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Pelléas et Mélisande
By Debussy
Warning: Approx 3 hrs 10 mins incl one interval
Performed in French with English and Chinese surtitles
Category: Theatre/Dance
Genre: Opera
Company:
Welsh National Opera
Venue:
Hong Kong Cultural Centre - Grand Theatre
Date and Time:
March 15 & 17, 7.30pm
Ticket Price:
180-480
Location:
Kowloon
Nearest MTR Station:
Tsim Sha Tsui
Ticketing By: Urbtix
Age Limitation: ---
Entranced by the sudden appearance and mysterious beauty of Mélisande, Prince Golaud falls in love and marries her, but only for Mélisande to become even closer to his half-brother Pelléas. Convinced that he has been betrayed, Golaud is consumed by jealousy, and a tragic spiral of events unfolds with grave consequences for all.
Sensual and elusive, beautiful and troubling, this tragic opera is filled with symbolism and enigmatic detail, with Claude Debussy’s score based on a text by the Belgian Nobel Literature Laureate Maurice Maeterlinck. Far removed from Wagnerian weightiness and the recitative-aria Italian style, Debussy’s only complete opera epitomises his captivating musical style filled with lingering melodies and a mystical sonority.
Welsh National Opera is no stranger to Debussy's only opera; a 1992 production directed by Peter Stein and conducted by Pierre Boulez is still considered authoritative. David Pountney, acclaimed WNO Artistic Director, has taken on the challenge of staging this opera by transposing Maeterlinck’s forest setting to an imposing giant metal lattice and offering “an enigmatic, pulse-racing production full of characteristic verve and edginess” (Wales Theatre Awards 2016 “Best Opera Production”).
This production marks the 2018 centenary of Claude Debussy’s death.