It is certain that
without a fan base, any art form is
fast on its way to extinction. That
is largely why Thomson Smillie’s work
is so important. It is a lens through
which the most important works in opera
become clear to those who otherwise
have no point of reference. With this
knowledge comes appreciation, and from
there the art gains fans. In this installment
of his "An Introduction to…"
series, the subject for examination
is Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.
Here the story is told in narrative
form and elucidated through an explanation
by comparison to Hamlet. The
music is set in context of its time
through examples from the works of Wagner’s
Tristan und Isolde, and Debussy’s
earlier works La Mer and Prélude
a l’après midi d’un faune.
Its significance and influence for later
composers is displayed largely through
Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.
The narrative does a good job of explaining
the reasons why the work was so distinctive
in its day, what the impetus was behind
the composition, and how the piece became
so influential. As this is among the
more impressionistic and difficult to
follow works in opera, these illustrations
are both interesting and valuable, even
to the knowledgeable fan. In this respect,
this is amongst the more successful
of the series. After all, since Debussy
wanted his music to illustrate the inexpressible,
it is easy to become lost in the beautiful
but opaque musical imagery.
The great concern would
then be the quality of the musical examples.
Many times in this series the recordings
that are used for illustration have
sounded dated; this is not the case
here. The selections are from another
Naxos recording, Pelléas
et Mélisande (Naxos 8.660047-49
[not reviewed]), which
is a very strong
version. The performers are well suited
to the original intent of the composer,
and in Pelléas et Mélisande
that is often not the case. The lead
role of Pelléas is normally performed
by a tenor even though the original
part was written for a high baritone.
Since it is difficult to find a performer
that has both the range required and
the weight of timbre preferred, the
next-best selection is often made. Here
the correct singer is found. Additionally
the selection for the part of Yniold,
either a boy soprano on stage or a trained
woman on most recordings, is here very
well cast. It is sung by Françoise
Golfier, a trained soprano able to retain
the straight tone and light timbre of
a boy soprano.
Additionally, other
installments of the series have often
been plagued by dated recordings with
poor fidelity. Here the recording fidelity
matches that of the voice-over. It is
crisp, clean, well recorded, and well
performed. When the vintage recordings
from the 1940s-1960s are used the difference
is distracting. In this case the music
recording is good enough to focus attention
on the performance and gain further
understanding from Smillie’s words.
For Pelléas
et Mélisande in particular
this is important, for much understanding
is needed to grasp the enigmatic symbolism
and musical vagaries that are used by
Debussy as constructive techniques.
The background story of the characters
is intentionally left unexplained. Some
of the leitmotifs used feel like they
are supposed to be constructive, as
Wagner used them, but aren’t directly
related to characters or clearly defined
ideas. In short, this is not an easy
to understand opera. It is intended
to be difficult and to challenge the
audience.
For instance, we are
told that the King is blind, Mélisande
never closes her eyes. The audience
is left to determine if there’s any
interconnection or cross-symbolism.
It is never truly explained. Also there
is the case in the opening scene where
there is a crown that Mélisande
does not want retrieved. Later she loses
her wedding ring in a fountain when
the undertones of an adulterous affair
between her and Pelléas become
more obvious. That seems to echo the
crown incident. However the crown is
never explained. There are several cases
in the opening scene where statements
are made that seem confusing, and these
are recognized. They aren’t really explained,
but Smillie does at least enlighten
the listener that Debussy did not intend
them to be explainable.
Furthermore, as the
play develops there is much erotic symbolism
that could be lost on a modern audience.
We generally lack the knowledge of French
Victorian symbolism. There are points
where there is much intended by seemingly
innocent and understated events. Things
such as Pelléas playing with
Mélisande’s hair, described in
the play as "child’s play",
but which should be understood as an
allusion to a physical, perhaps sexual,
relationship. Moreover, the pure musical
passages are intended to explain the
deleted action. They depict the wooing
of Mélisande by Golaud or travel
through the countryside, for instance.
However, without knowledge of the convention,
a listener would hear only pure music,
then be disoriented as the next scene
begins. After gaining that understanding,
the opera is far less random, even if
it is still difficult to understand.
In general, Pelléas
et Mélisande is rightly recognized
as a masterpiece. There are some who
go so far as to claim that it is the
greatest opera ever composed. It certainly
is among the most influential. However
it is also one of the more difficult
to understand even by an uneducated
audience. Even an audience familiar
with opera in general may find it opaque,
just as the composer intended. It is
by design vague and impressionistic,
with only the music providing some elucidation
of the text.
Thomson Smillie offers
the key to understanding this difficult
story. For anyone that has any interest
in this opera, this is a valuable disc.
Patrick Gary
Written by Thomson Smillie 
