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Debussy, Pelléas et Mélisande: Soloists, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, Conductor: Mark Wigglesworth, Muntschouwburg. (La Monnaie) Brussels 6.9.2008 (PK)

Cast:

Stéphane Degout - Pelléas
Sandrine Piau - Mélisande
Dietrich Henschel - Golaud
Marie-Nicole Lemieux - Geneviève
Alain Vernhes - Arkel
Jean Teitgen - Un médecin
Wiard Witholt - Un berger
Valérie Gabail - Yniold

Production:
Producer: Pierre Audi
Set: Anish Kaspoor

Anyone who may think Debussy's opera is about lonely, vulnerable people, lost in life and longing for some understanding, may be surprised by the production presented for the opening of the new season in the Brussels Muntschouwburg. For once producer Pierre Audi, artistic director of the Netherlands Opera where he gave birth to a wholes series of productions characterised by utmost aesthetics as well as human story-telling, showed a completely unexpected approach. In Pelléas et Mélisande Audi has discovered the dark side of humanity with Golaud as a sadomasochistic, voyeuristic brute, sweet Mélisande as a selfish woman who constantly tries to manipulate other people, and the old king Arkel as a dirty old man. Only Pelléas gets a positive approach. He is longing for light and some happiness, but unable to free himself from the people around him:  at the decisive moment he allows himself to be manipulated by Mélisande. His death is not only the inevitable result, but Audi gives us the impression it is also foreseen and even provoked by Mélisande.

This unusual vision on a well known love story is situated in and around a gigantic revolving and flaming red object by the British artist Anish Kapoor, which dominates the performance from the first until the last moment. Audi himself has added some other, no less astonishing elements, for instance blood on the costume of each character and a Mélisande who is completely bald until the last act, when she suddenly shows a wealth of hair. (During the other acts there is some hair too, but attached to her dresses - one for every act.)

In general, Audi gives no answer to the questions asked by Maurice Maeterlinck’s text. Instead he creates a whole series of new questions that are just as unanswered. What's more, at some moments his images come very near to kitsch, for instance during the closing scene, when  Pelléas appears dressed in white at the top of the set to be welcomed by the dead Mélisande who reaches out with her arm to him.

In the pit there was some fine orchestral playing, despite the fact that Mark Wigglesworth had opted for a sold, 'earthy' reading which seemed not always compatible with the ethereal subtleties and the impressionistic character  the score. The soloists however were first rate. The music of Pelléas seems to be written for the bright and youthful baritone of Stéphane Degout and in Sandrine Piau he had found a warm, vocally utterly believable Melisande. If Dietrich Henschel's Golaud was not quite on the same level, it was only because his singing lacked some of the French style, and certainly not because he was less convincing. An impressive example of French singing was displayed by Alain Vernhes as Arkel and there were also some very fine performances by Jean Teitgen as the doctor and by Valérie Gabail as a naïve sounding (but less naïve looking) Yniold. Moreover it must be mentioned that in this production every word of the libretto was fully understandable for once . In modern opera this is really exceptional!

Paul Korenhof


Pictures: © Maarten Vanden Abeele

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