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by Georges Bizet, directed by Renaud Doucet

Opera Ontario, Hamilton Place, Hamilton

April 20, 25 & 27, 2002;

Centre in the Square, Kitchener

May 4, 2002

"Opera Ontario Uncovers a Pearl"

Opera Ontario's first production of Bizet's "Les Pêcheurs des perles" ("The Pearl Fishers") proves that there is more to this opera than the famous tenor-baritone duet "Au fond du temple saint".  While only two of the three singers involved in the work's love triangle were in top form, the attractive production and the splendid conducting of Daniel Lipton made an exciting evening of Bizet's "other opera".

"Pêcheurs" was first produced in Paris in 1863 when Bizet was only 25.  The influence of other composers is clear.  Gounod's "Faust" (1859) has affected the transition from one musical idea to the next, and Wagner is felt in the use of  "Au fond du temple saint" as a leitmotiv that recurs in various guises throughout.  But there is no denying Bizet's gift for melody and colourful orchestral writing.  One memorable tune follows the next all tinged with the dark tonal structure in which Bizet has cast the work.  "Carmen" will always be Bizet's masterpiece, but I'd hate to be denied entry to "Pêcheurs" where you can feel the young composer testing his strength.

The opera finds librettists Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré in exotic Temple of Doom mode.  In ancient Ceylon Zurga, leader of the pearl fishers, encounters his friend Nadir.  Their reaffirmed friendship is tested by the appearance of Léïla, a consecrated virgin, whom both men fell in love with at first sight long ago.  When Nadir goes to Léïla to declare his love for her, the High Priest Nourabad discovers them and they are condemned to death by Zurga.  His anger abated, Zurga later relents and helps the two to flee. 

The action is so swift and so succinct that it does not allow for much character development.  The singers therefore have to use each of their limited appearances to give their characters as much shape as possible.  Canadians Lyne Fortin as Léïla and Gaetan Lapierre as Zurga are both in top form.  Fortin's rich soprano and detailed acting make Léïla not the helpless temple-maiden one might imagine.  Rather she is full of strength and we sense that the arrival of Nadir gives her the chance to escape the strictures that bind her.  Fortin's sure command of vocal line and of the frequent trills and leaps Bizet gives her is thrilling. 

Lapierre is also impressive.  His deep, powerful baritone with its Gallic bite is perfect for Zurga.  His character is the one who suffers the greatest inner conflict and, as a man who gives up his own happiness for that of his friend, Zurga is one of the rare examples of male self-sacrifice in opera.  Lapierre brings all this to bear in "L'orage s'est calmé", which, though not a showpiece, he sang with such emotion it received loud, enthusiastic acclaim.  Indeed, the intensity of his performance, like Fortin's, made exoticism secondary to our interest in the characters.

Such is not the case with the third member of the love triangle.  As Nadir Spanish tenor Manuel Beltran Gil, making his Canadian début, has the sound of a Domingo but without his power and certainly without his stage presence.  His indecipherable French, his use of a small range of generalized gestures and his single multipurpose facial expression set him apart from everyone else on stage.  His voice blends well in his various duets but one feels Fortin and Lapierre are doing the acting for two.  In Nadir's well-known aria "Je crois entendre encore", Gil makes an awkward transition to high notes meant to be effortlessly floated.  In the fourth named part, the High Priest Nourabad, bass Alexander Savtchenko is suitably stern and authoritative.

The chorus prepared by Peter Oleskevich plays a major role representing the strict, religious society against which the three members of the love triangle stand out.  After some insecure attacks in Act 1, the chorus was galvanized for their important outbursts in Acts 2 and 3, the finale to Act 2 being especially impressive.    

Opera Ontario has acquired exceedingly handsome sets and costumes originally designed for the Opera Municipal de Santiago by the Argentinean team of Roberto Oswald and Anibal Lapiz.  Ignoring the references to Hinduism in the text, Oswald's sets conjure up the ancient ruins where the action takes place with increasingly dominant statues of Buddha in each act, thereby physically suggesting both the fate looming over the characters and the need for mercy.  Lapiz's attractive, predominantly off-white costumes give the work a look at once fresh and authentic.  His vestigial veil for Léïla, however, though one solution to the problem of the fully-veiled singer the librettists ask for, is distracting.  Lighting designer Michael J. Whitfield, always adept at recreating natural lighting effects on stage, gives us a closely observed sunset and sunrise timed perfectly with the music and growing storm with lightning and racing shadows of clouds that enhances the drama of Act 2's exciting conclusion.

Stage director Renaud Doucet's clear, straightforward direction gives the work vitality.  The libretto calls for a scene change in Act 3, but it would have been wise for Doucet to have ignored it or somehow managed the change without lowering the curtain and halting the momentum.  As choreographer Doucet has devised an imaginative series of dances, all gracefully executed, by adding movements from East Indian dance to traditional balletic vocabulary.  

Much of the evening's success is due to conductor Daniel Lipton, who draws committed, vibrant playing from the Hamilton Philharmonic.  His precision and alert tempi maintain a sense of urgency that sweeps the audience into the action from the beginning and doesn't let it go.

Opportunities to see "Les Pêcheurs des perles" on stage are unfortunately few and far between.  There is so much right about this production that anyone interested should not hesitate.  It augurs well for Léo Delibes' "Lakmé", another rarely-performed French orientalist opera, that Opera Ontario has scheduled for winter 2003.

©Christopher Hoile

Note: This review is a Stage Door exclusive.

Photo: Manuel Beltran Gil, Lyne Fortin and Gaetan Lapierre. ©2002 Opera Ontario.