The enigmatic opera Pelléas et Mélisande is at once as iridescent as an opal and as sinister as a midnight haunted castle. François-Xavier Roth was thrown into the deep end early on when, as a novice conductor, he simply had this complex opera to conduct. In retrospect, perhaps it was a good thing that he had to struggle through the score without too many qualms. Twenty years later he has much
… more experience, thanks to the many performances with Les Siècles. This ensemble, as is well known, uses period instruments. According to Roth, this allows us to hear more color and resonance, which also benefits the relationship with the voices. Pelléas, by the way, is sung here by a tenor (Julien Behr), and not by a light baritone (as actually prescribed). The role of Mélisande (Vannina Santoni) sounds more mature and less fragile than we are used to from other performances. Furthermore, the performance includes a few extra bars that were cut due to censorship in 1902. (HJ)more
