Les pêcheurs de perles

Three-act opera (1863) by Georges Bizet with text by Michel Carré and Eugène Cormon In the backdrop of a distant island paradise, Georges Bizet portrays a complicated love triangle involving true friendship: Longtime friends Zurga and Nadir were once threatened by love for the Brahmin Leïla. Although both men had sworn to renounce the beautiful young woman, neither their promise nor Leïla's vow of chastity can prevent them from being overpowered by desire upon their reunion. When the pair is caught by the high priest, Zurga as leader of the pearl fishermen is to pass judgment on the two perjurers. Torn between friendship and jealousy, a desire for revenge and duty, Zurga wavers ... Twelve years before the success of Carmen, the 25-year-old Bizet achieved a breakthrough with his pearl fishers as an opera composer. The exotic subject matter inspired him to create a score with vibrant instrumentation, moving melodies, and effective theater music that unfolds in grand choral tableaus as well as in intimate scenes between the protagonists. The dramatic as well as musical pivot is the famous duet 'Au fond du temple saint' by Zurga and Nadir – a pearl of operatic literature, which ultimately led to the revival of the currently rarely performed opera.