Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande

[Clarissa]

Hello all,

Some works of art sum up the past, some presage the future - amongst
operas, one thinks of Mozart's in the first category, of Tristan or
Falstaff or Wozzeck in the second.

Pelleas et Melisande seems to do neither.

Obviously Debussy was anything but a composer insulated from outside
influences, but Pelleas belongs to no line and (unlike Debussy's piano
and orchestral works) has no imitators.

However, if the work is something of a dead end, it is anything but
sterile; in fact, every time one hears it, one is more convinced than
ever that it is a work of outstanding, uncanny beauty, of incredibly
perceptive imagination, and its very lack of followers is some
indication that what it has to say has been said once and for all.

It is an immensely sophisticated, so full of sensitivity, subtlety,
eloquence, and genius.

What has been your experience?

Clarissa

[Mark D Lew]

In article <***@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>,
Clarissa <***@yahoo.com> wrote:

[quoting Kobbé, without attribution]

Post by Clarissa
Some works of art sum up the past, some presage the future - amongst
operas, one thinks of Mozart's in the first category, of Tristan or
Falstaff or Wozzeck in the second.
Pelleas et Melisande seems to do neither.
Obviously Debussy was anything but a composer insulated from outside
influences, but Pelleas belongs to no line and (unlike Debussy's piano
and orchestral works) has no imitators. [...]

No direct imitations, perhaps, but itcertainly had its influences.

Most famously, Puccini drew inspiration from Debussy. I hear the
influence of Pelleas in both Fanciulla and Turandot.

I also hear Pelleas's influence in Chausson's Le Roi Arthus, which was
written immediately in its wake; and in Montemezzi's L'Amore dei tre
re, which has a (somewhat) similar libretto.

mdl

[Stephen Jay-Taylor]

Kobbé/Klarissa bollocks. The whole score of "Pelléas" is drenched in
Wagner's sound-world for "Parsifal". The first orchestral interlude in
Debussy's opera has music lifted bodily from the similarly-functioning
transition in Wagner's Act One. The entire musical metodology is broadly
Wagnerian, leitmotiven and all, as is the peculiarly weightless, "floating"
orchestration, achieved by the same technical means.

No "Pelléas", no "Duke Bluebeard's Castle", no "Ariane et Barbe-Bleu" ( also
Maeterlinck in gnomic mood ), no "Erwartung" and no Franz Schreker or even
Korngold. Even Strauss listened, though he claimed not to understand what
was being said.

SJT, tired of the old critical slops that get trotted out decades after
their sell-by date.

[a***@aol.com]

Post by Clarissa
What has been your experience?
Clarissa

My experience, Clarissa, is to take a bloody good book.

If it is a long run, I suggest Middlemarch.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by Clarissa
Hello all,
Some works of art sum up the past, some presage the future - amongst
operas, one thinks of Mozart's in the first category, of Tristan or
Falstaff or Wozzeck in the second.
Pelleas et Melisande seems to do neither.
Obviously Debussy was anything but a composer insulated from outside
influences, but Pelleas belongs to no line and (unlike Debussy's piano
and orchestral works) has no imitators.
However, if the work is something of a dead end, it is anything but
sterile; in fact, every time one hears it, one is more convinced than
ever that it is a work of outstanding, uncanny beauty, of incredibly
perceptive imagination, and its very lack of followers is some
indication that what it has to say has been said once and for all.
It is an immensely sophisticated, so full of sensitivity, subtlety,
eloquence, and genius.
What has been your experience?
Clarissa

https://rec.music.opera.narkive.com/fAa9JNRH/pelleas-et-melisande-debussy

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by Clarissa
Hello all,
Some works of art sum up the past, some presage the future - amongst
operas, one thinks of Mozart's in the first category, of Tristan or
Falstaff or Wozzeck in the second.
Pelleas et Melisande seems to do neither.
Obviously Debussy was anything but a composer insulated from outside
influences, but Pelleas belongs to no line and (unlike Debussy's piano
and orchestral works) has no imitators.
However, if the work is something of a dead end, it is anything but
sterile; in fact, every time one hears it, one is more convinced than
ever that it is a work of outstanding, uncanny beauty, of incredibly
perceptive imagination, and its very lack of followers is some
indication that what it has to say has been said once and for all.
It is an immensely sophisticated, so full of sensitivity, subtlety,
eloquence, and genius.
What has been your experience?
Clarissa

(Recent Youtube upload that praises Desormiere's PELLEAS...):

Review: Three Essential Historical Recordings

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by Clarissa
Hello all,
Some works of art sum up the past, some presage the future - amongst
operas, one thinks of Mozart's in the first category, of Tristan or
Falstaff or Wozzeck in the second.
Pelleas et Melisande seems to do neither.
Obviously Debussy was anything but a composer insulated from outside
influences, but Pelleas belongs to no line and (unlike Debussy's piano
and orchestral works) has no imitators.
However, if the work is something of a dead end, it is anything but
sterile; in fact, every time one hears it, one is more convinced than
ever that it is a work of outstanding, uncanny beauty, of incredibly
perceptive imagination, and its very lack of followers is some
indication that what it has to say has been said once and for all.
It is an immensely sophisticated, so full of sensitivity, subtlety,
eloquence, and genius.
What has been your experience?
Clarissa

(This recent upload praises Karajan's recording):

Repertoire: Pelléas et Mélisande--Four Major Settings

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by Clarissa
Hello all,
Some works of art sum up the past, some presage the future - amongst
operas, one thinks of Mozart's in the first category, of Tristan or
Falstaff or Wozzeck in the second.
Pelleas et Melisande seems to do neither.
Obviously Debussy was anything but a composer insulated from outside
influences, but Pelleas belongs to no line and (unlike Debussy's piano
and orchestral works) has no imitators.
However, if the work is something of a dead end, it is anything but
sterile; in fact, every time one hears it, one is more convinced than
ever that it is a work of outstanding, uncanny beauty, of incredibly
perceptive imagination, and its very lack of followers is some
indication that what it has to say has been said once and for all.
It is an immensely sophisticated, so full of sensitivity, subtlety,
eloquence, and genius.
What has been your experience?
Clarissa

- show quoted text -
(This recent Youtube upload praises Karajan's recording):

Repertoire: Pelléas et Mélisande--Four Major Settings

[michael dasilva]

Debussy's Pelleas & Melisande on YouTube in the Year of the Coronavirus.

Reflections on the new edition (Gresham College Music lectures)

Maeterlinck's Golaud

Secrets and lies or the truth about ...

Full opera recordings
Gedda, Donath, Fischer-Dieskau, Munich 1971, Kubelik

OSR Ansermet 1964

Oelze, Croft, Tomlinson, Glyndebourne, Andrew Davis 1999

Welsh National Opera, Pierre Boulez, BBC television
http://youtu.be/SuBTeIGSFXw

(bad hiss)

Maria Ewing, Francois Le Roux, Jose van Damm, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado (DG)
http://youtu.be/SuBTeIGSFXw

And Now For Something Completely Different!
Sexy Tower scene, Norwegian National Opera, 2017

[michael dasilva]

Debussy's Pelleas & Melisande on YouTube in the Year of the Coronavirus.

Reflections on the new edition (Gresham College Music lectures)
http://youtu.be/EnYN-3z6mbU

Maeterlinck's Golaud
http://youtu.be/_x7MA_EU9Ok

Secrets and lies or the truth about ...
http://youtu.be/jhCaJiFgW6I

Full opera recordings

Gedda, Donath, Fischer-Dieskau, Munich 1971, Kubelik
http://youtu.be/hg6ngxXX2bc

OSR Ansermet 1964
http://youtu.be/o2HrqwodAfo

Oelze, Croft, Tomlinson, Glyndebourne, Andrew Davis 1999
http://youtu.be/SuBTeIGSFXw

Welsh National Opera, Pierre Boulez, BBC television

http://youtu.be/wo8cjwcM8Jg (bad hiss)

Maria Ewing, Francois Le Roux, Jose van Damm, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado (DG)

(with score)

La Scala live 1986, Abbado

And Now For Something Completely Different!
Sexy Tower scene, Norwegian National Opera, 2017
http://youtu.be/EUnS720J2eo

Excerpt semi-staged Berlin Philharmonic, Rattle. Yniold steals the show.

[michael dasilva]

A rarity. Broadcast of a Paris 1955 staged performance.
Jean-Paul Jeanotte
Francoise Ogeas
Conductor, Inghelbrecht

[gggg gggg]

Post by Clarissa
Hello all,
Some works of art sum up the past, some presage the future - amongst
operas, one thinks of Mozart's in the first category, of Tristan or
Falstaff or Wozzeck in the second.
Pelleas et Melisande seems to do neither.
Obviously Debussy was anything but a composer insulated from outside
influences, but Pelleas belongs to no line and (unlike Debussy's piano
and orchestral works) has no imitators.
However, if the work is something of a dead end, it is anything but
sterile; in fact, every time one hears it, one is more convinced than
ever that it is a work of outstanding, uncanny beauty, of incredibly
perceptive imagination, and its very lack of followers is some
indication that what it has to say has been said once and for all.
It is an immensely sophisticated, so full of sensitivity, subtlety,
eloquence, and genius.
What has been your experience?
Clarissa

(Youtube upload):

"'Secrets and Lies' or the Truth about Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande - Katherine Bergeron"