Daniel Jeanneteau

In a kingdom where day is night and noon chills the blood, a prince suspects his mysterious wife to be in love with his half-brother. But where does Mélisande come from? And what do we really know about the two heroes' silent love? A single opera was all it took for Debussy to transform the history of music forever. Opéra de Lille presents us with a Mélisande full of vitality and determination, far from the familiar ethereal figure. In the pit, François-Xavier Roth and his internationally renowned ensemble Les Siècles, playing on period instruments, lend new colours to a score which we thought we knew.

Picture a day like this recounts the story of a woman bereft at the loss of her baby, who is told that she has a chance to restore her infant to life: "Find one happy person in this world and cut one button from their sleeve. Do it before night and your child will live." After a series of initially promising encounters end in disappointment, can she pull off the miracle she needs? Find out in this fable about human nature, a tale of self-discovery where the flow of music—performed by the excellent Mahler Chamber Orchestra, marking their 25th anniversary—follows the flow of life.