Pelléas et Mélisande - Opera

Description

Claude Debussy's lyrical aspirations lean towards symbolism and pave the way for a new symbiosis between the orchestra and the voice. Friends with the poets of his time, he draws inspiration from Stéphane Mallarmé for his Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (1894). In the fascinating play Pelléas et Mélisande by Maurice Maeterlinck, Debussy finds the qualities of intimacy and the supernatural that he seeks. He creates his only completed opera from it – premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1902 – which is also a unique lyrical work in musical history. The voices seem to speak-sing a sentimental and mysterious unspoken, while the orchestra becomes the storyteller and bearer of the Unconscious. Mélisande unravels her song and her hair at the foot of the tower where Pelléas awaits her… In an atmosphere of melancholic dreaminess, within a dreamed forest, an immense and empty palace surrounded by sea mists houses a trio of lovers with obscure identities, who despite the weight of fate still seek light, the sky, and love. "Music is written for the inexpressible. I would like it to seem as if it comes out of the shadow and that, at times, it returns there," writes Debussy. After the finesse and sensitivity of her reading of Mitridate, Emmanuelle Bastet continues her exploration of the unfathomable mysteries of the human psyche, this time inspired by the cinema of Alfred Hitchcock and his irresistible heroines… Alongside her, the French conductor Laurent Campellone will lead the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.

Highlights

• Premiere of Debussy's only completed opera
• Inspired by the play by Maurice Maeterlinck
• Conducted by Laurent Campellone

General Information

Pelléas et Mélisande is a unique opera that blends orchestral storytelling with lyrical intimacy. Premiered in 1902 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, it explores themes of love and fate through its haunting music and rich symbolism.

Location

Avenue du Théâtre 12, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland

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