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Heroes emerge in adversity, and there are sterling turns from Leigh Melrose as a pugilistic Golaud and from the venerable Arkel of Matthew Best.

The young singers spin any raw material into opera gold, sending the audience home as uplifted as if they’d just glugged a bellyful of Pimm’s.

The credits for this new production directed by Olivier Py raised high expectations that were only partially met on opening night.

Marco Arturo Marelli's 2012 production lacks mystery but puts a fine Golaud centre stage, while Esa-Pekka Salonen ensures superior musical values in the pit. 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s proves the highlight of a frustrating evening at The Metropolitan Opera

Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande emerges from an almost transcendent realm and creates a languorous atmosphere, even if it leaves some questions unanswered and realities unexplored. 

The annual transfer of a production from Glyndebourne to the Proms this year saw Herheim's baffling production of Debussy's masterpiece. 

There’s no doubt that Mélisande endeavours to escape past troubles when she first appears in Barrie Kosky’s production of Debussy’s opera, yet Nadja Mchantaf is no reticent, wispy maiden. Every vocal and physical gesture – always precise and penetrating – displays an atypically forthright quest for vitality, something that Arkel’s chauvinistic world does not readily offer.

Stefan Herheim's dreamlike production of Debussy's opera sets it squarely in the Sussex manor house that gave birth to Glyndebourne's festival. 

Stellar voices and orcheatra and some inspired staging choices elevate an otherwise heavy-handed production of Pelléas et Mélisande from the WNO at the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

Introspected and atmospheric, this late romantic opera appeals to the psychotherapists within us.

Debussy’s opera of half-lights succeeds in taming the glare of the midsummer sun in Garsington’s new staging.

Franz Welser-Möst led a radiant performance of Debussy’s operatic masterpiece directed by Yuval Sharon, starring Elliot Madore, Martina Janková, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann.

After over a century, Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande finally received its Norwegian première in a fascinating production by Barbora Horáková Joly.

Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande is beautifully realised in Claus Guth's now classic production, revived with a new cast of principals at Oper Frankfurt.

Sir David McVicar’s new production of Pelléas et Mélisande for Scottish Opera is stylish and lit like a painting. 

Anyone expecting a wishing well, castle and healthy portion of pomp in Dmitri Tcherniakov’s new production of Pélleas et Mélisande is in for a big surprise.

Great opera at the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande as part of the City of Light, a retrospective that examines works seen in Paris during the first half of the 20th century. 

A roster of star performers and a sprinkling of maestro magic turn this semi-staged concert into a memorable event. Shame about the big ideas.

Fine orchestral and singing performances in ETO's Pelléas et Mélisande aren't enough to overcome some of the work's difficulties.

Kent Nagano and the OSM came up trumps in concert version of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.

The two Danieles – Gatti and Abbado – triumphed in the final opera of the 78th Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, with a heavenly new production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.

Mélisande as Lulu in David Pountney's unfulfilling production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande at Welsh National Opera. 

With the Philharmonia on top form, a superlative cast and clever touches of direction, this was a truly stunning concert performance of Debussy's only opera.

Opera at the 2012 Proms began with a performance of Debussy’s only completed opera, Pelléas et Mélisande. Conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the production celebrated the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth, and marked the 24 years since Gardiner first brought the work to the Royal Albert Hall with the Opéra de Lyon.

Claude Debussy’s only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, calls for a spring in a forest, scenes in a palace, a well in a park and a scene in the palace vaults. Ever since its premiere in 1902, it has been a difficult work to stage, and indeed to appreciate. Its complex symbolism, impressionistic music and lack of any memorable melodies were not a good recipe for a runaway hit.

In his program notes for Pelléas et Mélisande, director K. James McDowell refers to the only opera Claude Debussy ever completed as "a towering masterpiece in the operatic repertoire.

Some in the audience stormed to their feet at curtain call with exuberant bravos for the cast and conductor. Others walked out at the first intermission. “A monumental success,” one claimed. “The worst opera I’ve ever seen,” another said leaving the theater.