Product Overview
Debussy / Frederica von Stade, Richard Stilwell, Nadine Denize, José van Dam, Ruggero Raimondi, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert Von Karajan – Pelléas Et Mélisande / Warner Classics CD Audio 2017
UPC 0190295900656
Made in EU
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 (Amazon)
Tracklist:
| 1-1 | Prelude | 1:40 | |
| Act I. Scene 1 | |||
| 1-2 | Je Ne Pourrai Plus Sortir De Cette Forêt | 4:17 | |
| 1-3 | Qu’est-ce Qui Brille Ainsi, Au Fond De L’eau? | 4:49 | |
| 1-4 | Interlude | 2:33 | |
| Act I. Scene 2 | |||
| 1-5 | Voici Ce Qu’il Écrit À Son Frère Pelléas: Un Soir, Je L’ai Trouvée | 3:15 | |
| 1-6 | Je N’en Dis Rien | 3:45 | |
| 1-7 | Grand-père, J’ai Reçu En Même Temps Que La Lettre De Mon Frère | 1:37 | |
| 1-8 | Interlude | 2:01 | |
| Act I. Scene 3 | |||
| 1-9 | Il Fait Sombre Dans Les Jardins | 2:38 | |
| 1-10 | Hoé! Hisse Hoé! Hoé! Hoé! | 4:02 | |
| Act II. Scene 1 | |||
| 1-11 | Vous Ne Savez Pas Où Je Vous Ai Menée | 3:47 | |
| 1-12 | C’est Au Bord D’une Fontaine Aussi Qu’il Vous A Trouvée? | 3:02 | |
| 1-13 | Interlude | 3:29 | |
| Act II. Scene 2 | |||
| 1-14 | Ah! Ah! Tout Va Bien, Cela Ne Sera Rien | 2:50 | |
| 1-15 | Je Suis … Je Suis Malade Ici | 3:36 | |
| 1-16 | Il Est Vrai Que Ce Château Est Très Sombre | 2:52 | |
| 1-17 | Tiens, Où Est L’anneau Que Je T’avais Donné | 2:58 | |
| 1-18 | Interlude | 2:36 | |
| Act II. Scene 3 | |||
| 1-19 | Oui, C’est Ici, Nous Y Sommes | 4:53 | |
| Act III. Scene 1 | |||
| 2-1 | Mes Longs Cheveux Descendent | 5:20 | |
| 2-2 | Oh! Oh! Mes Chevaux Descendent De La Tour! | 2:54 | |
| 2-3 | Je Les Noue, Je Les Noue Aux Branches Du Saule | 3:24 | |
| 2-4 | Interlude | 2:57 | |
| Act III. Scene 2 | |||
| 2-5 | Prenez Garde; Par Ici, Par Ici | 2:53 | |
| 2-6 | Interlude | 0:47 | |
| Act III. Scene 3 | |||
| 2-7 | Ah! Je Respire Enfin! | 2:14 | |
| 2-8 | À Propos De Mélisande | 1:47 | |
| 2-9 | Interlude | 1:35 | |
| Act III. Scene 4 | |||
| 2-10 | Viens, Nous Allons Nous Asseoir Ici, Yniold | 6:34 | |
| 2-11 | Ah! Ah! Petite Mère A Allumé Sa Lampe | 4:04 | |
| Act IV. Scene 1 | |||
| 3-1 | Où Vas-Tu? Il Faut Que Je Te Parle Ce Soir | 3:31 | |
| Act IV. Scene 2 | |||
| 3-2 | Maintenant Que Le Père De Pelléas Est Suavé | 5:49 | |
| 3-3 | Pelléas Part Ce Soir | 2:16 | |
| 3-4 | Une Grande Innocence | 5:22 | |
| 3-5 | Interlude | 4:13 | |
| Act IV. Scene 3 | |||
| 3-6 | Oh! Cette Pierre Est Lourde | 4:21 | |
| Act IV. Scene 4 | |||
| 3-7 | C’est Le Dernier Soir | 6:11 | |
| 3-8 | On Dirait Que Ta Voix A Passé Sur La Mer Au Printemps! | 4:10 | |
| 3-9 | Quel Est Ce Bruit? On Ferme Les Portes | 4:35 | |
| Act V | |||
| 3-10 | Ce N’est Pas Du Cette Petite Blessure Qu’elle Peut Mourir | 3:34 | |
| 3-11 | Attention: Je Crois Qu’elle S’éveille | 3:06 | |
| 3-12 | Êtes-Vous Seul Dans La Chambre, Grand-Père? | 2:53 | |
| 3-13 | Mélisande, As-Tu Pitié De Moi Comme J’ai Pitié De Toi? | 2:16 | |
| 3-14 | As-Tu Aimé Pelléas? | 3:12 | |
| 3-15 | Qu’avez-Vous Fait? Vous Allez La Tuer | 2:49 | |
| 3-16 | Qu’y A-t-il? Qu’est-Ce Que Toutes Ces Femmes Viennent Faire Ici? | 2:37 | |
| 3-17 | Attention … Attention | 6:21 |
- Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Parlophone Records Ltd.
- Copyright © – Parlophone Records Ltd.
- Recorded At – Berliner Philharmonie
- Remastered At – Abbey Road Studios
- Baritone Vocals – José Van Dam
- Bass Vocals – Pascal Thomas (2), Ruggero Raimondi
- Chorus – Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin
- Chorus Master – Walter Hagen-Groll
- Composed By – Claude Debussy
- Conductor – Herbert Von Karajan
- Engineer, Remastered By – Wolfgang Gülich
- Libretto By – Maurice Maeterlinck
- Mezzo-soprano Vocals – Nadine Denize
- Orchestra – Berliner Philharmoniker
- Producer – Michel Glotz
- Remastered By – Simon Gibson
- Soprano Vocals – Christine Barbaux, Frederica Von Stade
- Tenor Vocals – Richard Stilwell
© 2017 Parlophone Records Limited, a Warner Music Group Company
CD1: 60.53 - CD2: 34.33 - CD3: 67.32
Recorded XII. 1978, Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin
Digitally remastered at Abbey Road Studios, London.
English text and synopsis / Deutscher Text & Handlung / Texte & synopsis en français
- Barcode: 0190295900656
- SPARS CODE: ADD
