Abstract
By creating Carmen, Georges Bizet composed what is probably the most popular and most-performed French opera. Only few people know that the composer wrote another eleven works for the operatic stage in his short life. Les Pêcheurs de perles has also remained a rarity in the operatic landscape, although certain numbers, such as Nadir and Zurga’s friendship duet and Nadir’s romance, have become popular. But quite apart from these, the 24-year-old Bizet’s score is rich in musical treasures – the protagonists’ emotional hardships are sensitively portrayed, and the fishermen’s melodies are rousing. The fateful love triangle is set in the dangerous milieu of pearl fishery: after many years, the friends Nadir and Zurga encounter their childhood sweetheart Léïla, who is now giving the fishermen strength as a priestess…
In his production, director Jens-Daniel Herzog forgoes exotic South Sea charm, instead taking the critical view, already inherent to the story, of a social order that is based on oppression. The pearl fishers slave on the lower decks of a steamer – while the gentlemen rule from their cabins. Olga Kulchynska, who has been a permanent member of our ensemble since the beginning of this season, will be giving her role début as Léïla. The young Russian tenor Sergey Romanovsky will also be giving his role début as Nadir. The pair will be joined by Brian Mulligan as Zurga; he most recently thrilled audiences in Zurich as Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.