PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE

CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)

PRODUCTION OF FESTIVAL D’AIX-EN-PROVENCE 2016
A COPRODUCTION WITH TEATR WIELKI – POLISH NATIONAL OPERA, NEW NATIONAL THEATRE TOKYO

GRANDE DONATRICE D’EXCEPTION DU FESTIVAL D’AIX-EN-PROVENCE

Opera

LYRICAL DRAMA IN FIVE ACTS AND TWELVE SCENES
BASED ON THE PLAY PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE BY MAURICE MAETERLINCK (1892)
PREMIERED ON 30 APRIL 1902 AT THE OPÉRA-COMIQUE, PARIS

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Conductor
Susanna Mälkki
Stage director
Katie Mitchell
Set design
Lizzie Clachan
Costume design
Chloe Lamford
Lighting design
James Farncombe
Dramaturgy
Martin Crimp
Movements director for the 2016 world premiere
Joseph W. Alford
Conductor's assistant
Pierre Mosnier
Vocal and language coaches
Mathieu Pordoy, David Zobel
Movements Collaborator and Intimacy Coordinator
Ita O’Brien
Staging assistants
Gilles Rico*, Robin Tebbutt
Costume assistant
Marie Szersnovicz
Pelléas
Huw Montague Rendall
Mélisande
Chiara Skerath**
Golaud
Laurent Naouri
Arkel
Vincent Le Texier
Geneviève
Lucile Richardot
Yniold
Emma Fekete
Un Médecin, Le Berger
Thomas Dear
Actors
Sarah Northgraves, Kamila Kamińska, Olivia N’Ganga
Choir coach
Benedict Kearns
Choir and Orchestra
Opéra de Lyon
* Former artist of the Académie
** Due to personal reasons, Julia Bullock will not be able to come to Aix this Summer. Chiara Skerath will take over the role of Melisande.

About

A young woman in her wedding dress, a handkerchief stained with blood, a bedroom in which she is fast asleep – and which, a moment later, is neither entirely the same nor entirely different. This Melisande is not the umpteenth variation on the fin-de-siècle femme fatale, a deadly enigma for the men around her: here the traditional perspective is reversed to give us her point of view, putting her instead at the centre of her waking dream, peopled with terrors and desires. The staging, of a surprising beauty and virtuosity, follows its surreal logic, continually shifting the setting of the action and treading a tightrope between social behaviour and symbolism, between fantasy and realism. In 2016, Katie Mitchell’s visionary, committed production cast a spell on the Festival audience; it returns this year with a largely different cast: apart from Laurent Naouri, the charismatic Huw Montague Rendall and Chiara Skerath in the title roles with the orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon under the direction of Susanna Mälkki.

LISTEN TO THE PRELUDE

Performances

Saturday6July 2024
Grand Théâtre de Provence8:00 PM
Tuesday9July 2024
Grand Théâtre de Provence8:00 PM
Friday12July 2024
Grand Théâtre de Provence8:00 PM
Monday15July 2024
Grand Théâtre de Provence8:00 PM
Wednesday17July 2024
Grand Théâtre de Provence8:00 PM
Catégorie Plus
€300.00
Catégorie 1
€220.00
Catégorie 2
€175.00
Catégorie 3
€135.00
Catégorie 4
€93.00
Catégorie 5
€60.00
Catégorie 6
€32.00

Youth prices: €90, €66, €52, €40, €27, €18, €10

Performance available with ticket packages

Sung in French with French and English surtitles
3 hours and 15 minutes with one interval

GETTING TO THE FESTIVAL
— by public transport or by byke > further information
— by carpooling > look for or offer a ride

New! To make it even easier for you to get around, our partner Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence is extending the operating hours of the bus line A (St Mitre / Parking relais Krypton): the last bus in either direction will be at 11:45 pm at the stop “Gare Routière” (located 300 metres from the theatre).
> further information

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[ REHEARSALS ] PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE

Rehearsals of PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE by Claude Debussy, production of the 2016 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
2024 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence © Jean-Louis Fernandez

[ PICTURES ] PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE

PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE by Claude Debussy, production of the 2016 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
Conductor Susanna Mälkki Stage director Katie Mitchell
From 6 to 17 July 2024, Grand Théâtre de Provence

2024 Festival d'Aix-en-Provence © Jean-Louis Fernandez

PRESS

Susanna Mälkki, maîtresse des timbres
— EL PAÍS

Une interprétation miraculeuse
— ABC

Un Pelléas de rêve
— LE MONDE

Une saisissante beauté
— LES ÉCHOS

Mise en scène virtuose
— L’HUMANITÉ

Une version fascinante
— SCÈNEWEB

Un chef-d'œuvre d'émotion
— LA PROVENCE

Un choc esthétique
— LA MARSEILLAISE