# Envying the darkness -- the 2009 Theater an der Wien production of Debussy's Pelléas



## xuantu (Jul 23, 2009)

Integrating Debussy's germinating ideas of orchestral sound painting and vocal writing, _Pelléas et Mélisande_ is arguably the French master's single most important work. It is a powerful tragedy embedded with some of the most beautiful love scene music and the characters are totally alive. Why it is not so popular among the opera-lovers/goers is still beyond me. Over the years I've collected no less than four productions of this opera on DVD. This newcomer from _Theater an der Wien_ is the last but indeed a very welcome addition.










This 2009 production benefits notably from its all-Francophone cast--the last time when a similar (or I shall say better) cast was taped was in 1987 (_Opéra national de Lyon_ production, starring Colette Alliot-Lugaz, François Le Roux and José van Dam); such mesmerizing French singing and close attention to the text is nowhere to be found in either the famous 1992 _Welsh National Opera_ production (Pierre Boulez conducting) or the 1999 _Glyndebourne_ production. The prima donna of today Natalie Dessay is simply a joy to watch and listen to. Her fully-acted Mélisande was rightfully childish (even mischievous sometimes) and immensely feminine. She brought to this role the vivacity that had rarely been seen or heard before. Some may find her laughter in the "blind-men's well" scene of Act II ill-situated in a piece of music, but it's by no means forced or unnatural, and see how she directed her eyes at Pelléas (Stéphane Degout) when he sang and then quickly got overjoyed and distracted by the well. She was all happiness until later carelessly lost her wedding ring to the well, at which point you could see/hear her distress and regret most vividly rendered.

One can never underestimate the advantage of having a young and active Golaud in Laurent Naouri or a manly-built (physically and vocally) but boyishly passionate Pelléas in _baritone_ Stéphane Degout (I think this role has been given to tenors far too often than it should). Though a tall and tough guy, Laurent Naouri is no match for a José van Dam in tone or in singing. His Golaud, however, was impressive as a gentleman when he first met Mélisande in the woods and that image did go with him along the show until much later when he could no longer contain himself over his discovery of the "pure love" shared by his newly-wedded wife and his half-blood brother Pelléas. Even when he was gravely frustrated and was overreacting, he didn't quite stop loving Mélisande (how he chose to "love" her is a different matter--see how he attempted to rape Mélisande in Act IV after he threw a tantrum at her and suddenly abandoned the idea). Naouri's Golaud is not a violent person by nature but a mentally-sound man driven mad by his pride; his is the most moving and pitiful account of the role that I have ever seen! Stéphane Degout is a handsome combination of secure singing technique and deep feeling for the text. He wasn't, of course, nearly as dynamic as François Le Roux in the _Lyon_ production, but he was no passive lover either: his chemistry with Dessay on stage was sure as sunlight and completely believable.

I noticed that many people were upset about Laurent Pelly's set/costume design and stage direction for this production, saying that the stage was virtually colorless and Pelly's talent in comedies (which led to his international success in _La fille du régiment_) didn't fare well in Maeterlinck's symbolist material. I couldn't disagree more! _Pelléas_'s world is never intended to be a fairytale dreamland of any kind; it is as indicated in the text, a dark, deserted wasteland that's seized by unhappiness. What better option was there than a cold and stale color palette and weak-but-focused lighting in order to put this right? Pelly's design was simply excellent! I love his sophisticated vertical arrangement of the space (the trees/pillars straight into the "sky", the multilayered castle interior, etc.), the "silent" wooden structures (the box-like chambers, narrow staircases and the boat remains of the cave scene in Act II) and tiny little details such as the scaffold above the "blind-men's well" covered in withered vine, and the tilted floor tiles under Golaud's sickbed foreboding his rating towards Mélisande about the lost ring--his state of mind was restless and unstable. The costume that Pelly put together for Dessay was indeed not very flattering, but it seamlessly fit into the medieval-themed settings and like the stage itself, it was stylish as well as contemporary. By contrast, even the well-received design by Peter Stein for the 1992 _Welsh_ production looks dated and unimaginative to me.

Pelly's direction was again no nonsense whatsoever. He actually followed Maeterlinck's text to set his actors in motion (a feat that's long-lost on opera stages), only sometimes seemed to be a little extreme (thanks to Phillip Ens's expressive singing that his motionless elderly role, King Arkel didn't fall flat). "Discrepancies", however, did occur in the tower scene from Act III where Mélisande wasn't given the hair that's long enough to reach Pelléas' lips from the top of the tower. She literally descended the spiral stair and placed her head on Pelléas' shoulder. Later Pelléas would also have to tie her hair to "the willow tree" figuratively. This was in effect what Golaud referred to as "a child's game" and, in my opinion, no less a beautiful love scene than the original. Oh, and how I loved the way Pelly used the rotating stage to nail Golaud's rage and madness when he lifted his son Yniold to spy on the couple through the "window"! His design and direction had such huge emotional impacts on me. His personal touches were certainly some of the most precious assets to this production.

Finally, comments must be made on Bertrand de Billy's conducting. He, for one, didn't show us the lavishness of Debussy's orchestral writing. What he managed to get out of _Radio-SymphonieOrchester Wien_ was a purified chamber orchestral sound that brought the essence of the drama, the unstoppable tragedy to our attention. I'd say it worked out very well with the cast and the director. This 2009 _Theater an der Wien_ production of Debussy's only opera (now available from _Virgin_) is, in a word, competently sung and emotionally satisfying. It surpasses the 1992 _Welsh_ production(conducted by Pierre Boulez) in many aspects. Time is ripe for you to pick up a copy if you have yet to acquaint yourself with this great work.


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## xuantu (Jul 23, 2009)

xuantu said:


> I noticed that many people were upset about Laurent Pelly's set/costume design and stage direction for this production, saying that the stage was virtually colorless and Pelly's talent in comedies (which led to his international success in _La fille du régiment_) didn't fare well in Maeterlinck's symbolist material. I couldn't disagree more! _Pelléas_'s world is never intended to be a fairytale dreamland of any kind; it is as indicated in the text, a dark, deserted wasteland that's seized by unhappiness. What better option was there than a cold and stale color palette and weak-but-focused lighting in order to put this right? Pelly's design was simply excellent! I love his sophisticated vertical arrangement of the space (the trees/pillars straight into the "sky", the multilayered castle interior, etc.), the "silent" wooden structures (the box-like chambers, narrow staircases and the boat remains of the cave scene in Act II) and tiny little details such as the scaffold above the "blind-men's well" covered in withered vine, and the tilted floor tiles under Golaud's sickbed foreboding his rating towards Mélisande about the lost ring--his state of mind was restless and unstable. The costume that Pelly put together for Dessay was indeed not very flattering, but it seamlessly fit into the medieval-themed settings and like the stage itself, it was stylish as well as contemporary. By contrast, even the well-received design by Peter Stein for the 1992 _Welsh_ production looks dated and unimaginative to me.


I just need to make a correction. The set designer for this production is Chantal Thomas, not Laurent Pelly.


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