Stéphane Degout shows his bod for Claude

French barihunk Stéphane Degout, who we have seen nude before on the opera stage in Thomas' Hamlet, is now back in his birthday suit for Claude Debussy’s only complete opera Pelléas et Mélisande at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. The opera is returning to the company after a 40-year absence and is available as video on demand for those in Europe.

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence's resident director Katie Mitchell provided a literal interpretation of the dreamlike piece. The opera starts with Mélisande in a wedding dress where she falls asleep and the story is her dream and a reflection of her reality.  Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra, with Barbara Hannigan and Mélisande and Laurent Naouri as Golaud completing the trio.

You can catch it live on July 13 and 17 and tickets are available online.

Degout will next be appearing as the Count in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam and them as Olivier in Richard Strauss' Capriccio at La Monnaie in Brussels.