Les pêcheurs de perles
Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in its initial run. Set in ancient times on the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the opera tells the story of how two men's vow of eternal friendship is threatened by their love for the same woman, whose own dilemma is the conflict between secular love and her sacred oath as a priestess. The friendship duet "Au fond du temple saint", generally known as "The Pearl Fishers Duet", is one of the best-known in Western opera.
"The Pearl Fishers" redirects here. For the film, see The Pearl Fishers (film). For the band, see Pearlfishers (band).Les pêcheurs de perles
At the time of the premiere, Bizet (born on 25 October 1838) was not yet 25 years old: he had yet to establish himself in the Parisian musical world. The commission to write Les pêcheurs arose from his standing as a former winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome. Despite a good reception by the public, press reactions to the work were generally hostile and dismissive, although other composers, notably Hector Berlioz, found considerable merit in the music. The opera was not revived in Bizet's lifetime, but from 1886 onwards it was performed with some regularity in Europe and North America, and from the mid-20th century has entered the repertory of opera houses worldwide. Because the autograph score was lost, post-1886 productions were based on amended versions of the score that contained significant departures from the original. Since the 1970s, efforts have been made to reconstruct the score in accordance with Bizet's intentions.
Modern critical opinion has been kinder than that of Bizet's day. Commentators describe the quality of the music as uneven and at times unoriginal, but acknowledge the opera as a work of promise in which Bizet's gifts for melody and evocative instrumentation are clearly evident. They have identified clear foreshadowings of the composer's genius which would culminate, 10 years later, in Carmen. Since 1950 the work has been recorded on numerous occasions, in both the revised and original versions.
Music[edit]
The opera begins with a brief orchestral prelude, the principal theme of which prefigures Leila's entrance.[13] The opening chorus is punctuated by a lively dance—the critic John W. Klein describes it as "electrifying".[30] Nadir's first significant contribution is his aria "Des savanes et des forêts", sung to an accompaniment of cellos and bassoons under a string tremolo that indicates the possible influence of Meyerbeer.[46] Flutes and harps are used to introduce the main theme of the celebrated "Pearl Fishers Duet", in what the opera historian Hervé Lacombe identifies as "the most highly developed poetic scene in the opera".[47] The duet's theme has become the opera's principal musical signature, repeated in the work whenever the issue of the men's friendship arises—though in Dean's view the tune is not worthy of the weight it carries.[13][n 1] Dean suggests that Bizet's ability to find the appropriate musical phrase with style and economy is better demonstrated in his treatment of Leila's oath of chastity, where a simple phrase is repeated twice in minor third steps.[46] Nadir's aria "Je crois entendre encore", towards the end of act 1, is written on a barcarole rhythm, with a dominant cor anglais whereby, says Lacombe, "[t]he listener has the impression that the horn is singing".[47]
In act 2 a short orchestral introduction is followed by an off-stage chorus, notable for its sparse accompaniment—a tambourine and two piccolos. After Nourabad reminds Leila of her oath and leaves her alone she sings her cavatina "Comme autrefois". Two French horns introduce the theme, supported by the cellos. When her voice enters, says Lacombe, "it replaces the first horn whose characteristic sound it seems to continue". Dean likens this song to Micaela's aria "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante" from Carmen.[13] Nadir's "De mon amie" which follows the cavatina has, says Dean, "a haunting beauty"; its introductory phrase recalls the oboe theme in Bizet's youthful Symphony in C.[50] Dean cites the second act finale, with its repeated climaxes as the crowds demand the errant couple's deaths, as an example of Bizet's developing skills in writing theatrical music.[46] The third act, divided into two brief scenes, begins with Zurga's entrance to quiet chromatic scales played over a tonic pedal, an effect that Bizet would later use in his incidental music to L'Arlésienne.[50] The duet "Je frémis", says Dean, has clear hints of Verdi's Il trovatore, and the fiery chorus "Dès que le soleil" is reminiscent of a Mendelssohn scherzo, but otherwise the final act's music is weak and lacking in dramatic force.[46] In the closing scene, in which Zurga bids a last farewell to his dreams of love, the friendship theme from the act 1 duet sounds for the final time.[48]
According to Lacombe, Les pêcheurs de perles is characteristic of French opéra lyrique, in particular through Bizet's use of arioso and dramatic recitative, his creation of atmospheres, and his evocation of the exotic.[51] Berlioz described the opera's score as beautiful, expressive, richly coloured and full of fire, but Bizet himself did not regard the work highly, and thought that, a few numbers apart, it deserved oblivion.[30] Parisian critics of the day, attuned to the gentler sounds of Auber and Offenbach, complained about the heaviness of Bizet's orchestration, which they said was noisy, overloaded and Wagnerian—"a fortissimo in three acts".[46] The conductor Hans von Bülow dismissed the work contemptuously as "a tragical operetta", and when it was revived after 1886, resented having to conduct it.[30] Modern writers have generally treated the piece more generously; the music may be of uneven quality and over-reflective of the works of Bizet's contemporaries, says Dean, but there are interesting hints of his mature accomplishments.[52] Others have given credit to the composer for overcoming the limitations of the libretto with some genuinely dramatic strokes and the occasional inspiring melody.[21]
Editions[edit]
Having completed the score of Les pêcheurs in August 1863, Bizet fell out with his publisher, Choudens, over publication rights. The quarrel was patched up and Choudens retained the rights, but published only a piano vocal score in 1863.[10] After Bizet's death in 1875 his widow Geneviève Bizet showed scant care for her husband's musical legacy; several of his autograph scores, including that of Les pêcheurs de perles, were lost or given away.[53] Choudens published a second piano vocal score in 1887–88 and a "nouvelle édition" in 1893 that incorporated the changes that had been introduced into recent revivals of the opera. A full orchestral score based on the nouvelle edition was published in 1893.[36][52]
A trend towards greater authenticity began after Hammond's orchestrations in the 1970s provided a basis for staging the work in its original form. This process was further aided by the discovery in the 1990s of Bizet's 1863 conducting score. In this, the orchestral parts were reduced to six staves, but notes and other markings in the manuscript provided additional clues to the original orchestration.[36] These new finds became the basis for Brad Cohen's critical edition of the score, published by Edition Peters in 2002.[9][54]
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