The only opera Debussy ever wrote. Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande is based on the symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck. A prince, lost in a forest, discovers a beautiful woman weeping beside a pool of water – bringing him in contact with a supernatural world from which there is no escape.
“Debussy’s impressionist masterpiece lifts us out of the parameters of life as we know it and projects us into a world in which dreams collide with reality. While preparing to direct this production of Pelléas, I keep in mind the statement by the great late film director David Lynch: ‘I like to leave some room to dream. A lot of mysteries are sewn up at the end. That kills the dream.’ – Marshall Pynkoski, Director
Opera Atelier proudly unveils the company’s unique version of Debussy’s Impressionist masterpiece, Pelléas et Mélisande.
Debussy’s dark fairy tale takes place in the depths of a forest, where a prince discovers a beautiful woman weeping beside a pool of water. She draws the prince into a supernatural world from which there is no escape.
Christopher Bagan’s new orchestral arrangement, created specifically for Opera Atelier, will make its world premiere in Toronto with an historically-informed ensemble of soloists from Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Read more about the arrangement here.
This is your chance to experience Debussy’s rare Impressionist masterpiece fully staged in the superb acoustic of Koerner Hall TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning. The Hall will be transformed into a unique performance space with major architectural additions thanks to the Jerry and Joan Lozinski Opera Atelier Reimagined Project at Koerner Hall.
“Debussy’s deep admiration for 17th century French music runs like an undercurrent throughout Pelléas et Mélisande, making his mysterious, magical composition particularly suited to my sensibilities as a choreographer of Baroque dancing and classical ballet. In OA’s production of Pelléas et Mélisande, the Artists of Atelier Ballet represent invisible forces of nature that drive the actions of the characters on stage. – Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg
Opera Atelier’s production of Pelléas et Mélisande will feature David Fallis conducting Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and the full corps of the Artists of Atelier Ballet. Pelléas et Mélisande will be directed by Pynkoski and choreographed by Lajeunesse Zingg, with set design by Gauci, costume design by Michael Gianfrancesco, and lighting design by Kim Purtell.
Pelléas et Mélisande Pre-Show Talk
John Zilcosky
April 15 at 6:30pm
John Zilcosky is professor of German and Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto. He has won the MLA’s Scaglione Book Award and the Humboldt Foundation’s Bessel Research Prize. Zilcosky is a 2013 fellow of the US National Endowment for the Humanities and a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow. His books include Kafka’s Travels, Uncanny Encounters, and The Language of Trauma. He will lecture on the historical, cultural, and philosophical context of European modernism and the avant-garde around 1900.
Pre Show Talk is included in your April 15th Ticket. Purchase here.
Christopher Bagan
April 16 & 18 at 6:30pm , April 19 at 1:30 pm
Christopher Bagan is an in-demand collaborator, celebrated for his versatility and virtuosity as a conductor, chamber musician, and basso continuo specialist. He has served as Opera Atelier’s Assistant Conductor since 2021, joining the company for over a dozen productions, including tours to the Royal Opera of Versailles and Chicago’s Harris Theatre. Dr. Bagan’s work spans Handel, Charpentier, Lully, Monteverdi, Rameau, and Purcell. A meticulous editor, he has published new score editions used by OA, including Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande and Handel’s Acis and Galatea. Dr. Christopher Bagan will be discussing his arrangement of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande which you will hear in our production.
Pre Show Talk is included in your April 16, 18 or 19th ticket. Purchase here.
Cast
Artists of Atelier Ballet
Eric Cesar de Mello da Silva
Creative Team
Christopher Bagan
Associate Music Director and New Arrangement for Pelléas et Mélisande
