Opera Australia's The Pearlfishers

this was sensational
http://www.sydneyartsguide.com/View-Review.asp?ReviewID=1149
There was tumultuous applause for this excellent revival of Bizet’s THE PEARLFISHERS, which originally premiered in 2000, directed by Ann-Margaret Pettersson. If you are into nineteenth century French Romantic opera then this is for you. It is almost sheer operatic heaven.

Vibrant and exotic, it has soaring lyrical moments and dark hidden passion, with a tangled love triangle. First performed in 1869, written when Bizet was only twenty five, it is set in ancient times in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

Two men, Zurga and Nadir, swear eternal friendship but the vow is deeply challenged when both fall in love with the same woman (Leila) whose own internal conflict and dilemma is between her secular love and her sacred vows as a chaste priestess.

Zurga , the very popular , much respected governor of the colony is brilliantly sung by baritone Andrew Jones .Circumstances conspire horribly against him. He acts as narrator with his memories of what happened framing the work, in some ways PHANTOM OF THE OPERA like. His more than best friend Nadir was superbly sung by tenor Henry Choo, who has a couple of exquisite arias (for example the ‘je crois entendre encore’) and is very controlled but passionately intense.

The famous showstopping popular duet in Act 1 ‘Au Fond du Temple Saint’ , the ‘brotherly love’ soaring duet , torn through with jealousy that reveals that both men are in love with the same woman – and also the opera’s possible gay hidden subtext – gives one goose bumps .

As the exquisite Leila, Nicole Car is ravishing. She sings divinely and is stunning in her white costume and filmy veils.  Her aria, the incantation to Brahma (‘O Dieu Brahma’), is magnificent. She is proud and passionate – the ice maiden aloof priestess- is only a thin veneer. In Act 3 she implores Zurga to save Nadir’s life which puts him in a very difficult position.

Marvellous bass Judd Arthur as Nourabad, the bearded high priest, is in fine voice and very imposing.    

The orchestra, under maestro Guillaume Tourniaire, was superb. While passionate and lyrical, it was simultaneously neat and precise. You could hear hints of Bizet’s ‘Carmen’, yet to come.  

John Conklin’s amazing , visually stunning set designs, are ravishing . The predominant colour is blue, with a water theme , sometimes  like a jewelled enamelled box. At one point Conklin uses receding repeated proscenium arch frames in a trompe l’oeil feat of vanishing perspective.  There are also huge ‘fallen ruins’ for the sacred space Leila is left alone in, and some exciting use of projections. The strong yet fragile delicacy of the props (for example a boat) is terrific.

The production also features a ‘play within a play’ effect,  for example the fire at the end of Act 3. I also loved the dramatic effect of the looming moon and eclipse, and the floaty effect of the curtains.

Rosetta Cook’s choreography is very effective. The dancers – mostly in red- are sometimes leaping, darting flames. The opera chorus, again using the water motif, are like the sea- rippling, rolling, sometimes ominous and threatening when angry , at others times calmer , more solidly circular .

The show ends with the older Zurga alone and embittered, having betrayed ‘his’ people and himself, but with the knowledge that Nadir and Leila are safe (or are they?!).

We emerge dazed and dazzled by the beauty and music of this wonderful  opera.

Opera Australia’s production of Bizet’s THE PEARLFISHERS opened at the Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House on Wednesday 4th July and plays in rep until Saturday 4th August, 2012.

Tags: Sydney Opera Reviews- THE PEARLFISHERS, Bizet, Sydney Arts Guide, Lynne Lancaster.