Why Impressions of Pelléas? Why Now?

Opera Vivente will open a new production of Marius Constant's searing distillation of Debussy's Pelléas and Mélisande Friday, February. Conceived to be accompanied by two pianos, Impressions of Pelléas intensifies the tragedy of the love triangle between two half-brothers and a mysterious princess while evoking the sound world of Debussy's piano masterpieces. It is a chamber opera produced as a chamber opera.

Why do Impressions of Pelléas right now?

A lot of the talk in our industry and in criticism has centered on the question of "How can we keep doing the same stuff we've always been doing for less money"? We must produce yet another Carmen or Traviata or Butterfly, but for half the cost as the last time we did it. To my mind, this almost always results in a production that is unsatisfactory on many levels and is reviewed as such. But we are coming to accept it as the best we can do, after the oft-invoked caveat of "but in the current economic climate…”

To m, the more productive question for the opera industry to be asking is: "What are the elements of opera that are somewhat independent of cost, and what repertoire and production style best focuses us (and our audience) on those elements"?

When I start making a list of those elements, here's what I come up with:

1) Intelligent, musical, singing.

2) Committed, detailed, and skilled acting.

3) Evocative, thoughtful design that serves to enhance the audience's emotional response to the work rather than being an element that steals the audience's attention away from the work. (avoiding the old bon mot of "the audience left the theatre humming the set" in other words)

4) Direct communication with the audience that does not require expensive technology and equipment

5) Direction that places narrative, catharsis, and relevance at the forefront rather than spectacle or concept.

So then the answer to why Impressions of Pelléas now: quite simply, it's a piece that emphasizes all the above elements. I fact, I'd say it's the sort of piece that demands the above elements in order to work.

The musical language of the piece is not one that is all about high notes belted out by some overpaid "star", but rather a marriage of text and tone that is so subtle and intimate that it only comes alive in the throat of a singer who is more interested in artistry and the art form than accolades. The core of the story and the power of Pelleas is its examination of human relationships.

There are no improbable larger than life operatic hero/heroine relationships involving babies tossed in a fire or smugglers, gypsies, and an errant corporal. Instead, there are real human relationships: sibling rivalry between half-brothers, ineffective parents and grandparents, abusive marriages.

The characters of Pelléas tell half-truths, they commit sins of omission, they change their minds, they recognize the error of their ways and yet still persist in them. They delude themselves. Sound familiar? It should, because those are the things that we do. And the hope is that viewing these things on stage gives us the distance required to understand, to empathize, and to achieve catharsis.

Obviously a work of this sort of subtlety needs a number of things to work. For Opera Vivente, these things are presentation in the vernacular, a design concept that is evocative and functiona without being overwhelming, a stage director who is willing to spend the time building those characters with singers who are also willing to be that vulnerable and true to the emotions required of them. And finally, a performance space intimate enough that those singers will feel confident of their efforts being perceived by the audience occupying the same room with them and not only in a close up on an HD screen.

Personally I know a lot of singers, designers, and instrumentalists who will readily tell you that these are the elements that drew them to opera in the first place. So why have we as an industry allowed spectacle, "star" personalities, and a tiny segment of the total operatic repertoire to hogtie us into the belief that big is always best? In the end, does all great opera have to be grand opera?

To get tickets to this truly great opera, click here.