a movie couple

The tenor Stanislas de Barbeyrac and the soprano Julie Fuchs, the pair of French singers who star in Debussy’s opera at the Liceu, bring glamor to the characters of Pelléas and Mélisande, in contrast to the oppressive –although beautiful– scenery of Alfons Flores by the

“It’s a mythical role and it has its obligations, but it gives us great freedom,” says Barbeyrac. “Debussy allows me not to have to concentrate on the technique of the voice, because you enter a universe of musicality and sound punctuation that makes the world invade you”. The soprano indicates: “Perhaps the most important challenge is not to get carried away by the empathy that is created with the musical atmosphere, which is always very powerful”. And she loves the frankness of her character. “Do you love Pelléas?, asks her husband. “Yes,” she replies. “Do you feel guilty?” “No”.

Regarding the scenery, a block surrounded by water that rotates on itself, Alfons Flores points out that its beauty has been more of a coincidence. “It is a story of forbidden love: two people fall in love with the husband’s brother and the husband’s wife. But the family, which seems so fascinating to us, reproduces, as Engels said, the schemes that we have to obey for society to function. And here that family space is explained in which violence and oppression are allowed. Hence this scenographic rock built as a stone material that when lit from within is transparent: it does not open, but the public can see inside… seeing the inside of a family is something fascinating and disturbing”.

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