The Pearl Fishers @ The Dallas Opera
—Wayne Lee Gay
The Dallas Opera closes its 2022 spring season with Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, the “other” opera by that guy who wrote Carmen. Long relegated to the sidelines of the operatic repertoire, Bizet’s exotic tale of a love triangle in ancient Sri Lanka (that is, Sri Lanka as imagined by 19th-century Europeans) has in recent decades made its way into the international operatic repertoire. It’s not Carmen, but The Pearl Fishers packs the stage with plenty of well-crafted, thrilling musical moments done in grand Romantic style. The genius that would later come to full flower is evident here, awaiting the inspiration provided by the id-driven, fate-shadowed adventures of Carmen and her cohort.
The plot thickens in true opera tradition: two men, Nadir and Zurga (tenor René Barbera, and baritone Alfredo Daza)—lust after the same woman, Leila (soprano Joyce El-Khoury). To add complication and a dash of forbidden love, Leila is a virgin priestess whose celibacy protects the local pearl fishers from the wrath of the sea, and guarantees prosperity for the community.
The jealousy between Nadir and Zurga has been put in the past as the curtain rises, setting up the most famous moment in the The Pearl Fishers, their duet “Au fond du temple saint.” The repertoire is full of romantic duets pairing soprano (or mezzo) with tenor (or baritone); here, Bizet gifted the world with The Pearl Fishers’ most famous moment, and certainly the best bromance episode in opera.
Barbera (a San Antonio native) and Daza play the moment to full power, in a performance well worthy of the composer’s genius and the enthusiastic ovation they ignited Saturday night. Bizet here displays the same command of vocal writing and dramatic impetus that would enliven every bar of Carmen; the duo blend their clear and distinctive voices, each discovering a perfect balance of French sensibility and substantial timbre.
El-Khoury arrives on the scene shortly thereafter, bringing her own blend of vocal power, flawless range, and emotional intensity to Leila’s showpiece, the aria “Comme autrefois dans la nuit sombre.” Bass Morris Robinson lends a somber, threatening presence as the priest and enforcer Nourabad. Throughout, conductor Nicole Paiement guides the entire ensemble through the array of emotions evoked, with perfectly timed momentum.
Choreographer Eboni Adams has created a set of ambitiously complex, athletic dances, though they suffered a few minor ensemble glitches at Saturday’s opening night performance. Alexander Rom’s chorus brings a consistently resonant French Romantic grandeur at key moments. Co-directors Shawna Lucey and James Smith keep the stage action moving reasonably and conventionally through the trials of the principal characters, including a hurricane, a mob riot, and a fire.
British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes’ colorful costumes, created for the San Diego Opera in 2004, fit well with the imagined and very westernized “ancient Asia” at the foundation of The Pearl Fishers. Rhodes’ colorful and almost cartoonish sets, however, clash uncomfortably with Bizet’s grand musical scheme. This is an opera that demands visuals in keeping with its era of origin, and Rhodes’ concept steps a little uncomfortably out of bounds. With that one exception, this production gives the audience a musically spectacular glimpse of the late Second Empire’s operatic ideals, and of a composer trying his wings, on the verge of achieving even greater heights of genius.
WHEN: Through April 10
WHERE: Winspear Opera House
WEB: dallasopera.org
