An enigmatic Pelléas et Mélisande at Glyndebourne

By Mark Pullinger, 01 July 2018

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“the Norwegian director isn’t offering any easy answers, although his stagecraft can be breathtaking”

Reviewed at Glyndebourne Opera House, Glyndebourne on 30 June 2018

Debussy, Pelléas et Mélisande

Glyndebourne Festival Opera

Robin Ticciati, Conductor

Stefan Herheim, Director

Philipp Fürhofer, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Christina Gansch, Mélisande

John Chest, Pelléas

Christopher Purves, Golaud

Richard Wiegold, Arkel

Karen Cargill, Geneviève

Chloé Briot, Yniold

Michael Wallace, Shepherd

Michael Mofidian, A Doctor

The Glyndebourne Chorus

London Philharmonic Orchestra

A deli-cious revival of Rossini’s Il turco in Italia at Glyndebourne

Dominic Lowe, 23rd May

Mariame Clément’s production of Rossini's meta comedy is tightly revived with some excellent singing. Come for the writing tips, stay for the cured meats.

****1

Glyndebourne’s first Tosca: vocally strong but imperfect

David Karlin, 21st May

Ted Huffman brings some interesting ideas to his first Glyndebourne production. Excellent singing is let down by indifferent physical acting.

***11

Glyndebourne revives Michieletto’s Kátya Kabanová

Mark Valencia, 3rd August

Damiano Michieletto’s production of Janáček’s opera breaks a key tenet of high-concept opera: where it should reveal, it obfuscates.

***11

All the world’s a jest: Falstaff returns to Glyndebourne

Mark Pullinger, 23rd July

Richard Jones' 2009 production returns to Glyndebourne after a long absence, but the 1940s comedy scrubs up fresh.

***11

A strong new Figaro opens at Glyndebourne

Dominic Lowe, 29th June

Mariame Clément is a popular director at Glyndebourne, and her new production of Figaro shows her trademark approach to hardhitting comedy.

****1

Glyndebourne's Saul still packs a punch 10 years on

Nick Boston, 8th June

Returning from the original run, Christopher Purves and Iestyn Davies were joined by a strong cast and chorus for a revival of Barrie Kosky's striking production.

*****

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Shadows among the organ pipes: an enigmatic Pelléas et Mélisande on location in Glyndebourne