Under the spell of voice, loyalty & desire

Georges Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de perles is one of those operas that stand in the shadow of a global success: While Carmen has long been part of the canon, this work, which premiered in 1863, is still a rare guest on the repertoire today. Yet there is already an astonishing amount of Bizet to be heard here. He was 24 years old when he completed this first major opera score, and yet the music already possesses that unmistakable sense of atmosphere, melodic charm and emotional shading that would later establish his fame.

The plot unfolds from a triangle of love, friendship and betrayal. In a fishing village in Ceylon, Nadir returns to his childhood friend Zurga. Both had once renounced the same woman so as not to destroy their friendship. Now she, of all people, reappears: Leïla, a veiled priestess, who is supposed to pray for protection for the dangerous work of the pearl fishermen and in return takes a vow of chastity. The old memory becomes a new present, the vow a conflict in which personal desire, religious law and the order of the community inexorably collide.

Bizet's music shows very precisely how these characters relate to each other. Large choral scenes are followed by very personal, intimate moments. Nadir's romance "Je crois entendre encore" and the duet "Au fond du temple saint" are particularly famous. But the opera is not just made up of these two famous numbers. The entire score thrives on contrasts: between chorus and solo voices, between public ritual and private emotion, between memory and immediate, violent passion. At the same time, it is full of images of nature and elemental forces: you can hear the sea, the storm, the fire, the heat and the restlessness of this world.