by usia review
Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande at the CCB: A Significant Operatic Event in Lisbon
In 2022, the Great Auditorium of the Fundação Centro Cultural de Belém presented Pelléas et Mélisande, Claude Debussy’s unique drame lyrique. The choice of venue alone made this production noteworthy: instead of being staged at Lisbon’s only lyric theater, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, the opera was presented at the CCB. This is an event worth highlighting, particularly in a city where the Coliseu rarely hosts lyrical productions and where many Portuguese singers continue to face a chronic lack of professional opportunities.
The performance featured Orchestra XXI under the direction of Maestro Dinis Sousa, whose conducting was assured, refined, and stylistically appropriate. Among traditional opera lovers, it is often said that true lyric composition ended with Puccini—master of unforgettable melodies and arias—to which one might add Richard Strauss, composer of fifteen operas, and a few Russian composers. Debussy, however, represents a different path: a rejection of traditional aria-based opera in favor of atmospheric continuity, declamation, and orchestral color.
Historical Context and Musical Background
Debussy obtained permission from Maurice Maeterlinck in 1893 to compose Pelléas et Mélisande. The premiere took place in Paris at the Opéra-Comique in 1902, conducted by André Messager (1853–1929), with soprano Mary Garden, personally chosen by the composer, in the title role of Mélisande. Among later distinguished interpreters was the celebrated soprano Victoria de los Ángeles (1922–2006), who sang Mélisande in 1979.
The opera’s international recognition followed quickly. In 1908, Pelléas et Mélisande was performed for the first time in Italian at La Scala in Milan, conducted by the legendary Arturo Toscanini—a testament to the work’s growing prestige.
The 2022 Production at the CCB
In the 2022 Lisbon production, Portuguese singers Susana Gaspar and André Baleiro took on the principal roles, supported by an international cast that included Stéphane Loges as Golaud, Élodie Méchain as Geneviève, and Patrick Bolleire as King Arkel, alongside Nuno Dias and Luís Pereira in secondary roles.
The overall level of professionalism displayed by the Portuguese singers deserves recognition, particularly given the limited exposure and professional continuity they often face in Portugal—a country where cultural investment is too frequently overshadowed by other, more alienating forms of mass entertainment.
Stage direction by Kristiina Helin favored restraint and atmosphere, aligning with Debussy’s aesthetic of suggestion rather than overt drama. The orchestra, under Dinis Sousa, maintained transparency and balance, essential to this score, where orchestral texture and vocal declamation must coexist without overpowering one another.
A Welcome Return of Opera to the CCB
It is encouraging to see the CCB once again investing in opera production. This return to lyric theatre broadens Lisbon’s cultural landscape and provides alternative spaces for operatic expression beyond São Carlos. We welcome this initiative enthusiastically and look forward with anticipation to the upcoming Italian lyrical spectacle Il Viaggio a Reims.
Opera remains one of the highest expressions of culture, uniting music, literature, visual arts, movement, and above all canto—singing and bel canto. When institutions commit to presenting it with seriousness and ambition, the entire cultural life of the city is enriched.
@CCB @TNSC
Thanks to: TNSC, CCB