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Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
1902 opera by Claude Debussy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pelléas et Mélisande (Pelléas and Mélisande) is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's symbolist play of the same name. It premiered at the Salle Favart in Paris by the Opéra-Comique on 30 April 1902; Jean Périer was Pelléas and Mary Garden was Mélisande, conducted by André Messager, who was instrumental in getting the Opéra-Comique to stage the work.[1][2] It is the only opera Debussy ever completed.[3]
Pelléas et Mélisande | |
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Opera by Claude Debussy | |
![]() Poster by Georges Rochegrosse for the premiere | |
Language | French |
Based on | Pelléas et Mélisande by Maeterlinck |
Premiere |
The plot concerns a love triangle. Prince Golaud finds Mélisande, a mysterious young woman, lost in a forest. He marries her and brings her back to the castle of his grandfather, King Arkel of Allemonde. Here Mélisande becomes increasingly attached to Golaud's younger half-brother Pelléas, arousing Golaud's jealousy. Golaud goes to excessive lengths to find out the truth about Pelléas and Mélisande's relationship, even forcing his own child, Yniold, to spy on the couple. Pelléas decides to leave the castle but arranges to meet Mélisande one last time and the two finally confess their love for one another. Golaud, who has been eavesdropping, rushes out and kills Pelléas. Mélisande dies shortly after, having given birth to a daughter, with Golaud still begging her to tell him "the truth."
Pelléas et Mélisande has remained regularly staged and recorded throughout the 20th- and into the 21st-century.