Debussy: Pelleas et Melisande [Live, Box set]

One of the great things of the `classical' repertoire is that it's so extensive that there will be new masterpieces to discover even when your shelves are already sagging under their CD-load (mine are). Thus it could happen that the acquisition of this disc, on the strength of a rapturous Gramophone review, was my first introduction to what is, according to many, Debussy's greatest work. It is indeed an extremely beautiful and moving piece. It is also a very un-operatic opera. Much like in Bartok's Bluebeard, outward action is minimal: all significant events occur in the psyche of the characters. Much unlike Bartok though, almost the entire piece is very quiet and very slow; also, Pelléas is more than twice as long as Bluebeard (the opera that is, not the character...). Concentration and devotion are therefore required, a willingness to succumb to Debussy's mysterious Allemonde, a world built of short motives kept suspended by slow-changing harmonies. But what harmonies! Debussy conjures up sounds that must be among the most ethereally beautiful ever contrived for the symphony orchestra (which he uses like a chamber ensemble, often reducing the music to no more than two or three lines).
Haitink has impressive credentials as a Debussian (his `70s La Mer is something of a classic), and this recording too sounds deeply committed and very well thought out. The singers are excellent, von Otter expertly shading every nuance of Mélisandes moods, and touchingly vulnerable in the death-scene. Holzmair is an equally alluring Pelléas, and Couderc sounds convincingly boyish as the young Yniold, her at times slightly dubious intonation adding to that effect rather than spoiling it (boy soprano's never sing in tune, do they?). Both the grandfather and Mélisandes husband are forceful presences, Naouri portraying a suitably brutal Gonauld without tipping over into the sinister; he is very convincing in his frantic need to hear the truth. The only weakness in the cast is Geneviève, who sounds very wobbly indeed, though you might argue that as an old woman she is entitled to (maybe the unsteadiness was intentional?), and anyway, the part is very small. The orchestral playing is equally first rate, occasional slips in ensemble no doubt attributable to the fact that this recording was made live.
Well, there is the catch. Though for a recording made live in the opera house there are surprisingly few stage noises (due no doubt to the low level of action in the score), there is the inevitable plethora of audience and other background noises. Coughs, sneezes, rustling paper, the conductor humming, creaking chairs, and a number of inexplicable additional noises can be heard throughout the recording, at one point topped off by a middle sized wooden object hitting the floor with a startling dry crack very near the listener. This does not help at all when you try to loose yourself in Debussy's shady, half mythical world - you are constantly reminded of Paris's ailing bourgeoisie on a high profile cultural outing at the Champs-Élysées theatre, half of them quite likely bored stiff. Worse, at some points the effect of Debussy's subtle orchestration is completely undone by surrounding noise, most notably so at the start of act III scene 2. Coughers, as most of us know from dire experience, are highly musical; sometimes I suspect them of studying the score beforehand and marking the passages where a cough will be most effective, that is: ruinous. Admittedly, on first hearing this does add an element of suspense: will the next ppp passage come through undisrupted? At the end of act V make sure you have your remote control handy, because as usual the applause bursts in without even allowing the final chord a moment of silence to dissolve in (thus insulting the musicians by demonstrating that the implications of the music have not been understood at all, and making me suspect, as I have suspected more often, that what is vented here is not appreciation, but relief that it is over).
But seriously, a reading as beautiful as this would have deserved a better recording. The sound itself is not all it could be either: it lacks transparency (poor harpists!), inner voices are unclear, the sound is somewhat dull at times, and does not expand as much as you would wish in the few forte moments. On balance I would say that the quality of the interpretation still makes it all worthwhile, though I am unfamiliar with other recordings and therefore unable to judge whether there are equally good ones more sonically favoured.

Please ignore the complaints of the reviewers who wrote in 2002 and 2003. THERE IS NO BACKGROUND NOISE ON THIS RECORDING!! Was the recording re-engineered to correct background noise? I don't know - I couldn't find any indications that that might be true on the set I just purchased from an independent seller on amazon. Are the previous reviewers prissy and disconnected from reality? I can't answer that - I'll just note that one of them has a bizarre objection to audience applause at the end of the opera. Am I desensitized to background noise because I am an avid listener of live opera? I don't think so - I recognized the kind of complaints the other reviewers had from many other recordings I listen to frequently, but I found none of those noises present on this recording.

I chose this set based on the positive comments by these reviewers and recognizing that the principal singers, and especially von Otter, are perfectly suited to this music. AND THEY ARE!! This is a SUPERLATIVE recording, perfectly engineered, that I cannot recommend highly enough.

How on earth one could even begin to compare Kozena with the inexpressible brilliance of Anne Sophie von Otter astonishes me. I grant that Maggie was initially quite surprising in her album of Bach for Archiv, but have since realised that this was largely due to the quality of the sound engineering. All that I have heard of her since this debut album has been incredibly disappointing. Certainly she has a lovely voice, but she does not have the intellect or heart to recreate a masterpiece.
Von Otter, to me, is the most artistic singer of her time... though suited mainly to the art song repertory. Another notable mention is Ewa Podles who is astonishing. Von Otter has the voice, heart and intellect to create magic in almost everything she sings.