This was the first of two recordings by Ernest Ansermet of pelléas et mélisande, a work he conducted several times on stage. This recording was made in April 1952 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere. Many performed it with Ansermet, who himself conducted the work nine times with his Suisse Romande orchestra. The booklet includes a track-by-track synopsis, an overview of the recording by Juan Pons, as well as a probing essay on Debussy's's opera by Ansermet himself which was printed with the first LP issue of this recording.