Debussy's cantatas The Prodigal Son and The Chosen One are real repertoire rarities. They were written by a very young composer as a thesis and postgraduate report. In 1883, Debussy completed his studies at the Paris Conservatory and participated in the competition for the Prix de Rome - the so-called paid three-year internship in Rome, which allowed him to improve his skills and broaden his horizons without worrying about his daily bread. The text of the cantata was given to the applicants on the day of the exam, for three weeks alone they composed the “musical scene” and handed in the work, which was then considered by the jury. Debussy confidently demonstrated good academic skills, originality of harmonic language, subtle vocal writing, and slightly played along with the examiners by writing a scene in the style of Massenet and Delibes, the idols of the public of that time. Having won the main prize and went to Rome, he had to report on the work done, sending new works to Paris, to the same jury members. And Debussy again decided to write a cantata. This time I chose the text myself, inspired by the painting by the Pre-Raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rossetti “The Blessed Virgin”: it takes place in paradise, where the Virgin-chosen is waiting for her lover. Since Rossetti had also previously written a poem on this plot, and in 1885 its translation into French appeared, the stars converged - Debussy seemed to receive both imaginary scenery and a libretto for the opera stage, the plot for which he had long been looking for. The atmosphere of a dream, the mysterious choirs of the "sisters", the expectation of the chosen one, nothing real and mundane - that's what Debussy was passionate about at twenty-five, that's what preceded the opera "Pelléas et Mélisande". At the concert on June 10, there is a chance to hear both the harbinger of the mysterious kingdom of Allemonde and the "elder sisters" of Mélisande. The fragility of the symbolist images of Rossetti and Debussy will be set off by the playing elements and the virtuoso pressure of Edouard Lalo's Cello Concerto.Anna Petrova
