Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande is the iconic French opera of the 20th century, and was first performed in Monaco in 1924. Its music is impressionist: the sung parts are written in a way that reflects natural dialogue in a heightened way, whereas the orchestral score contains a myriad of glittering colours and nuance. The story is based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s eponymous play, the epitomy of symbolist theatre. Set in imagined medieval surroundings, it contains basic elements of myth and fairytale, a dark castle and forest, a rigorous father and two brothers – one eager to please but unloved, the other sensitive and charming –, a blonde princess of unknown origin, who becomes the victim of the brothers’ strife, and a deep well, into which she first drops her crown, and later her wedding ring. The events unfold before us like a dream, with a constant feeling that the important things are left unspoken.
Pelléas et Mélisande a new production of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo promises to become another fantastic collaboration on French music between Jean-Louis Grinda, Kazuki Yamada and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. Within the cast of outstanding singers, we offer you dazzling company debuts of Lea Desandre, Huw Montague Rendall and Gerald Finley at Opéra de Monte Carlo (22–28 February 2026).
