Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Pr�lude
2. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 1.: "Je Ne Pourrai Plus De Cette For�t"
3. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 1.: "Qu'Est-Ce Qui Brille Ainsi, Au Fond De L'Eau ?"
4. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 1.: "Interlude
5. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 2.: Voici Ce Qu'Il �crit � Son Fr�re Pell�as: "Un Soir, Je L'Ai Trouv�e"
6. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 2.: "Je N'En Dis Rien"
7. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 2.: "Grand-P�re, J'Ai Re�u En M�me Temps Que La Lettre De Mon Fr�re"
8. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 2.: Interlude
9. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 3.: "Il Fait Sombre Dan Les Jardins"
10. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 1. Scene 3.: "Ho� ! Hisse Ho� ! Ho� !"
11. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 2. Scene 1.: "Vous Ne Savez Pas O� Je Vous Ai Men�e ?"
12. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 2. Scene 1.: "C'Est Au Bord D'Une Fontaine Aussi Qu'il Vous A Trouv�e ?"
13. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 2. Scene 1.: Interlude
14. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 2. Scene 2.: "Ah ! Ah ! Tout Va Bien, Cela Ne Sera Rien"
15. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 2. Scene 2.: "Je Suis...Je Suis Malade Ici"
16. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 2. Scene 2.: "Il Est Vrai Que Ce Ch�teau Est Tr�s Vieux Et Tr�s Sombre"
17. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 2. Scene 2.: "Tiens, O� Est L'Anneau Que Je T' Avais Donne� ?"
18. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 2. Scene 2.: Interlude
19. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 2. Scene 3.: "Oui, C'Est Ici, Nous Y Sommes"

Disc 2:

1. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 1.: "Mes Longs Cheveux Descendent De La Tour !"
2. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 1.: "Oh ! Oh ! Mes Cheveux Descendent De La Tour !"
3. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 1.: "Je Les Noue, Je Les Noue Aux Branches Du Saule"
4. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 1.: Interlude
5. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 2.: "Prenez Garde; Par Ici, Par Ici"
6. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 2.: Interlude
7. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 3.: "Ah ! Je Respire Enfin !"
8. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 3.: "� Propos De M�lisande"
9. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 3.: Interlude
10. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 3. Scene 4.: "Ah ! Ah ! Petite M�re A Allum� Sa Lampe"

Disc 3:

1. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 1.: "O� Vas-Tu ? Il Faut Que Je Te Parle Ce Soir"
2. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 2.: "Maintenant Que Le P�re De Pell�as Est Sauv�"
3. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 2.: "Pell�as Part Ce Soir"
4. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 2.: "Une Grande Innocence"
5. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 2.: Interlude
6. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 3.: "Oh ! Cette Pierre Est Lourde"
7. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 4.: "C'Est Le Dernier Soir"
8. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 4.: "On Dirait Que Ta Voix A Pass� Sur La Mer Au Printemps !"
9. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 4. Scene 4.: "Quel Est Ce Bruit ? On Ferme Les Portes"
10. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 5.: "Ce N'Est Pas De Cette Petite Blessure Qu'Elle Peut Mourir"
11. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 5.: "Attention: Je Crois Qu'Elle S'�veille"
12. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 5.: "�tes-Vous Seul Dans La Chambre, Grand-P�re ?"
13. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 5.: "M�lisande, As-Tu Piti� De Moi Comme J'Ai Piti� De Toi ?"
14. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 5.: "As-Tu Aim� Pell�as ?"
15. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 5.: "Qu'Avez-Vous Fait ? Vous Allez La Tuer"
16. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 5.: "Qu' y-a-t-il ? Qu'est-ce Que Toutes Ces Femmes Viennent Faire Ici ?"
17. Pell�as et M�lisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88: Act 5.: "Attention... Attention"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #171452 in Music
• Released on: 1999-09-21
• Number of discs: 3
• Formats: Box set, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .67 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
The payoff to Herbert von Karajan's relentless pursuit of ensemble perfection and beauty of sound can be heard in the playing of the Berlin Philharmonic on this recording: by 1978, when it was made, they were indisputably the most polished and flexible orchestra in Europe, and one of the few orchestras anywhere (including France) that was capable of playing French music with real authority. Fittingly, the orchestra is very much at the center of this account of Claude Debussy's uniquely beautiful opera, magnificently projecting the mysterious, darkly translucent world of its fatally entangled characters. The cast, which is led by two Americans--Richard Stilwell as Pelléas and the incomparable Frederica von Stade as Mélisande --and features a Belgian (José van Dam) as Golaud and an Italian (Ruggero Raimondi) as Arkel, is a superb one, not least because those principals who are not French are nonetheless Francophones, and sing with excellent diction and an authentic delivery. Karajan's pacing of the drama, his skill at eliciting just the right intensity from the orchestra, his surpassing gentleness with the singers (balances are superb and every word comes through clearly), and the overall beauty of the orchestral playing make this not only the finest account of Pelléas et Mélisande yet recorded, but one of the most treasurable opera recordings ever, fully worthy of EMI's Great Recordings of the Century designation. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews

Karajan and Pélleas
What makes the difference between Karajan and other german conductors up to his generation (and even younger), is their attitude towards non-german repertoire. Furtwängler, Knappertsbusch, Böhm, Klemperer, etc. made their reputations conducting german (or german-like) music. For them, 'german' was sinonimous to 'profound', and had a curious custom to point out the greater 'quality' of a work by slowing its tempo as an indicative of this quality. Listen to Klemperer's 'Matthäus Passion', Böhm's Mozart's Requiem or Beethoven's Ninth, Furtwängler's 'Tristan' or Kna's 'Parsifal'. Of course all the above mentioned works are german.

Karajan was the first to change this attitude. In the sixties he made vigorous and fast-paced recordings of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, etc. (only Wagner remained an exception, at least in terms of tempo) and approached italian, russian, french and other repertoires with the seriousness that was reserved to german masterpieces up to that time. As an example, he was the first to play Italian Opera from Verdi to Puccini from the orchestra and the score, not from the voices.

It's no chance that he applied slow tempi to this non-german repertoire (even his Cav and Pag!), as to underline that he wanted to do it with the seriousness reserved until that moment to Deutsche Requiems, Fifths and Ninths and so on. This is the case of this 'Pélleas', the first recording of this opera to be conducted by a non-french conductor.

From my point of view, this recording is one of the best ever made by Karajan, and a sign of real genious. He makes sound this music different as heard before (darker, calmer, heavier, ominous...), as if some treasure had remained undiscovered for years and years. This happens also in a few more recordings... 'Walküre', 'Tosca', Mahler's Fifth...

The singers are all excellent. There's not much more to say about the great performances of van Dam, von Stade or Stilwell, so I'd like to say that the choice of Christine Barbaux as Yniold is also fantastic. Her scene with van Dam at the end of Act II and with the sepherd in Act IV are terrific.

I strongly recommend this recording to any lover of this opera. Sorry for my horrible English.

An incredible view of Pelleas et Melisande
This is an incredibly dark, rich and moving interpretation of the Debussy masterpiece Pelleas et Melisande. Karajan sees the opera through a Wagner filter with the orchestra playing a powerful role in the drama. Von Stade, Stilwell and especially Van Dam are wonderful in their roles as Melisande, Pelleas and Golaud respectively. This might not be a really French way to approach this most French of creations, but this recording is definitely one of the finest Pelleas and Melisande recordings around.

One of Karajan's undisputed triumphs
It's a pleasure to meet one of the true Great Recordings of the Century. It's also fortunate that the Amazon reviewer so carefuly describes the virtues of this exquisite, in some ways unsurpassed reading of Pelleas et Melisande. Karajan had already displayed his gifts as a Debussy conductor before 1978, but this opera is much harder to bring off than, say, the La Mer or Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Inspired by Wagner, Debussy created a unique Pelleas world that is as distinctive as the Tristan world, though perhaps its total opposite.

Karajan manages to draw us into this singular world with total involvement. The Berlin Phil. plays with more richness and sonority than any of the French orchestras to be heard in Pelleas--let's be frank, there was never a Parisian orchestra, then or now, that could hold a candle to the Berliners. The principal singers--Stilwell, von Stade, and Van Dam--have enough dramatic weight to stand up to Karajan's all-encompassing orchestral sound, which says a lot. One could argue that Van Dam and von Stade are the greatest modern exponents of Golaud and Melisande--the young von Stade's voice is blessedly free of the fast beat that came to mar it later on. This is not to take away from Stilwell's ardent Pelleas; I particularly like the fact that his baritone inclines toward the tenor range.

In sum, if you are a lover of this enigmatic and elusive opera, Karajan's EMI set, always a good-sounding recording but now even better in its latest remastering, is a must-listen.