Curtis Opera Theatre: Pelléas et Mélisande
Featured Artists
John Matsumoto Giampietro
Evan Rogister
Members of Curtis Opera Theatre
John Matsumoto Giampietro is a Brooklyn based stage director of Opera and Theatre, an educator, and writer. John has directed opera and theatre at Tanglewood, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Urban Stages, Yale Opera, Vermont Shakespeare Festival, Curtis Institute of Music, The Flea Theatre, Shenandoah Conservatory and NYU Tisch School of the Arts, among others. Learn more.
Evan Rogister is one of the most eclectic and versatile conductors on the international scene. A dual citizen of Germany and the United States, Rogister leads performances at some of the world’s most prestigious houses, including the Glyndebourne Festival, The Metropolitan Opera, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Opernhaus Zürich. Learn more.
Through visionary productions, bold concepts, and compelling narratives, the artists of Curtis Opera Theatre prepare to become stars of the world stage. The combination of key elements of artistry—music, acting, singing, and design—allows these student-artists to create a lasting connection with audiences.
A Luminous Opera of Longing and Loss
Curtis Opera Theatre presents Debussy‘s modernist masterpiece Pelléas et Mélisande, an ethereal meditation on love, jealousy, and the inevitability of fate. Adapted from Belgian playwright and librettist Maurice Maeterlinck’s drama, this enigmatic opera traces a shadowy, dream-like love triangle among Mélisande and Pelléas, and his envious brother Golaud. Set in a world of half-light and suggestion, the drama unfolds through glances, silences, and hidden desires.
Departing from conventional 19th-century Romanticism, Debussy centers subtle moods and shifting musical colors over grand vocal gestures. Here, characters express emotion through a minimalist “talk-sing” vocal style based on the rhythm of the French language. Conducted by Evan Rogister and directed by John Matsumoto Giampietro, this work also features a shimmering, impressionistic score that illuminates passions and tensions its characters cannot voice. A landmark of musical symbolism, Pelléas et Mélisande continues to mesmerize audiences over a century later.
Please note programs and artists are subject to change.