Claude Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande

by Roger Nichols, Richard Langham Smith

Overview

This first comprehensive guide to Debussy's only completed opera, Pelléas et Mélisande was written by the leading authorities on French music of the period. As a background to the opera, the authors, together with David Grayson, discuss various aspects of the play. They consider its literary roots, trace its genesis and composition, and illuminate Debussy's compositional strategies. A detailed synopsis of Debussy's musical response to the text forms a central chapter. This is followed by an examination of the symbols and musical motives employed by Debussy as well as an analysis of his themes. The book concludes with a detailed bibliography and a discography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521314466
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/27/1989
Series:	Cambridge Opera Handbooks
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	5.47(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.47(d)

Table of Contents

1. The play and its playwright Richard Langham Smith; 2. The opera: genesis and sources David A. Grayson; 3. Synopsis Roger Nichols; 4. Motives and symbols Richard Langham Smith; 5. Tonalities of darkness and light Richard Langham Smith; 6. Pelléas in performance I - a history Roger Nichols; 7. Pelléas in performance II - ideals and engimas Roger Nichols; Appendix; Notes; Select bibliography; Discography Malcolm Walker.