Les souterrains

[Image source: https://sibeliusone.com/music-for-the-theatre/pelleas-et-melisande/ . Photo: The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland (SLS). It shows a still from the 1905 production of Pelléas och Mélisande at the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki (translation by Bertel Gripenberg with incidental music by Sibelius). Mélisande was played by Gabrielle Tavastjerna and Pelléas by Gunnar Wingård.]

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Scene 3: The vaults of the castle

Scène 3: Les souterrains du château

Enter GOLAUD and PÉLLÉAS.

Entrent GOLAUD et PÉLLÉAS.

GOLAUD.

Take care; this way, this way.—You have never penetrated into these vaults?

 Prenez garde ; par ici, par ici. – Vous n’avez jamais pénétré dans ces souterrains ?

PÉLLÉAS.

Yes; once, of old; but it was long ago….

 Si, une fois, dans le temps ; mais il y a longtemps…

GOLAUD.

They are prodigious great; it is a succession of enormous crypts that end, God knows where. The whole castle is builded on these crypts. Do you smell the deathly odor that reigns here?—That is what I wished to show you. In my opinion, it comes from the little underground lake I am going to have you see. Take care; walk before me, in the light of my lantern. I will warn you when we are there. (They continue to walk in silence.) Hey! hey! Pélléas! stop! stop!— (He seizes him by the arm.) For God's sake!… Do you not see?—One step more, and you had been in the gulf!…

 Ils sont prodigieusement grands; c’est une suite de grottes énormes qui aboutissent, Dieu sait où. Tout le château est bâti sur ces grottes. Sentez-vous l’odeur mortelle qui règne ici ? – C’est ce que je voulais vous faire remarquer. Selon moi, elle provient du petit lac souterrain que je vais vous faire voir. Prenez garde; marchez devant moi, dans la clarté de ma lanterne. Je vous avertirai lorsque nous y serons. (Ils continuent à marcher en silence.) Hé ! Hé ! Pelléas ! arrêtez ! arrêtez ! (Il le saisit par le bras.) Pour Dieu !… Mais ne voyez-vous pas ? – Un pas de plus et vous étiez dans le gouffre !…

PÉLLÉAS

But I did not see it!… The lantern no longer lighted me….

 Mais je n’y voyais pas !… La lanterne ne m’éclairait plus…

GOLAUD.

I made a misstep…. but if I had not held you by the arm…. Well, this is the stagnant water that I spoke of to you…. Do you perceive the smell of death that rises?—Let us go to the end of this overhanging rock, and do you lean over a little. It will strike you in the face.

 J’ai fait un faux pas… mais si je ne vous avais pas retenu le bras… Eh bien, voici l’eau stagnante dont je vous parlais… Sentez-vous l’odeur de mort qui monte ? – Allons jusqu’au bout de ce rocher qui surplombe et penchez-vous un peu. Elle viendra vous frapper au visage.

 

PÉLLÉAS.

I smell it already;… you would say a smell of the tomb.

 Je la sens déjà… On dirait une odeur de tombeau. 

GOLAUD.

Further, further…. It is this that on certain days has poisoned the castle. The King will not believe it comes from here.—The crypt should be walled up in which this standing water is found. It is time, besides, to examine these vaults a little. Have you noticed those lizards on the walls and pillars of the vaults?—There is a labor hidden here you would not suspect; and the whole castle will be swallowed up one of these nights, if it is not looked out for. But what will you have? nobody likes to come down this far…. There are strange lizards in many of the walls…. Oh! here … do you perceive the smell of death that rises?

Plus loin, plus loin… C’est elle qui, certains jours, empoisonne le château. Le roi ne veut pas croire qu’elle vient d’ici. – il faudrait faire murer la grotte où se trouve cette eau morte. Il serait temps d’ailleurs d’examiner ces souterrains. Avez-vous remarqué ces lézardes dans les murs et les piliers de voûtes ? – Il y a ici un travail caché qu’on ne soupçonne pas ; et tout le château s’engloutira une de ces nuits, si l’on n’y prend pas garde. Mais que voulez-vous ? personne n’aime à descendre jusqu’ici… Il y a d’étranges lézardes dans bien des murs… Oh ! voici… sentez-vous l’odeur de mort qui s’élève? 

PÉLLÉAS.

Yes; there is a smell of death rising about us….

Oui, il y a une odeur de mort qui monte autour de nous…

GOLAUD.

Lean over; have no fear…. I will hold you … give me … no, no, not your hand … it might slip … your arm, your arm!… Do you see the gulf? (Moved.)—Pélléas? Pélléas?…

 Penchez-vous ; n’ayez pas peur… Je vous tiendrai… donnez-moi… non, non, pas la main… elle pourrait glisser… le bras, le bras… Voyez-vous le gouffre ? (Troublé.) – Pelléas ? Pelléas ?…

PÉLLÉAS.

Yes; I think I see the bottom of the gulf…. Is it the light that trembles so?… You … (He straightens up, turns, and looks at GOLAUD.)

Oui ; je crois que je vois le fond du gouffre… Est-ce la lumière qui tremble ainsi?… Vous… (Il se redresse, se retourne et regarde GOLAUD.)

GOLAUD (with a trembling voice).

Yes; it is the lantern…. See, I shook it to lighten the walls….

(d’une voix tremblante).  Oui ; c’est la lanterne… Voyez, je l’agitais pour éclairer les parois…

PÉLLÉAS.

I stifle here;… let us go out….

 J’étouffe ici… sortons…

GOLAUD.

Yes; let us go out….

Oui, sortons...

                                                      [Exeunt in silence.    [Ils sortent en silence.

 

(Act III Scene 3 of Maurice Maeterlinck's Pélléas et Mélisande (1892). English translation by Richard Hovey.

Being more familiar with older plays I couldn't help being reminded of the scene in The Changeling where Deflores takes Alonzo for a tour of the "full strength" of the castle in Alicante. 

Unlike Alonzo, Pelléas gets out alive. Golaud has just run across his half-brother messing around with Golaud's young wife Mélisande in a way that thoroughly disturbs him, but he isn't sure. 

During the visit to the vaults Golaud tries to behave as the protective elder brother who talks seriously about serious things, with an underlying message to Pelléas about the need to grow up -- which means, taking care ("si l’on n’y prend pas garde") --, but his own feelings aren't entirely in control, and he twice feints at causing a fatal accident. Golaud is trying out what it would be like to kill him. When Pelléas seems about to confront the signs of Golaud's inner disturbance (with the single word "Vous.."), Golaud goes into retreat, and allows Pelléas to lead them out of the vaults. 

The half-brothers are doubles to some extent, their actions often shadowing each other. It's Pelléas who keeps saying "Prenez garde" in the ring scene, and it's he who acts as guide to the underworld in the grotto scene. When Golaud drags Mélisande around by the hair, we remember Pelléas playfully tying her hair to the willow. 

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Mélisande, 1895-98 painting by Marianne Stokes.

[Image source: Wikipedia . The painting is in the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki. Marianne Stokes (1855 - 1927) was an Austrian by birth, married to fellow artist Adrian Scott Stokes. ]

The names are broadly medieval and suggestive of a Franco-German location (e.g. Allemond, the kingdom).

Pelléas or Pellès was one of the names of the fisher king (Amfortas in Wagner's Parsival). Another Pellias was a knight of the round table in the post-Vulgate cycle and in Malory. 

Mélisande was an Old French name with Germanic roots (it became Millicent in English). E.g. Melisende the Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1143. In Maeterlinck's 1899 play Ariane and Bluebeard (turned into an opera by Paul Dukas), the names of Bluebeard's other wives are taken from earlier Maeterlinck plays, and they include Mélisande: at the end of the play these wives (unlike Ariane) choose to remain with Bluebeard. (You would have to be extremely literal-minded to describe Ariane and Bluebeard as a "prequel" or to infer that at the start of Pelléas and Mélisande she has just escaped from Bluebeard -- who certainly didn't give his wives crowns to wear!)

Golaud is Golo in German. Golo was also the name of the villainous majordomo in the legend of Genevieve of Brabant (modern readers will most likely have encountered it via the opening pages of Proust). The (ultimately medieval) legend was apparently a popular subject for performance by puppet companies in the 18th century, which might be relevant to Maeterlink wanting his plays to be performed by marionettes.

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Links to online texts (I cannot vouch for their accuracy, but they'll give you an idea) and a simplified account of their relationship. 

Pélléas et Mélisande (1892)

First published edition (1892). 

Mélisande's song at the start of Act III Sc 2  is "Mes longs cheveux". 

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1527481x/f15.item

(Easier to view with a laptop!)

English translation of this version, by Richard Hovey (1896):

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/13329/pg13329-images.html

German translation of this version, by George Stockhausen (1897):

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b393111&seq=9

Pelléas et Mélisande (1902)

This was Maeterlinck's second revision since the original 1892 text. 

Most significantly, Mélisande's song at the start of Act III Sc 2  is now "Les trois sœurs aveugles" (as it had been ever since the 1893 stage premier). (This song formed part of the play's English, German, Swedish and Finnish acting texts; hence Fauré's incidental music for an English production in 1898 -- translation by J.W. Mackail --, and Sibelius' incidental music for a Swedish-language production in 1905. -- translation by Bertel Gripenberg.)

Note that the first "e" in "Pelléas" no longer has an accent.

https://libretheatre.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/pelleasetmelisande_Maeterlinck_LT.pdf  [PDF]

Pelléas et Mélisande (1907)

The French text as used in Debussy's opera, drafted in 1893-1895, with full orchestral score in 1898 and first performance on 30 April 1902. 

He basically composed direct from Maeterlinck's 1892 text (no librettist), but he omitted four scenes entirely: As originally numbered, they were Act I Sc 1 (at the castle gate), Act II Sc 4 (Pelléas once more conceding to Arkël's wish for him to stay), Act III Sc 1 (Mélisande spins from her distaff; Pelléas, Yniold), and Act V Sc 1 (The servants).  There are also cuts from the other scenes, e.g. from Golaud's letter, Arkël's subsequent dialogue with Pelléas, the brothers' visit to the castle vaults and their emergence, Golaud's scene with his son, Yniold's scene at the rock... 

Mélisande's song is "Mes longs cheveux". (As in the original 1892 edition, but not in any stage performances.) Maeterlinck complained bitterly, but rather unreasonably, about Debussy's failure to incorporate his later revisions. 

https://fr.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Pell%C3%A9as_et_M%C3%A9lisande

(For more detail on Debussy's libretto see David Grayson's talk: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/debussy-text-ideas-reflections-on-new-edition-pellas .)

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[Image source: https://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/01/31_morelockb_pelleas-melisande/ . From a 1904 French production. Mélisande was played by Mrs Patrick Campbell and Pelléas by Sarah Bernhardt. This is Act III Scene 1, but there's nothing in Maeterlinck's text about Pelléas reading a book.]

Other material I came across:

Maeterlinck's play was very successfully produced by Max Rheinhardt in Berlin in 1903-04 (there were 57 performances). The incidental music was by Friedrich Bermann; apparently it does not survive. I can't find out anything about Friedrich Bermann, except that he wrote music for several of Rheinhardt's productions. 

Eija Kurki's very informative article on Sibelius's incidental music and on Scandinavian performances of Maeterlinck's play. 

https://sibeliusone.com/music-for-the-theatre/pelleas-et-melisande/

Sibelius' well-known suite contains a few differences from the original music, as well as changing the sequence. 

There is a fine performance of the original version of Sibelius' incidental music by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxzMOaadUrk&t=0s

 "De trenne blinda systrar" (The Three Blind Sisters) was originally a song, sung here by Anna-Lisa Jakobsson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxzMOaadUrk&t=805s

There was also a prelude to Act IV scene 2 (The scene that begins with Arkel sympathising with Mélisande, and ends with Golaud dragging her around by her hair.):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxzMOaadUrk&t=1235s

A fine production by Benjamin Lazar of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande. Malmö Opera Choir and Orchestra, conducted by Maxime Pascal. English subtitles. (Pelléas: Marc Mauillon. Mélisande: Jenny Daviet. Golaud: Laurent Alvaro. 

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Golaud and Mélisande

[Image source: https://www.theatre-odeon.eu/en/pelleas-et-melisandre . From a 2020 production of Maeterlink's play by Julie Duclos for the Odéon Théâtre de l'Europe. Golaud was played by Vincent Dissez and Mélisande by Alix Riemer. Photo by Simon Gosselin.]