite (Besetzung & Produktionsteam )

Besetzung

Produktionsteam

Ensemble

Programm, Über & Zusammenfassung

Videos

Fotos

Weiterführende Literatur

Aufführungstermine & Spielstätten

Veranstaltungsorte