Debussy - Pelleas et Melisande / Croft, Oelze, Tomlinson, Howell, Rigby, Arditti, Davis, Glyndebourne Opera

Debussy's masterpiece, Pelléas et Mélisande, is based on Maurice Maeterlinck's symbolist play - a tragic fairytale, which recounts the ill-fated love of half-brothers Golaud and Pelléas for the same woman, the enigmatic Mélisande. Haunting and intensely atmospheric, Debussy's score continues where language ends, articulating the dream-like inner worlds of the doomed lovers. Melodic vocal lines and motifs resurface throughout the opera like snatched memories. A lyric drama in five acts with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, conducted by Andrew Davis, with Christiane Oelze as Melisande and Richard Croft singing Pelleas. With the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Glyndebourne Chorus."…I have rarely heard Debussy sound richer, or the dying fall of the last act fade more poignantly into infinite darkness." THE DAILY TELEGRAPH "…the cast is on top form. John Tomlinson's Golaud is superb…Christiane Oelze is a mix of elusive glamour and vulnerability." TIME OUT

Graham Vick, not Pelleas et Melisande

It is quite well known that Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande has received, on the surface of things, equally and in way of being all set in a mansion, updated settings for its action as the dvd under review here - almost much to do about nothing to mention it.

The strong disrespect toward Debussy's score here, in favor of what seems to some extent a tradition that trumps everything where it happens and where this indeed did, that is, at the Glyndebourne Festival of 1999, is utterly repulsive. The highly cluttered nature of Graham Vick's production is a serious liability. The singers in this, I found, most of the way through, except being made to follow Vick's demands closely as how and where to move on stage, are pretty much on their own, in terms of being so little supported by either Vick or Andrew Davis in any meaningful way.

We first see Christine Oelze a very coquettish Melisande (as cock-tease), seemingly almost incapable of holding sheets over her naked breast, not to completely expose herself to Golaud and all the rest of us. She sings the part just reasonably well and has some of the best diction of anyone in this cast, but her tone tends to spread around the middle and her pitch turns juddery for her Act Three chanson. She, from point on of the second scene of the opera, becomes prim housewife and even sports a few facial expressions maybe worthy of Hyacinth's friend Elsiabeth, but that do not really fit Melisande. It is just simply a repulsive joke and Vick's way of feeling he has to over-explain everything and give just about every character in Pelleas back stories, that he makes a big deal of Melisande being pregnant, and then as no more than snide humor,have us guess whether it could belong to Golaud, Pelleas, or Arkel.

Richard Croft, for most of the way up until the final love scene, sounds a little remindful of George Shirley on the old CBS Boulez recording. Hs attitude toward dynamics written in the music and diction, up to this point, is casual. He also tends to make little of so many lines that give his part so much opportunity for nuance; pitch at times becomes unsure as well. He is capable of more than this, as evident on the best and possibly only worthy nine minutes of the entire dvd, which are in Act Four. Any physical interest in Melisande, to put it nicely, is understated, but due to the utter straitjacketing of just about all the acting on this dvd as much as anything. Right before starting `Je les nous' in his second long scene with Melisande, something is heard to creak while she is extending her stitched-on hair down from her position in an increasingly phallic looking chandelier. The handling of all this is outré, it is so visually and pointlessly ugly.

Pelleas's gazing at the chandelier swinging low, together with Golaud, in the next scene, is a new low, almost turning Golaud into Fernando Rey in Bunuel's Tristana (with Catherine Denueve) with the very phallic looking church bell. Vick may have not completely read the libretto, where Golaud speaks of something potentially hitting the two men in the face, and following Golaud's line about the stench of death, which obliquely reminds of a line toward the end of Bergman's Silence, about how one female lead's own orgasm makes her smell like rotting fish.

Making more effort, in terms of diction than either Croft or Howell, is John Tomlinson as Golaud. He is entirely up to the part, vocally, but makes something less than dignified and entirely believable as Pelleas's half-brother. Emotionally and psychologically, one in essence gets a torso with what by way of lack that implies, of the part of Golaud instead of the real thing. Tomlinson, from so much of his work in Wagner, even up to the year he participated in this, is capable of so much more. Jose Van Dam is vastly preferable in the part, especially on dvd from Lyon. He is walked on for the long middle scene of Act Two, and looks like he has staggered in as typical hippie from a drunken brawl, and then looks almost ready to get off the couch to dance a jig for nearly halfway through the scene. His open display of frivolity toward Pelleas and Melisande at end of Act Three, Scene One is ridiculous.

Gwynne Howell is the adequately resonant Arkel, not better mindful of dynamics than most everybody else in this Pelleas, and constantly unsure of pitch. His famous line about `une grand innocence" of Melisande starts and ends (quite badly) out of tune; other lines in Act Four seem to completely dislodge from any sense of tonal center whatsoever. Worse, he kind of stumbles onto stage as kind of a twitchy layover from the 1960's and almost resembling as much as an Arkel a geriatric parody off Monty Python, Arkel has then at first practically more (unintentional) humor than Howell's fine cameo portrayals in Houston recently as Benoit and Alcindoro. We do not care that Vick has watched Bunuel's L'Age d'Or for how he has Arkel embrace Melisande right before Golaud (with newfound mania for cutting himself) starts in on her in Act Four. Jean Rigby, except for having to follow stupid stage direction, at least sings Genevieve very well. Jake Arditti seems reasonably able to sing in tune, but tends to tense up quite a bit for this production and very frequently not do so as Yniold.

The close camera on Yniold's crooked teeth reminds me of the libertines in closely examining the teeth of their prospective slaves/victims in 120 Days of Sodom by Pasolini. The symbolic affectation of involving Yniold in the act of cunnilungus, at the height of the spying on the two lovers at the end of Act Three, is the height of abuse - enough to make any normal viewer retch. All the extra noise and carrying on over a box of toy sheep in his solo scene of Act Four is just more abuse.

The ultimate blame for the utter desecration, without adequate explanation in the least, lies at the feet of Andrew Davis, who could have insisted otherwise. True to Glyndebourne tradition but only casually so to Debussy, he draws sound out of the London Philharmonic deficient in grasping overtones and harmonic depth. Pacing is good, except for being a little too fast in the last scene of Act Four, but any sense of life within such pacing, is missing, and that is most apparent, in leaving his cast pretty much on their own - without the type of adequate support they need. Attempts at nuance for woodwinds, such as with oboe a little into Act Two, arrive as maudlin, kind of palm court approximation of verismo. He injects the most insipid form of scherzoso into numerous more animated passages, also denying them of any life, except for how flaccid his sense of any existing life must be. Winds and brass are seldom terrible in intonation, but frequently unsteady nevertheless. Briefly getting to watch Davis implies his being mildly deficient in technique or at least in good aesthetics for Debussy.

The sets for this production are lavish, with central spiraling staircase, and glass floor with visible right underneath, hothouse of flowers. The lighting, which is very expert, is best when dim and throwing shadows. Its suddenly coming on bright numerous times, especially in the closing scene of Act Two, is both garish and insipid. Vick's production shows at best lackadaisical interest in the characters of Debussy's Pelleas, and really seems just to be more about Vick - including need to over-explain everything - what could be highly unrsolved Oedpial crisis in his life than anything to do with Pelleas et Melisande. Having the entire cast of characters on stage for the final scene of the opera, at visitation for Pelleas as much as vigil for Melisande, does not compensate, but only further shows for such undergraduate caliber stage direction how far directorial ego can extend itself.

This Pelleas, to paraphrase a line from Fanfare on a new Tristan dvd, is merely a bauble for the wealthy patrons of Glyndebourne, more absurdly expensive of course than would ever go to Yniold. The best antidote for such a Pelleas would perhaps come from who gave us La Scala's Trittico so recently - Luca Ronconi and Riccardo Chailly. In fact, with how Chailly has grown as a musician over so many years now, one could stand to hear, see a revisionist-stance Pelleas, it would serve as perfect antidote to this. For now, until I can report on TDK's Zurich Pelleas, the expertly cast, abstractly staged Lyon one - staged with far greater simplicity and meaning than here - conducted by Gardiner (since WNO is not technically up to it and Boulez's cast of singers is incompetent) should be mostly satisfying enough.

David H Spence July 19, 2008

Setting detracts from otherwise excellent performances...

I saw the excellent Pierre Boulez production of this opera, loved it and wanted to see another. When I saw this and Golaud appeared in a 19th century parlour sitting on a wing chair remarking that he is lost in a forest ... And then shortly finding Melisande lying on a table covered by a cloth ... Whew! What a stretch of the imagination this production demands!!! It only gets worse, with Melisande eventually hanging out of a huge chandelier, which is supposed to represent a tower. Etc.

The performances were fantastic in spite of the setting. All deserve five stars. Even so, I thought Richard Croft as Pelleas and Christian Oelze as Melisande were too "normal," compared to Neill Archer and Alison Hagley, who somehow managed to portray an "other-worldliness."

If you already know the story, then you will enjoy this production, too, in spite of the setting. February 8, 2008

Missed opportunity

This DVD is peopled with a wonderful cast of English singers. They could hardly be bettered. But the direction works against the music at every turn. Instead of the various scenes indicated in the score it all takes place in an Edwardian living room. Melisande is discovered on the dining room table clothed in a sheet! (who left the front door open so that an unknown naked woman could wander in?) In a later scene she appears smartly dressed in an Edwardian "day" outfit. This only begins to enumerate the inconsistancies with the libretto. The net result is that all of the mystery associated with the characters is gone. Melisande has no mystery at all. She is a smartly turned out English lady. When will be be free of directorial "creativity?" The austerity of the sets in the Boulez set are not always attractive but it gives a much better feel of the piece than this mess. Too bad. These wonderful singers deserve better. So do opera lovers.



January 29, 2008

Just wonderful

Its incredible to witness a performance that comes so close to the magical Karajan recording with Von Stade, Stillwell, Van Dam and Raimondi. The young lovers are completely convincing and even if the more lyrical moments are beyond Tomlinson, his gruff singing provides a good contrast to this extremely lyrical score. Gwynne Howell seems born to sing Arkel. His portrayal is every bit the embodiment of nobility past its prime. The murder of Pelleas provides a musical and dramatic climax that is nearly overwhelming in its emotional intensity
The updating to the turn of the last century provides the story with more relevance to our time and the single set of a winding staircase on a flowery floor isn't as limiting as you might expect. November 2, 2007

I PREFER THE BOULEZ

This is a recommendable "Pelleas et Melisande," but it doesn't measure up to the one conducted by Pierre Boulez (on Deutsche Grammphon). This Glyndebourne production is splendidly conducted by Andrew Davis, but it has several drawbacks. The opera is supposed to take place in and around an old castle, but this staging replaces the castle with an Edwardian mansion, which wouldn't be so bad except that the whole opera is taken indoors. You get no sense of the grounds outside the house. The forest, the park with the little well, the grotto by the sea--all these scenes lose half their charm by being set indoors. On the plus side, this production ends on a high note. The final scene, which can be slow and underwhelming in some productions, is effectively done here--quite dramatic.

The cast is a bit uneven. John Tomlinson delivers a powerful performance as Golaud, Gwynne Howell is splendid as old King Arkel, and young Jake Arditti is the best Yniold I've heard. But Richard Croft as Pelleas, while not bad, sings with a noticeably non-French accent. He's just unconvincing. Likewise, Oelze makes a fine Melisande, but she simply can't match Alison Hagley from the Boulez production.

The Boulez is also a better sound recording, and a finer quality DVD experience in terms of the menu options, booklet, etc. I recommend it over the Glyndebourne in almost every respect. Still, this Glyndebourne "Pelleas et Melisande" makes a strong second choice, worth it for Davis' sublime conducting, Tomlinson's excellent Golaud, and Howell's nobly sung Arkel. October 27, 2007

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