SYNOPSIS

Act One

Scene 1: A forest

CD 1 [1] Prince Golaud, grandson of King Arkel d’Allemonde, has lost his way while out hunting. Near a well he comes across a young girl, who is sobbing bitterly. She refuses to answer any of Golaud’s questions as to where she has come from, how old she is, or what has made her cry. Nor does she want him to retrieve a golden crown which she has dropped into the water. The only piece of information which she deigns to give him is her name: Mélisande. Captivated by her beauty, Golaud begs the mysterious girl to go with him. Eventually she consents.

Scene 2: A room in the castle

[2] Golaud’s mother, Geneviève, is reading a letter out loud to her aged father, King Arkel, who is virtually blind. The letter has been written by Golaud to his half brother, Pelléas, who is many years his junior. The letter tells of how he met and subsequently married Mélisande, and relates that even now, six months later, he has found out no more about her than he did on the first day. Golaud had hesitated for such a long time before announcing what had happened because he was afraid that Arkel’s reaction might be negative, and he asks Pelléas to mediate on his behalf. If Arkel is prepared to accept Mélisande as if she were his own daughter, a bright torch is to be lit and placed in the tower, where Golaud can see it from the ship in the bay, where he is waiting with Melisande. Should he not see a torch, he will sail away, never to be seen again.
After Golaud’s first wife had died, Arkel had sent him abroad to find a wife who would bring him some political advantage; nevertheless, the old man now bows to Fate, believing that there is a deeper meaning behind everything that happens.
Pelléas enters the castle room, telling those present that he intends to go away to see his best friend, who is on his deathbed. This wish is opposed by Arkel and Geneviève, who want him to remain there because his own father is seriously ill. Another reason for him to stay is that he will have to light the torch in the tower at nightfall.

Scene 3: In front of the castle

[3] The first evening after Melisande’s arrival, Geneviève takes her into the castle park. Mélisande finds that the gloom of the forest weighs heavily on her spirits, and Geneviève does her best to comfort her. Pelléas comes to join them, and together they gaze at the sea, which this evening is also shrouded in darkness and mist. The ship that brought Mélisande and Golaud leaves the harbour as night falls, although a thunderstorm is brewing. Geneviève asks Pelléas to accompany Mélisande back to the castle, because she has to look after Yniold, Golaud’s son by his first marriage.
Pelléas and Mélisande are shy and timid with each other; a poignant, tacit fondness begins to awaken between them. Pelléas tells Mélisande that he has to leave the following day. Filled with dismay, she wants to know the reason for this.

 

Act Two

Scene 1: A fountain in the park

[4] Pelléas has postponed his departure. In the midday heat, he takes Mélisande to an old fountain in the park, called the “Fountain of the Blind”. According to a legend, in days gone by it used to have magical properties, and restored sight to the blind. Mélisande leans over the dark depths of the water, trying to touch the surface. She is not able to reach it with her fingers, but her long hair, which is “longer than she is tall”, tumbles down and trails in the water. While Pelléas is asking her about her first meeting with Golaud, she plays with her wedding ring. Just as the castle clock is striking midday, the ring fails into the fountain. Mélisande is horrified; Pelléas consoles her, saying that she need have no fear of telling Golaud the truth about how she lost the ring. Then he takes her back to the castle.

Scene 2: A room in the castle

[5] That evening, Mélisande is sitting at Golaud’s bedside. At the very hour when she lost the ring, Golaud had fallen off his horse while out hunting. He remains unperturbed by the accident, however, and refuses the help that Melisande offers him. She admits to him that she feels unhappy in the castle. Golaud tries to reassure her, and then suddenly discovers that the ring is missing. Too afraid to follow Pelléas’ advice and tell her husband the truth, Melisande professes to have lost it in a cave by the sea, while out looking for seashells to give to Yniold. Golaud is furious that the ring, which meant more to him than all his other possessions together, should have been lost; he dispatches Mélisande out into the blackness of the night, to search for it. Pelléas is to accompany her.

Scene 3: Outside a cave

[6] Pelléas and Mélisande have made their way through the dark, and arrived at the cave. Even though they are both fully aware that there is no point in seeking the ring there, Mélisande will need to be able to describe the spot, just in case Golaud asks her for details. Suddenly the blanket of clouds is tom apart by the wind, and the pale light of the moon reveals three old men, sleeping outside the mouth of the cave. Mélisande is badly shaken by this vision, and although Pelléas explains that there is a famine in the land, and that they must have fallen asleep from exhaustion, she is seized by some inexplicable terror and insists on turning back.

 

Act Three

Scene !: One of the castle towers

CD 2 [1] Mélisande is standing by one of the open windows in the castle tower, combing her hair and singing. Pelléas appears below, and tells her he is at last intending to leave the next day. He asks Mélisande to give him her hand by way of a farewell. However, she will only consent to this if he agrees to put off the day of his departure. He is only too happy to promise this to her; but try though she may, Mélisande is not able to reach him. As she leans out of the window, her hair tumbles down to him and completely envelopes the joyful Pelléas. He winds it around the branches of a willow tree, and smothers it with kisses. Then Golaud also appears. Attempting to conceal his jealousy, he forbids them to play their “childish game”. Then he leaves with Pelléas.

Scene 2: The castle vaults

[2] Golaud shows Pelléas an old water tank beneath the castle walls, and allows him to look down into it, although not without a word of caution. This makes Pelléas feel faint and dizzy; with a shudder, they turn back.

Scene 3: A terrace at the entrance to the vaults

[3] Pelléas breathes in the fresh air, relieved to be out of the vaults. Golaud warns him in no uncertain terms that there is to be no repetition of incidents like that of the day before, by the tower. Mélisande is expecting a child, and has to avoid stress of all kinds. Pelléas is to stop seeing her so frequently.

Scene 4: In front of the castle

[4] Tormented with jealousy, Golaud sits down under Mélisande’s window with Ymold, and interrogates his son about the relationship between Mélisande and Pelléas. The answers which the child gives him are too vague to set his mind at rest, and only serve to heighten his suspicions. When a light goes on in Mélisande’s room, Golaud lifts Yniold up so that he can look in through the window. Yniold tells him that Pelléas is in there with Mélisande, and that both are sitting motionless, staring into the flames. He is suddenly overcome by a fear that he cannot explain, and Golaud has to let him down again before anything further can be revealed. Wretched with uncertainty, he leaves with Yniold.

 

Act Four

Scene 1: A room in the castle

CD 3 [1] Pelléas tells Mélisande that his father is now in better health and has now asked his son to leave. He wants to have one last meeting with Mélisande that evening, by the fountain in the park.

Scene 2

[2] Arkel is pleased that Pelléas’ father has recovered. He tells Mélisande that, as he sees it, she has restored gladness to the castle. He expresses the hope that her sadness, which he has been observing with sympathy, will soon be a thing of the past. An agitated Golaud bursts in, announcing that Pelléas is due to leave that same night. He abruptly demands that Mélisande gives him his sword, ridicules her horror at this request, and finally has a fit of rage, grabs her by her hair, and drags her across the room. Arkel, filled with dismay, commands him to desist. Golaud leaves the room, muttering threats.

Scene 3: A fountain in the park

[3] Yniold’s ball has fallen behind a rock. While he is busy trying to roll the stone away, a herd of sheep passes by, bleating. Suddenly, they fall silent. Yniold asks the shepherd to explain this to him. The shepherd’s answer only serves to deepen the mystery. He says that they have stopped bleating because this is not the way to their pen. He then disappears, ignoring Yniold’s further questions. Night is falling; the child scurries home, filled with apprehension.

Scene 4

[4] Pelléas appears, intending to bid farewell to Mélisande that very day. When Mélisande arrives, they for the first time confess their love for each other. Perhaps as a symbol for the hopelessness of their plight, the great castle gates swing shut. The lovers do not care; but then, clasping each other in a passionate embrace, they suddenly realise that Golaud is watching them from the shadows. He rushes over to them and slays Pelléas with his sword. Mélisande flees, and he sets off in pursuit of her.

 

Act Five

A room in the castle

[5] Arkel, Golaud and the doctor have gathered around Mélisande’s bed. The doctor reassures Golaud the trifling wound which he has inflicted on her is not the cause of her imminent demise. Golaud bitterly repents what he has done. When Mélisande regains consciousness, he asks to be left alone with her; he is determined to discover whether she was really unfaithful to him with Pelléas. But silence is the only answer he receives to this final, most urgent of questions. Mélisande is given her little, premature daughter to hold — and, mutely, she dies, leaving Golaud racked with doubt and despair. Arkel tries to comfort him, saying that Fate alone decides everything on earth; Mélisande’s child will now take her place in this life.

 

Barbara Bode
Translation: Susan Kunst- Elliott