‘Pelléas et Mélisande’ @ The Dallas Opera
Photos by Kyle Flubacker
—Wayne Lee Gay
A century and a quarter after a somewhat troubled premiere in Paris in 1902, Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande finally arrives at the The Dallas Opera this week in an adventurously unconventional co-production shared with and premiered last summer by the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.
At over three hours in length—with no big arias, no stunning high notes, no cathartic moments or thrilling climaxes—Pelléas et Mélisande is a work more often praised than performed. However, as the largest and most complex work of one of the world's greatest and most beloved composers, it will always hold at least an honorary place in the operatic repertoire. Any listener or viewer can appreciate the unadulterated beauty of Debussy's music, with its glorious harmonies, glittering orchestration, and perpetual momentum. Not all, however, may wish to experience those musical glories in a single three-hour sitting.
The opera (basically a musical setting of Belgian symbolist playwright Maurice Maeterlinck's theatrically groundbreaking play of the same name) is both disarmingly simple and psychologically complex. To wit: the wandering prince Golaud encounters the abandoned maiden Mélisande in a forest.
We know she is a princess, since she has a crown—and we know she is deeply traumatized, since she doesn't want the crown and can't stand to be touched. Naturally, Golaud falls in love with Mélisande and takes her home to marry. And naturally, his younger brother Pelléas also falls in love with her, and she with him. Tragedy ensues.
We never learn the nature of Mélisande's trauma—or for that matter, the origin of Goulaud's particularly abusive jealousy (other than that his brother and his wife are having an affair).
Maeterlinck wove thick layers of constant symbolism throughout his original scipt: repeated references to high noon, an apparently bottomless well, a non-magical but nonetheless powerful ring, a dark cave. All this takes place in the environs of a dark castle in an even darker countryside that happens to be afflicted with famine.
There's not much space here for cheerfulness or hope.
And this is where this production, designed by by Ben Baur and directed by Kathleen Smith Belcher (re-creating Jetske Munssen's original conception for Munich) goes a little wild. Instead of Medieval or mythic costumes, the singers are dressed in formal attire (almost completely in black-and-white) reminiscent of Paris in 1902. Instead of the dark castle, caves, and forest, the action unfolds largely in something like a ballroom, complete with sparkling candelabras. The opening wilderness scene features couples waltzing around Golaud and Mélisande—all totally unauthorized in either Maeterlinck's text or Debussy's score, but definitely thought-provoking.
The effect is bleak and, in an odd way, beautiful. The viewer is constantly engaged in mentally navigating the inherent tension of a pseudo-mythical story playing out in scenery that contradicts the basic setting of the story.
American baritone Edward Nelson brings a wonderfully light voice, perfect for Debussy, to the role of Pelléas, along with a physical presence communicating the troubled lover. Soprano Lauren Snouffer, a Texas-born graduate of Rice University, is compelling vocally with the special radiance Debussy demands, and dramatically as a troubled, vulnerable woman.
French bass Nicolas Courjal, veteran of many major French bass roles, convincingly takes on the even more complex compulsions of Golaud. Jamaican-born bass Willard White and Iowa native mezzo-soprano Katharine Goeldner provide dramatically formidable and vocally flawless performances as the aging King Arkel (grandfather of Golaud and Pelléas), and his daughter Geneviéve, their mother. The role of Golaud's pre-adolescent son Yniold is mostly silent, with one brief monologue; boy soprano Benjamin Bjorklund,12, maneuvers through this extremely difficult passage neatly, confidently, and impressively with a gentle, flute-like voice.
Conductor Ludovic Morlot navigates the complexities of the score handsomely, and the Dallas Opera Orchestra performs in top form throughout. All-in-all, these performers and this unconventional production serve this odd masterpiece well.
WHEN: November 8-16, 2024
WHERE: Winspear Opera House, Dallas
WEB: dallasopera.org
