 Debussy's unique opera "Pelléas et Mélisande" (1902) shows the influence of the German composer in the central role given to the orchestra and the complete abolition of the traditional difference between aria and recitative.Indeed, Debussy had complained that there was "too much singing" in conventional opera and replaced it with fluid, vocal declamation moulded to the rhythms of the French language.The love story of "Pelléas et Mélisande" avoided the grand passions of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" in favour of an elusive Symbolist drama in which the characters only express their feelings indirectly.