Pelleas and Melisande suite/incidental/poem

[BorisG]

That's a lovely recording (though the concert suite is live-- odd, I can tolerate Glenn Gould's awful voice, but I can't stand people coughing-- I swear there must've been a flu bug going on at the time of that concert LOL).  But the performance is great and a good intro to the whole opera.

The Abbado recording of the entire opera is marvellous as well. 

For some expanded enjoyment, you might want to check out DG's DVD of the opera with Boulez conducting.  Tears, tears more tears-- I'm generally not a big opera fan, but I have to keep a hanky close by when watching this... 

Thanks for the responses everyone. I will endeavor to hear the Thielemann and Boulez recommendations. I did mean suite/incidental/poem, and was surprised that the thread was moved here, since many opera buffs are not too keen on these basically instrumental shorties.

Ephemerid, you were laughing a lot during your post, so I do not know if I should take it seriously, or instead applaud your vivid imagination. Anyway, coughing on that Miro-covered Abbado recording is a non-issue, either with loudspeakers or earphones. I have had that recording since its release.

[uffeviking]

since many opera buffs are not too keen on these basically instrumental shorties.

Ah! But whenever opera buffs see the words Pelléas et Mélisande they think Opera, not instrumental shorties! 

[Wendell_E]

Ah! But whenever opera buffs see the words Pelléas et Mélisande they think Opera, not instrumental shorties! 

Which, I imagine,  is exactly why BorisG quite properly originally put it in the " Great Recordings and Reviews" forum: so that people who aren't opera buffs would see it, since his original question was about recordings, and, as the thread title makes clear, not just recordings of Debussy's operatic version.

I do have to confess that my own Pelléas collection consists of five versions of the Debussy opera and one of the Schoenberg piece. 

[BorisG]

Which, I imagine,  is exactly why BorisG quite properly originally put it in the " Great Recordings and Reviews" forum: so that people who aren't opera buffs would see it, since his original question was about recordings, and, as the thread title makes clear, not just recordings of Debussy's operatic version.

I do have to confess that my own Pelléas collection consists of five versions of the Debussy opera and one of the Schoenberg piece. 

Uffeviking blew it, but enough of that.

For those who did not see, Tim Ashley in Guardian provides his perspective on these works.

Read fast, this may be moved.

http://music.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,331941179-122406,00.html

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

For those who did not see, Tim Ashley in Guardian provides his perspective on these works.

Read fast, this may be moved.

http://music.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,331941179-122406,00.html

Thanks for the link!

(I just remembered - I once sat in Maurice Maeterlinck's chair at a book fair in Ghent, reading from my novel-in-progress, parts of which had been published by a Ghent literary magazine...)

[Drasko]

There is also Pelleas and Melisande suite by some Scottish composer on Hyperion.

As for these already mentioned there is Supraphon two-fer with Czech Philharmonic conducted by Serge Baudo. Haven't heard it but now made me curious, how often can you hear Sibelius played by Czech Philharmonic?

[DieNacht]

 William Wallace (1860-1940) also wrote a "Pelleas & Melisande" suite for orchestra, in 1900. It has been recorded by Hyperion quite recently.

[Mirror Image]

Thielemann is spotty for me but this one is a real gem. Save your pennies as it's rare and OOP, though worth it (or keep your fingers crossed it becomes an Arkiv "on demand" item soon).

Yes, this is an excellent recording and a true Romantic reading of the work. I personally like Karajan's the best though as lovely as Thielemann's is and I also have a fondness for Boulez (Warner/Apex) and Eschenbach (Koch w/ a great reading of Webern's Passacaglia).