Claude Debussy

Pelleas et Melisande

Claude Debussy's (1862-1918) Pelléas et Mélisande adapted Maurice Maeterlinck's play of the same name in which Prince Golaud marries a mysterious young woman, Mélisande, but becomes jealous of his half-brother Pelléas when he suspects a relationship between the two. Maeterlinck's play was in prose rather than verse, which allowed Debussy to use the text directly unlike others of his time. After Debussy completed a short score of his only opera in 1895, the full orchestration and revisions were made for the premiere given on April 30, 1902 at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique in Paris, France. Noteworthy for the absence of arias and set pieces, Pelléas et Mélisande is still regularly staged today. Instrumentation: 3(3dPicc).2+EH.2.3: 4.3.3.1: Timp.Perc(2): Hp(2): Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Vocal Soli (8 roles SSATBBBB): Chorus.