In this guide to Pelleas and Melisande, Maeterlinck's original play is reprinted in full, so that the opera lover can read the scenes that Debussy did not set to music. Hugh Macdonald's much praised English translation is published here for the first time, with an essay uncovering the musical roots of Pelleas and Melisande and illustrating its importance to the music of the twentieth century. Alain Raitt, author of several studies of symbolist writers, evaluates Maeterlinck's status as a dramatist, and Roger Nichols analyses the score. Proust's short pastiche of the opera and Arthur Symons's review of the first English performances challenge us to come to terms with this eternally intriguing masterpiece.Contents: Something Borrowed, Something New, Hugh Macdonald; A Musical Synopsis, Roger Nichols; Maeterlinck and the Theatre, Alan Raitt; Profound or Pretentious?, Nicholas John; Pelleas et Melisande: text by Maurice Maeterlinck; Pelleas and Melisande: English Translation by Hugh Macdonald

Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play, 'Pelléas and Mélisande', tells the story of the tragic and forbidden love between the two title characters. Although it did not achieve great success on the stage, it was widely read and admired by literary elites and inspired several contemporary composers, including Claude Debussy and Gabriel Fauré. The play follows the love triangle between Golaud, Mélisande's husband, his younger half-brother Pelléas, and Mélisande herself. As their relationship intensifies, Golaud's jealousy grows, and he goes to extreme lengths to discover the truth about their relationship. Despite its controversial reception, Pelléas and Mélisande has remained a beloved work of art and an inspiration for generations.