By Peter McCallum
Pelleas et Melisande. Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Charles Dutoit. June 23.
★★★★★
The SSO's superb playing of Debussy's masterpiece of subtle restraint, Pelleas et Melisande, under one of the world's leading interpreters of French music, Charles Dutoit, initiates a rare series of operatic adventures in concert format in coming months, continuing with Massenet's Thais in July and Wagner's Parsifal in August (the latter two from Opera Australia).
French music specialist Charles Dutoit brought a "refined translucency" to the performance.Credit: Darren Leigh Roberts
Although ending with Parsifal, the lesson is not so much that all roads lead to Wagner, but that all composers struggled to get away from his dominating influence. In Pelleas, Debussy, a perfect Wagnerite in his youth, created one of the most original alternatives to Wagner's music drama of any composer, while plumbing the world of the mythical subconscious no less meaningfully.
With masterly subtlety he matched the understated symbols of Maeterlinck's original play with own elusive discoveries in the delicate sensuality of sound. Dutoit understands the alchemy of those sounds better that almost anyone, balancing the texture with refined translucency.
Passages that appear to waft smoothly on the surface are actively energised underneath with calibrated tremolos and delicate instrumental highlights to give radiant luminosity, while the pace and rhythm unfolds with the naturalness of breath and the fatefulness of destiny.
As Melisande, Australian mezzo-soprano, Michaela Selinger had remarkable tonal clarity and flexibility, creating haunting softness and mystery and achieving unmediated expressiveness that sprang from the natural rhythm of dialogue.
Elliot Madore sang Pelleas with a voice of caressing smoothness and deep velvet grain, creating a convincing embodiment of the character's ambiguous diffidence and passion with instinctive directness and boldness. Brewing the tempestuous alienation and jealousy of Golaud slowly over five acts, baritone Marc Barrard sang with firm-set richness rising to impressive weight.
Though singing with the definition of a young bass, Jerome Varnier portrayed the aged king Arkel with textured and measured gravitas.
Maeterlinck's play continuously refers to Melisande and Pelleas as children and therefore guiltless, thereby creating an additional challenge of differentiation for the actual child Yniold, which soprano Julie Mathevet met with a coloured sound of quiet brilliance and rounded edge.
Anna Dowsley sang the mother Genevieve with clear, bright tonal palette. Daniel Sumegi brought rich penetrating strength to the doctor's appearance in the last act and Simon Lobelson presented the short walk-on role of the shepherd with stylish affinity.
From the Australian Impressionists to the verse of Christopher Brennen, Australia has often revealed unexpected responsiveness to French culture and Dutoit, the SSO and this wonderful cast have provided a golden opportunity to refresh it.
Repeated Wednesday, June 28, 7pm