{"product_id":"ansermet-debussy-pelleas-et-melisande-met-opera-1962-paco151","title":"ANSERMET Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande (Met Opera, 1962) - PACO151","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eDEBUSSY \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003ePelléas et Mélisande\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eLive broadcast performance, 1962\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 2hr 37:06\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eAdditional 15 minute Ansermet interview included with downloads\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eGeorge London - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eGolaud\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eAnna Moffo - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eMélisande\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNicolai Gedda - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003ePelléas\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eBlanche Thebom - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eGeneviève\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eJerome Hines - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eArkel\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eTeresa Stratas - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eYniold\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eMetropolitan Opera Orchestra \u0026amp; Chorus\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e Ernest Ansermet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PACO151.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fExtended Sleeve Notes578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\nPerformances of Claude Debussy’s only opera \u003cem\u003ePelléas et Mélisande\u003c\/em\u003e\nat the Metropolitan Opera have been almost as elusive as the frail,\nmysterious Mélisande herself. Since its first Met performance on 21 March\n1925, just a mere 23 years after its world premiere, the opera has only\nbeen performed 114 times to date. That’s a total of 93 years. To put that\ninto context using the ABCs of the opera world, \u003cem\u003eAïda\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLa Boh\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eè\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eme\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCarmen\u003c\/em\u003e, each reached\ntheir 114th performances 21, 12 and 15 years after their first performances\nat the Met, respectively.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nAdmittedly, \u003cem\u003ePelléas et Mélisande\u003c\/em\u003e doesn’t have the grand choruses\nand spectacle of \u003cem\u003eAïda\u003c\/em\u003e, the blossoming love of two young Bohemians\non Christmas Eve in the Latin Quarter of Paris of \u003cem\u003eLa Boh\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eè\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eme\u003c\/em\u003e or the endless tunes of \u003cem\u003eCarmen\u003c\/em\u003e that audiences flock to\nsee and hear year after year. But what it does have, an ethereal, almost\ntime-evasive quality, is what makes the work so individual and special.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nInterestingly, the work was immensely popular in New York from its first\nperformance on 19 February 1908, barely six years after its world premiere\nat the Opéra-Comique on 30 April 1902. It was presented by the only company\nto give the Metropolitan Opera its only real competition during this time,\nthe Manhattan Opera Company, run by Oscar Hammerstein l. Where Met General\nManager Giulio Gatti-Casazza was able to offer the public truly grand opera\nwith some of the greatest singers of the time (Farrar, Sembrich, Homer,\nCaruso, Scotti, and Chaliapin, to name just a very few), Hammerstein and\nthe Manhattan Opera Company drew its audiences with its own pool of great\nsingers, but more significantly, somewhat more adventurous repertory,\nparticularly with the French works that the Met was not programming, \u003cem\u003ePelléas et Mélisande\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLouise\u003c\/em\u003e and the many operas of Jules\nMassenet, among them.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nNo doubt, one of the reasons for the success of these early New York\nperformances of \u003cem\u003ePelléas et Mélisande\u003c\/em\u003e was the presence of the\nMélisande of the world premiere, Mary Garden. It should also be noted that\nHammerstein was able to secure the services of the first Pelléas, Jean\nPérier, Golaud, Hector Dufranne and Geneviève, Jeanne Gerville-Réache, as\nwell for these initial performances. Cleofonte Campanini was the conductor.\nBut it was undoubtably Garden herself, who was known not only for her\nvoice, but for her exceptional acting, that kept the opera in front of the\npublic.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nWhen the work finally arrived at the Met in 1925, it had its own\nstar-studded cast, including Lucrezia Bori (wearing costumes specifically\ndesigned for her by the great Russian artist, Erté), Edward Johnson (who\nstudied the role with the roles originator, Jean Périer and who would\neventually become General Manager of the Met in 1935), Clarence Whitehill,\nLéon Rothier and Kathleen Howard. Louis Hasselmans conducted. The opera was\nperformed 32 times in 11 consecutive seasons and has been in and out of the\nrepertory sporadically ever since.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThe first broadcast of the opera took place on 21 January 1933 and\npresented only Acts Two and Three. It featured the Met’s first Mélisande,\nPelléas, Arkel and conductor (Bori, Johnson, Rothier and Hasselmans), as\nwell as Ezio Pinza as Golaud, a recording sadly lost to us. Fortunately,\nthe following season’s broadcast of 7 April 1934 from the Met on tour in\nBoston exists complete and also features Bori, Johnson, Pinza, Rothier and\nHasselmans, but, as would be expected, is in very poor sound.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThe timing of this release could not be more appropriate as we acknowledge\nthe centenary of Debussy’s death. The 29 December 1962 broadcast presented\nhere was only the sixth broadcast of the opera and features an equally\nillustrious cast in the presence of Anna Moffo, Nicolai Gedda, George\nLondon, Jerome Hines, Blanche Thebom and a young Teresa Stratas who would\nherself become one of the great Mélisande’s of our generation. In the pit\nwas the eminent Swiss maestro, Ernest Ansermet, in what was to be his only\nseason at the Met and this, in fact, is his last performance with the\ncompany and his only Met broadcast. This broadcast also provides us with\nthe only opportunity to hear Moffo and Gedda as the protagonists and Thebom\nas Geneviève. The next time we hear Stratas in the opera it will be as\nMélisande. Another interesting aspect of this broadcast is that Ansermet\nopens a small cut in Act Four thereby allowing us to hear for the first\ntime on a broadcast of the opera a short scene for Yniold. After this\nbroadcast, it would be a little over nine years before the radio audience\nwould hear the opera again.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThis release also includes two very special bonus features. Prior to the\nstart of the performance, Ernest Ansermet spoke briefly to the radio\naudience about the musical aspects of the opera. Then during the first\nintermission, Opera News on the Air presented an in-depth interview with\nour Maestro hosted by Edward Downes.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nIn the New York Times review published on 1 December 1962 of the first\nperformance of the run (which featured Theodor Uppman as Pelléas; Gedda\nwould take over at the third of the five performances that season), Harold\nC. Schoenberg concluded his review with these words:\n\u003cem\u003e\nOn the whole, then, a fine performance of the exquisite, gossamer tonal\nworld that makes up “Pelléas et Mélisande.” With Mr. Ansermet holding\nit together with such suppleness, and with so reliable a cast, the\nopera could not help but make an impact. “Impact” might not be the\nright word, “Pelléas et Mélisande” being the crepuscular thing it is,\nbut for several hours last night at the Metropolitan Opera was the\nrealm of a magic, subdued, dim-lit empire.\n\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nDebussy’s \u003cem\u003ePelléas et Mélisande\u003c\/em\u003e is based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s\nplay of the same name. Debussy himself set the text to music. The work\nrevolves around the mysterious young Mélisande, who Golaud finds lost in a\nforest while hunting. She reveals only her name to him but nothing of her\norigins. Six months pass and we learn that Mélisande and Golaud have\nmarried. They eventually return to the castle of his grandfather, the aged\nKing Arkel of Allemonde. Here Mélisande meets Golaud’s younger\nhalf-brother, Pelléas. They become increasing attached to each other,\narousing Golaud’s jealousy. He tells Pelléas that Mélisande is pregnant and\nthat he should avoid contact with her. But as Golaud’s suspicions between\nthe two deepens, he begins to go to extreme lengths to discover the extent\nof the relationship between them. He forces his own son from a previous\nmarriage, Yniold, to spy on the couple and even goes so far as to become\nphysically violent with Mélisande. Pelléas tells Mélisande that he has\ndecided to leave the castle but they arrange a final meeting where they\nconfess their love for each other. Golaud, who has been spying on them,\nrushes forward and kills his half-brother. Mélisande lies ill in bed having\ngiven birth to a daughter. Alone with her, Golaud presses her to confess\nher love for Pelléas, but she maintains her innocence to his dismay. Arkel\nbrings the meeting to an end as Mélisande quietly dies. Arkel tells the\ndistraught Golaud that it is now the child’s turn to live.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nAnna Moffo (27 June 1932 - 9 March 2006), our Mélisande, was born in Wayne,\nPennsylvania. Turning down an offer to go to Hollywood, Moffo studied at\nthe Curtis School of Music in Philadelphia. After winning a Fulbright\nScholarship in 1954, she travelled to Italy to study and quickly\nestablished herself through appearances on RAI Television. She returned to\nthe United States and made her American debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago\nin 1957. She made her Met debut on 14 November 1959 in what was her most\nfamous role, Violetta in \u003cem\u003eLa Traviata\u003c\/em\u003e, which she sang 80 times\nduring her Met career. Her full lyric soprano voice and easy vocal agility\nallowed her to encompass a wide variety of 21 different roles during her 17\nyears with the company. She returned to the Met for one final appearance at\nthe Centennial Gala in 1983. These were her only performances of Mélisande\nat the Met.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nOur Pelléas, Swedish tenor Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 - 8 January 2017),\nwas one of the most versatile tenors of our generation. His superlative\nlinguistic abilities allowed him to sing in at least seven different\nlanguages. In addition to his beautiful, evenly produced voice, with its\neasy upper extension, he possessed flawless legato and diction. With a\ncareer spanning over an astonishing 50 years, Gedda sang 367 performances\nof 28 operas during his 25 seasons at the Met, including the World Premiere\nof Barber’s \u003cem\u003eVanessa\u003c\/em\u003e in 1958 and the United States Premiere of\nMenotti’s \u003cem\u003eThe Last Savage\u003c\/em\u003e in 1964. In 1972, he sang Gherman in the\nfirst-ever Met performances of \u003cem\u003eThe Queen of Spades\u003c\/em\u003e in its original\nlanguage, the first time a Russian opera was performed in the vernacular.\nHis repertory ranged from the classical operas of Gluck and Mozart to the\nbel canto works of Donizetti and Bellini, as well as Verdi, Puccini,\nStrauss (Johann and Richard) and Smetana and he excelled in the French\nrepertory of Gounod, Bizet, Offenbach, Massenet and Debussy, as we can hear\non this broadcast. Like Anna Moffo, these were his only performances of the\nopera at the Met.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nGolaud is portrayed by the great singing actor bass-baritone George London\n(30 May 1920 - 24 March 1985). Born in Montréal, Canada, London was only 25\nwhen called upon by conductor Antal Doráti to make his professional debut.\nWithin a few years he was engaged by the Vienna State Opera and his career\nwas established. Famous for his Wagnerian roles, he was chosen to sing\nAmfortas in the first post-war production of \u003cem\u003eParsifal \u003c\/em\u003eat the\nBayreuth Festival in 1951. Later that year, on 13 November, he made his\nMetropolitan Opera debut as Amonasro in a New Production of \u003cem\u003eAïda\u003c\/em\u003e\non Opening Night of the 1951-52 Season. One of the highlights of his career\nwas the honor of becoming the first North American artist to sing the title\nrole of \u003cem\u003eBoris Godunov \u003c\/em\u003eat the Bolshoi Opera during the Cold War in\n1960. Despite being diagnosed with a paralyzed vocal cord in the early\n1960s that brought his career to an early end, London still performed over\n250 times in 18 different operas during his 15 seasons with the Met. During\nthis time, he sang in two United States premieres, \u003cem\u003eArabella\u003c\/em\u003e in\n1955 and \u003cem\u003eThe Last Savage\u003c\/em\u003e in 1964.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nPennsylvania born Mezzo-Soprano Blanche Thebom, our Geneviève, (19\nSeptember 1915 - 23 March 2010) is perhaps best remembered for performance\nof Brangäne in the now-historic first complete studio recording of Wagner’s \u003cem\u003eTristan und Isolde\u003c\/em\u003e staring Kirsten Flagstad and conducted by\nWilhelm Furtwängler released by EMI in 1952 (PACO067). It was also the role\nof her Metropolitan Opera debut on 28 November 1944. While particularly\nwell-known for her roles in the Wagnerian repertory (\u003cem\u003eTristan und Isolde\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eDas Rheingold\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eDie Walküre\u003c\/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e Götterdämmerung\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eTannhäuser\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLohengrin\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg\u003c\/em\u003e) it was the role of Amneris in \u003cem\u003eAïda\u003c\/em\u003e (her 1953 Met broadcast of the opera is available on\nPACO147), which she performed 80 times between 1946 and 1959, that she\nwould sing more than any other during her 23-year Met career. She took part\nin two Met premieres, \u003cem\u003eThe Rake’s Progress\u003c\/em\u003e in 1953 and \u003cem\u003eArabella\u003c\/em\u003e in 1955. Her final performance at the Met was as the\nCountess in \u003cem\u003eThe Queen of Spades\u003c\/em\u003e during the first season at the New\nMetropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1967.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nOur Yniold, Canadian soprano Teresa Stratas (born 26 May 1938), was only 21\nyears old when she made her Met debut on 28 October 1959 as Pousette in \u003cem\u003eManon\u003c\/em\u003e after winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council\nAuditions earlier that year. Her Met career spanned 35 years during which\ntime she performed 385 times in 39 roles in 35 operas. Like her colleagues\non this broadcast, Nicolai Gedda and George London, she also sang in the\nUnited States Premiere of \u003cem\u003eThe Last Savage\u003c\/em\u003e in 1964 as well as\nperforming the title role in what was arguably her greatest triumph, \u003cem\u003eLulu\u003c\/em\u003e, in the Met Premiere of the complete three act version of the\nopera. Known for her intensely dramatic portrayals of some of the most\ncomplex operatic characters, she created the role of Marie Antoinette in\nthe World Premiere of John Corigliano’s \u003cem\u003eThe Ghosts of Versailles\u003c\/em\u003e\nin 1991. As luck would have it, her final Met performance was a broadcast\nin which she sang Jenny in Kurt Weill’s \u003cem\u003eThe Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny\u003c\/em\u003e on 9 December 1995.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nAs impressive as all of the above statistics are, it is our Arkel,\nCalifornia-born bass Jerome Hines (8 November 1921 - 4 February 2003), who\nboasts the record number of performances among his colleagues in this\nbroadcast: 869 performances in 45 roles in 39 operas over the course of his\n41 seasons with the Met. His debut took place on 21 November 1946 as The\nOfficer in \u003cem\u003eBoris Godunov\u003c\/em\u003e, an opera that he would perform no less\nthan three different roles in during his career at the Met. He added Pimen\nin 1953 and the title role in 1954, becoming the first US-born singer to\nperform the role with the company. He performed in three Met premieres (\u003cem\u003ePeter Grimes\u003c\/em\u003e in 1948, \u003cem\u003eKhovanshchina\u003c\/em\u003e in 1950 and \u003cem\u003eMacbeth\u003c\/em\u003e in 1959) and was chosen to sing the role of the Grand\nInquisitor in \u003cem\u003eDon Carlo\u003c\/em\u003e for the Opening Night of Rudolf Bing’s\nfirst season as General Manager of the Met in 1950. He performed the role\nof Arkel 22 times during his Met career between 1953 and 1983. His final\nperformance was as Sparafucile in \u003cem\u003eRigoletto\u003c\/em\u003e on 24 January 1987. A\ndeeply religious man, he composed an opera based on the life of Jesus\nentitled \u003cem\u003eI Am the Way\u003c\/em\u003e, which premiered in New York City in 1956,\nwith Hines himself in the title role.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nConductor Ernest Ansermet (11 November 1883 - 20 February 1969), was born\nin Vevey, Switzerland. Originally a Mathematics Professor at the University\nof Lausanne, Ansermet changed career paths and began conducting\nprofessionally in 1912. It was while taking time from his teaching duties\nand traveling to Paris in 1905 that he first heard \u003cem\u003e Pelléas et Mélisande\u003c\/em\u003e. He met Debussy for the first time in 1910 and\nbecame a champion of his works. Between 1915 and 1923, while touring in\nFrance with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, he founded the Orchestre de la\nSuisse Romande. The orchestra would rise to prominence after the Second\nWorld War when it signed a long-term contract with Decca Records, with\nwhich he would record \u003cem\u003ePelléas et Mélisande\u003c\/em\u003e twice, in 1951 and\nagain in 1964, this time in stereo. Ansermet had just turned 79-years old\nat the time of this Met broadcast and came to it with a lifetime of\nunderstanding of the works of Debussy. While he also conducted two\nperformances of Manuel de Falla’s \u003cem\u003eEl amor brujo\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eAtl\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eá\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003entida\u003c\/em\u003e with the forces of the Metropolitan Opera for the\ninaugural week of celebrations of Lincoln Center in Philharmonic Hall (as\nit was then known), five performances of \u003cem\u003ePelléas et Mélisande\u003c\/em\u003e\nwould prove to be the only time he would conduct at the Met.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNotes by Michael Scarola\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Cast Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eDEBUSSY \u003c\/b\u003ePelléas et Mélisande\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eGeorge London - \u003c\/b\u003eGolaud\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnna Moffo - \u003c\/b\u003eMélisande\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNicolai Gedda - \u003c\/b\u003ePelléas\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBlanche Thebom - \u003c\/b\u003eGeneviève\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJerome Hines - \u003c\/b\u003eArkel\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTeresa Stratas - \u003c\/b\u003eYniold\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWilliam Walker\u003c\/b\u003e - A Shepherd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eClifford Harvuot\u003c\/b\u003e - A Physician\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMetropolitan Opera Orchestra \u0026amp; Chorus\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003econducted by\u003cb\u003e Ernest Ansermet\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eXR remastering by \u003cb\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eCover artwork based on a photograph of \u003cb\u003eAnna Moffo\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eGeorge London\u003c\/b\u003e as Mélisande and Golaud\u003cbr\u003eBroadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York on 29 December 1962\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003eAdditional 15 minute Ansermet interview included with downloads\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal duration:  2hr 37:06 \u003cbr\u003e(2hr 52:21 with interview)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PACO151.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PACO151.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFirst Night Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 20px;\"\u003eErnest Ansermet Leads Opera in His Debut\n\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eBy \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eHAROLD C. SCHONBERG\n\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nDEBUSSY’S “Pelléas et Mélisande” is a permanent hanger-on: never fully in\nthe repertory, never wholly apart from it. There always is a hard core that\nthinks it quite the most wonderful opera of this century, and among that\ncore are many professionals and sensitive music-lovers. The public, though,\nhas never taken “Pelléas et Mélisande” to its heart, just as it never has\nadopted Verdi’s “Falstaff.” Both operas lack the grand gesture, and are\nconsidered, in certain quarters, hopeless—without arias, without melody.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThe Metropolitan Opera has not done ‘‘Pelléas et Mésande” since the 1959-60\nseason. Last night it returned, with several new singers and a new\nconductor. The distinguished Ernest Ansermet made his debut in this work.\nHe had conducted Falla’s “Atlantida” during the open-week ceremonies at\nPhilharmonic Hall, using Metropolitan Opera forces; but last night will go\non the books as his official debut.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nNaturally he was the hero of the evening. ‘‘Pelléas et Mélisande” is a\nconductor’s opera, and it demands the services of a man who is a precise\nstylist and a precise technician. Despite its seeming economy of means,\n“Pelléas et Mélisande” is very difficult to conduct. Textures must be\ntransparent; the score is a cobweb of sound, seldom arising above a \u003cem\u003emezzoforte\u003c\/em\u003e. At that, Mr. Ansermet released his forces more than do\nmost conductors, and the opera last night seemed to have a little more red\nblood in it than usual.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nPart of this was also due to George London, who was heard in the role of\nGolaud (not a new assignment for him). There is nothing unfettered about his\ncharacterization, and in the first scene of the fourth act he almost gave\nthe impression he was singing Boris Godunov. He did let himself go too much\nhere. Elsewhere his impersonation was tortured and intense, as it should\nbe.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nAnna Moffo was the Mélisande, singing the role for the first time at the\nhouse. She has the physical characteristics for the role. At present,\nthough, her interpretation is concerned primarily with externals. Her\ngestures are a little too studied, and her conception lacks the air of\nmystery so needed to make Mélisande interesting. Vocally Miss Moffo sang\naccurately, though with a rather hard emission of tone. She never has been\na colorist; her strength lies in a straightforward and literal translation\nof the notes.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nTheodor Uppman sang the role of Pelléas, as he had done the last time the\nopera was around. He is an intelligent singer, and a competent actor. Thus\nPelléas was heard under good auspices, and so was the role of Geneviève,\nsung for the first time by Blanche Thebom. Jerome Hines repeated his\ncharacterization of King Arkel, singing as beautifully as ever.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nNew to the cast was Teresa Stratas. She undertook the role of Yniold.\nPhysically and vocally it was a perfect match. Miss Stratas is a diminutive\ngirl, and thus it caused no wrench to the imagination when she appeared as\na little boy. She sang her phrases in a piping manner, and acted like a\nchild without being obnoxious about it.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nOn the whole, then, a fine performance of the exquisite, gossamer tonal\nworld that makes up “Pelléas et Mélisande.” With Mr. Ansermet holding it\ntogether with such suppleness, and with so reliable a cast, the opera could\nnot help but make an impact. “Impact” might not be the right word, “Pelléas\net Mélisande” being the crepuscular thing it is, but for several hours last\nnight the Metropolitan Opera was the realm of a magic, subdued, dim-lit\nempire.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New York Times\n\u003cbr\u003e\nDecember 1, 1962\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Ambient Stereo 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932325957971,"sku":"pgr1789302286207","price":23.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932325990739,"sku":"sps1789302286208","price":18.13,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Ambient Stereo MP3","offer_id":54932326023507,"sku":"uta1789302286209","price":15.88,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/1833\/9155\/files\/ansermet-debussy-pelleas-et-melisande-met-opera-1962---paco151_1.jpg?v=1789302293","url":"https:\/\/lovevividclad.shop\/products\/ansermet-debussy-pelleas-et-melisande-met-opera-1962-paco151","provider":"luckagni","version":"1.0","type":"link"}