Aah, good French 19thc opera! It’s odd of me but I like PEARL FISHERS even better than CARMEN. This production keeps the action in Ceylon/Sri Lanka but places it vaguely in 1940s, so Zurga has a combination govt office and campaign HQ, not just a tent, in which to brood in Act 3.
https://twitter.com/metopera/status/1304541084681490433
2/ (Clearly his elevation in Act 1 to be the fishermen’s king for the year had a build-up and is not as spontaneous as the libretto makes it seem.)
This production cuts down a little on the inevitable “orientalism”
of this show, for those who care about that.
This production cuts down a little on the inevitable “orientalism”
of this show, for those who care about that.
3/ And yes, PEARL FISHERS has THE duet (Act 1), the great tenor-baritone number recalling that beautiful priestess at the Gates of Kandi:
Son voile se soulève-
O vision, o rêve-
La foule est à genoux!
Oui c’est elle
C’est la déesse
Plus charmante et plus belle...!
@virgil_30
Son voile se soulève-
O vision, o rêve-
La foule est à genoux!
Oui c’est elle
C’est la déesse
Plus charmante et plus belle...!
@virgil_30
4/ Aaand now we’re in Act 3 (I started watching at about 8:30; you can start at the beginning any time thru tmrw afternoon) and, as I mentioned, we’re in Zurga’s makeshift office, full of filing cabinets, loose files, maps of Sri Lanka, and Zurga For Chief posters. But Leïla...
5/ is in very traditional Ceylonese priestess garb.
Good “Regietheater.”
Good “Regietheater.”
6/ Special effects: prelude (+ Leïla’s Act 2 aria) => divers going deep for pearls in the Coleridgean “deep romantic chasm” of the blue sea off Sri Lanka. The show-curtain takes projections well and can be the deep sea, angry ocean waves, or tenements of rank&file fishers.
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