Pelléas et Mélisande-lite for Dublin and Belfast

Details have finally been announced of Opera Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.  Directed by Annelies Miskimmon, this will be first time this extraordinary work will be seen in Dublin since DGOS did it back in 1948, and will also be a Belfast premiere.  As usual for OTC, it will be in English (though no translator is credited) and the orchestra will be cut back – in this case they are using an abridged arrangement for two pianos by Marius Constant, so if you enjoy Maeterlinck’s lines or Debussy’s nuanced orchestration then you’ll just have to do without…

For some bizarre reason, they are performing it in the elegant Georgian setting of Dublin City Hall’s Rotunda (NOT to be confused with the Rotunda Hospital!).   While it is a beautiful hall, the swimmy acoustic makes it one of the most unpleasant spaces in Dublin to sing in, so the performers will have their work cut out.  Their last ‘site-specific’ production (Fidelio) was in Kilmainham Gaol, and similarly this venue has only limited audience capacity – which explains the price hike – so it is pretty much guaranteed to sell out.