John Smyth wrote:

>Kevin Sutton mentions Debussy's "Pelleas" as one of the opera recordings
>of the Century.
>
>I have also enjoyed this recording very much, but have you tried Abbado's
>recording? I find it much warmer and atmospheric.

The Abbado Pelleas is as close to definitive as I've heard.  Shortly
before it came out, the Dutoit recording struck me as the best I'd heard,
but Abbado swept the field for me.  My only complaint with his version is
truly trivial, but it bother's me nonetheless: You can't hear the bell in
the third and fourth measures before the end.  And the bell, for me, is
the final touch of perfection in the magic of the score.

"Richard Todd" <[log in to unmask]>