Debussy’s Mélisande

GIILLIAN OPSTAD read Modern Languages at Somerville College, Oxford after which she taught for a number of years in Buckinghamshire and Bristol. She specialises in French music and is the author of Debussy's Mélisande, published by the Boydell Press in 2009.

The colourful lives of the three divas who made Debussy's Melisande their own.

IntroductionPelléas et Mélisande. From Play to OperaGeorgette Leblanc (1869-1894)Georgette Leblanc meets Maurice Maeterlinck (1895-1898)The Row (1898-1902)Mary Garden (1874-1900)Mary Garden's Breakthrough (1900-1902)Preparations for Performance of Pelléas et MélisandeFirst Performance and ReactionsMary Garden Reaps Success (1902-1907)Return of Georgette Leblanc (1902-1907)Pelléas et Mélisande at Saint-WandrilleMaggie Teyte. Her Background (1888-1902)Maggie Teyte's Path to Mélisande (1903-1908)Mary Garden in America (1907-1911)Maggie Teyte's Triumphs and Disappointments (1908-1930)Georgette Leblanc's Rise and Fall (1911-1919)Mary Garden becomes Director (1912-1931)Georgette Leblanc after Maeterlinck (1919-1931)Maggie Teyte's Fresh Start (1930-1945)Georgette Leblanc Falls Ill (1931-1941)Mary Garden's Retirement (1931-1967)Maggie Teyte after the War (1945-1976)SilenceSelect Bibliography