Bizet’s enchanting score, fine singing trump weak libretto at FWO festival
ISN’T IT BROMANTIC | The friendship between Zurga (Lee Poulis) and Nadir (Sean Panikkar) forms the heart of ‘Pearl Fishers.’ Photo by Karen Almond.
A benevolent king trusts his best friend not to seduce the woman they both love, but neither friend nor mistress can resist their urges.
The king is forced to condemn them to death, but his frailty allows him to allow them to escape … at the cost of his utopia.
That’s the plot for … Camelot, of course, but also The Pearl Fishers, a comparatively obscure and under-performed opera by Georges Bizet. That’s not a total surprise; when you’re the composer responsible for Carmen, all your subsequent work is likely to get overshadowed by the grandeur of your chef d’oeuvre.
It doesn’t help that, aside from the familiar plot (part of the Arthurian legend long before it became a Broadway musical), the libretto of The Pearl Fishers is weak — lots of gimmicky bits about veils and vows — and the recitatives lack maturity and complexity. The finale (which, even when it was first performed, was not decided upon until nearly opening night; several alternate endings are available still) is lame, almost anti-climatic; the romance, strained. And, as was the cast with much opera in the 19th century set in exotic locales (in this instance, Sri Lanka), the libretto takes a patronizing attitude toward other cultures. (The word “savages” is used.)
But those weaknesses aside, The Pearl Fishers is a gem of its own, filled with Bizet’s stately, often even inspired musical motifs. If the script doesn’t do it justice, well, that’s no fault of the composer, or of the four principal singers, each of whom do superb work.
Tenor Sean Panikkar plays Nadir, the man whose love gets him in trouble. He’s powerful yet sensitive, especially on his bromantic duet with baritone Lee Poulis’ King Zurga; the piece is one of the highlights of Act 1. As Leila, the virginal object of both men’s desires, Hailey Clark has a lilting, florid soprano.
Director John de los Santos adds a rarely-seen dance element, and his staging of the violence technically impressive — as is the palpable sex appeal of this engaging production.
The Pearl Fishers will be performed May 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Bass Hall. The Fort Worth Opera Festival continues with Cosi fan tutte, Silent Night and With Blood, With Ink through May 11.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition May 2, 2014.