PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE at Hungarian State Oper

This story of impossible love is shrouded in eeriness and danger. Out of the dimness of a forest appears an enigmatic young woman who transforms the life of a family cloistered in its castle. The bewitching charm of Mélisande darkens the shadows within. She weds Golaud, but his brother Pelléas is enamoured of her. The tragedy of desire and jealousy can but propel its protagonists towards exile or death. The unique balance struck by Debussy between the beauty of Maeterlinck’s language and the finesse of his composition makes Pelléas and Mélisande a truly extraordinary work. Pierre Audi’s direction and Anish Kapoor’s spectacular set design highlight the mysteriousness of this poetic journey into the night of passion. Ludovic Morlot, La Monnaie’s new chief conductor, will for the first time be conducting his orchestra in an opera.