Opera Guide and Synopsis: Pelleas Et Melisande, by Claude Debussy

The libretto of Claude Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande was adapted from the symbolist play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck. It premiered in Paris on April 30, 1902.

The music of Pelléas et Mélisande is a landmark in the development of opera; it contains no melody to speak of, but rather, music to set a poetic mood. The singers' parts are mainly recitative, with rhythms close to natural speech patterns but melodies which caused the performers great trouble. Debussy famously warned them: "First of all, ladies and gentlemen, you must forget you are singers."

Despite the lack of popular appreciation for Debussy's opera when it was first performed, his techniques were influential in the development of twentieth century opera.

Characters in Pelléas et Mélisande

• Mélisande, a lost princess (Soprano or mezzo-soprano)
• Pelléas, a prince (Tenor or high baritone)
• Golaud, his half-brother (Baritone)
• Geneviève, their mother (Mezzo-soprano or contralto)
• Arkel, King of Allemonde (Bass)
• Yniold, Golaud's son (Soprano)
• Physician (Bass)

Synopsis of Pelléas et Mélisande

The story takes place during the Middle Ages in the fictional kingdom of Allemonde.

Act I

Scene 1

Golaud gets lost in the forest and discovers Mélisande, a beautiful, child-like princess who has lost her crown in a spring. Golaud takes her away to shelter.

Scene 2

Geneviève reads a letter from Golaud to Pelléas, in which he reveals that he has married Mélisande and wishes to know Arkel's reaction. Arkel forgives Golaud for not asking his approval, and instructs Pelléas to leave a light in the castle tower to signal to Golaud that he may return.

Scene 3

In a garden by the sea, Mélisande expresses her dislike of the castle's constant dark. She encounters Pelléas and falls in love with him.

Act II

Scene 1

Pelléas and Mélisande discover a fountain deep in the woods, which Pelléas asserts has magical powers. Mélisande drops her wedding ring in the water and cannot retrieve it. They worry about what to tell Golaud.

Scene 2

Golaud is in bed injured; his horse threw him just as Mélisande dropped her ring. He notices that Mélisande does not have her ring, and she claims to have lost it while walking by the sea with Yniold. Golaud insists that Pelléas and Mélisande go to find it.

Scene 3

By the sea, Pelléas and Mélisande see three beggars sleeping in the moonlight. Mélisande is frightened, and Pelléas suggests that they return another time.

Act III

Scene 1

Pelléas stops outside Mélisande's tower as she combs her long hair. He says he must leave the next day, and she begs him not to. He kisses her hair. Golaud enters and leads Pelléas away.

Scene 2

Golaud leads Pelléas into an underground passage filled with the stink of death, giving him a warning.

Scene 3

They exit the underground passage, and Golaud gives a more explicit warning: Mélisande might be pregnant, and Pelléas must stay away from her lest she be worried.

Scene 4

Golaud questions Yniold, whom he is using to spy on Pelléas and Mélisande. They see a light in Mélisande's room, and Golaud asks Yniold to describe the scene, but all he can see is the lovers looking at each other. Golaud, in torment, leads his son away.

Act IV

Scene 1

Pelléas begs Mélisande to meet him by the fountain. Arkel, impressed by Mélisande's beauty and innocence, believes that all must be going well. Golaud enters, injured, and Mélisande bandages his head. When Arkel comments on her innocent eyes, however, Golaud becomes enraged, and drags Mélisande around by her hair before storming out.

Scene 2

Yniold plays by a fountain. He has lost his golden ball. He encounters a shepherd, who tells him that the sheep do not speak because they are not on the right road home.

Scene 3

At the fountain, Pelléas and Mélisande make their first explicit expression of love to each other. He begs her to run away with him, but Golaud enters and strikes Pelléas down with his sword. Mélisande escapes into the woods.

Act V

Mélisande has been found. She has just given birth to a child and is dying, delirious and practically unaware of Pelléas' death. Golaud questions her about Pelléas: she claims that she did love him but they never slept together. Golaud cannot be certain. Mélisande complains of the cold and dies; Arkel leads Golaud away, telling the new baby that she must live for Mélisande's sake.

Sources:

• Pelléas et Mélisande Scores and Libretto from the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP).
• Simon, Henry W. 100 Great Operas and Their Stories. Garden City: Dolphin, 1960.