The Pearl Fishers is not an easy opera to stage because it's so exaggerated, and frankly corny. ENO's new production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, directed by Penny Woolcock. Penny Woolcock’s dazzling The Pearl Fishers returns to ENO as a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, New York The Pearl Fishers is a compelling tale of sacrifice, jealously, betrayal, love and friendship revolving around the priestess Leila and the two fishermen vying for her affections. Third time round it's improved a lot, but Penny Woolcock 's heavy-handed account of Bizet's potboiler still over-eggs the staginess. That's confirmed by a … While I was still rehearsing Doctor Atomic at the Met, John Berry, then Artistic Director at ENO asked whether I would like to direct something from the traditional repertory. Extravagant plots need extravagant music and extravagant staging. • In rep at the Coliseum, London, until 2 December. The dreadlocks, headscarves and face paint might once have been described as “tribal”. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/17/the-pearl-fishers-review-eno © 2021 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Last modified on Thu 26 Mar 2020 12.48 GMT. ENO's new production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, directed by Penny Woolcock. They don’t do shallow. Opera: The Pearl Fishers at the London Coliseum The characters are rendered charmless by the translation. Find out more about ENO’s pre-performance talks >> He sees The Pearl Fishers as a brilliant choice for ENO and as a launch to the classical music season. Melden Sie sich an, um Benachrichtigungen zu erhalten, um Ihren persönlichen Kalender und Ihre Wunschliste zu verwenden, um Ihre kürzlichen Sucheingaben zu speichern, Artikel oder Rezensionen zu kommentieren oder um Veranstaltungen einzutragen. In … Penny Woolcock conducts a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera New York of Bizet's dramatic tale of two fishermen who fall in love with the same woman. The Pearl Fishers [ENO] Opera; Written by Georges Bizet, this is an opera in 3 acts and based in Ceylon. This is intermittently evident in The Pearl Fishers (with its exotic Ceylonese setting) and The Fair Maid of Perth; in Carmen, however, Bizet consistently reveals his immense ability to compose original and memorable melody, inspired by the evocative Spanish setting and the once-shocking appearance of cigarette-factory women on stage. The Pearl Fishers, English National Opera, ENO, London Coliseum, June 2014 Posted on 17 June 2014 . Orientalism is alive and well at ENO. Opening with an extraordinary underwater sequence, this visually stunning production is directed by acclaimed film-maker Penny Woolcock. Set design by Dick Bird, conductor Roland … The Pearl Fishers review – ENO's large-scale, but hit-and-miss production 3 / 5 stars 3 out of 5 stars. They are accompanied by members of the ENO Orchestra and conducted by Murray Hipkin in an original arrangement by Martin Fitzpatrick. All rights reserved. This is a very perceptive production, which vindicates the ENO's ideas of bringing in directors from different forms of art. Bizet’s music is so gorgeous that it dazzles, deceptively. Available for everyone, funded by readers. Directed by Penny Woolcock. With Jacques Imbrailo as Zurga, Robert McPherson as Nadir, Claudia Boyle as Leila and James Creswell as Nourabad. When French composer, George Bizet, died from a heart attack at the untimely age of 36 in 1875, little did he think he had written what would become the best loved opera in the world, Carmen, and it was the tremendous posthumous success of this work which caused opera houses around the world to revisit his first opera, The Pearl Fishers, first performed in 1863 when Bizet was just 25. Christopher Cook in conversation with: – Penny Woolcock, director, – Rhian Lois, soprano – Richard Pierson, pianist – Dr Cassidy Johnson, speaker. Sophie Bevan had a stomach bug, he explained – the disappointment was palpable. Find events, book tickets and discover opera at ENO. (It doesn't always work.) Claudia Boyle (Leïla) in ENO’s The Pearl Fishers, 2016. Putting on the opera best known for the “Pearl Fishers Duet” can look a little pointless if you don’t have a couple of pearl fishers up to the job. Production: The Pearl Fishers (Trusts) Thank you for your donation! 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. The production, staged this month by English National Opera, is at the Coliseum for the first time in 23 years. Opera is "for everyone". Coliseum, LondonBizet's tunes are good, but what connects them isn't, and if The Pearl Fishers did not include one of opera's most popular tenor … Extravagant plots need extravagant music and extravagant staging. But Penny Woolcock and her team have genuinely thought it through and found its true depths. The lover of this former Mabel has a voice that would better suit Frederic, in that same operetta, than the romantic Nadir in The Pearl Fishers. The ENO's production of The Pearl Fishers has fantastic sets, great music and some thoroughly creditable singing. Pictured: Jacques Imbrailo. The ENO's production of The Pearl Fishers has fantastic sets, great music and some thoroughly creditable singing. Ultimately, this was due to a casting problem. Irish soprano Claudia Boyle was a crystalline Leïla, boasting clear and smooth coloratura, and a lush, subtle act II aria that was a highlight of the night. The Pearl Fishers, English National Opera Visually arresting, vocally strong production takes Bizet's oriental hokum seriously. Bizet: The Pearl Fishers (New Production) English National Opera . In the prelude, the stage is dark. Zurga calls on them to elect a new leader and the villagers unanimously choose him. They don’t do shallow. This new production of Pearl Fishers at the ENO brings out the extremes in this opera in full glory and is truly fabulous. Alfie Boe, Hanan Alattar, Quinn Kelsey and Freddie Tong sing the title roles. In the production’s only real show of self-consciousness about its own reheated Orientalism, act one’s shantytown sports a large billboard, riffing on the cliches of mid-market perfume ads to promote the location’s “inspiration from the deep”. ENO: The Pearl Fishers, 2016 ★★★ Claudia Boyle as Leïla CREDIT: ALASTAIR MUIR: This is the third time I've seen Penny Woolcock's visually stunning production of The Pearl Fishers and I still haven't got tired of it. Audio. ENO’s production of Bizet’s opera The Pearl Fishers returns to London Coliseum this summer. There's a lot to be said in favour of concert performances because they shift the balance back to Bizet. The story concerns the friendship of two fishermen and their subsequent betrayals to each other. Video. T his second revival of Penny Woolcock’s 2010 production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers for English National Opera made a strong visual impression but left much else to be desired. I was startled, I only knew the famous duet for baritone and tenor and had an image of something rather camp and … The production, staged this month by English National Opera, is at the Coliseum for the first time in 23 years. The ENO Chorus had a busy night, and they delivered solid, precise crowd scenes, full of sparkling individuality. The Pearl Fishers is playing at the London Coliseum until 5 July. The Pearl Fishers | 19 October - 2 December 2016 | London Coliseum | Tickets from £12. But pearl fishers dive deep into the ocean to find their treasures. She was last seen on ENO's Coliseum stage in The Pirates of Penzance, so it's a tonic now to hear her in some meatier music. "Cherished for its popular duet, The Pearl Fishers offers a compelling tale of friendship tested by love. Claudia Boyle (Leïla) settled after a shaky first act but lacked the effortless coloratura needed; Robert McPherson (Nadir) failed to persuade in a difficult part; Jacques Imbrailo (Zurga) was touching but underpowered. Production: The Pearl Fishers (AFENO) Thank you for your donation! See full listing. No doubt delightful company in person, he was an unwelcome sight here. Related articles Bryn Terfel has 'enormous' stage presence in Placido Domingo's Tosca But elsewhere I missed the delicate colours of Bizet’s orchestration and his sheer melodic suavity – even the celebrated friendship duet was wooden. Classical music news; opera, concert & CD reviews, concert previews, live performance & feature articles by London-based composer Robert Hugill An exclusive performance of the famous friendship duet, ‘From deep within the shrine’ (au fond du temple saint) from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers by Robert McPherson and Jacques Imbrailo. Off-West End. A pearl-diving village in the Far East. This second revival of Penny Woolcock’s 2010 production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers for English National Opera made a strong visual impression but left much else to be desired. But Penny Woolcock and her team have genuinely thought it through and found its true depths. English National Opera, London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4ES, English National Opera is a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales (Company number 00426792).Charity Registered Number 257210. We have to hope that ENO can do better. The Pearl Fishers – or Les pêcheurs de perles, in its original French – was written by Bizet as he approached his 25th birthday. A boat … The Pearl Fishers by Georges Bizet. Coliseum, London, 3 June 2010 . by David Nice Wednesday, 02 June 2010. Alfie Boe, Hanan Alattar, Quinn Kelsey and Freddie Tong sing the title roles. Make sure your 18 above to read this. Robert McPherson (Nadir) and Claudia Boyle (Leïla) in ENO’s The Pearl Fishers, 2016. In … ENO: The Pearl Fishers, 2016 ★★★ Claudia Boyle as Leïla CREDIT: ALASTAIR MUIR: This is the third time I've seen Penny Woolcock's visually stunning production of The Pearl Fishers and I still haven't got tired of it. But in the end, dramatic opera only works properly when the music is enhancing the story and the characters. English National Opera . Conducted by rising Scottish podium star Rory Macdonald, who made his own impressive ENO debut last season with Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, it offers UK audiences a rare chance to discover what a pearl of a piece Bizet’s opera can be. Production: The Pearl Fishers (Trusts) Thank you for your donation! You have to believe, and I don't think anything the ENO could have done would have made me do that. But she'd be bravely singing anyway – grateful applause broke out. This is a very perceptive production, which vindicates the ENO's ideas of bringing in directors from different forms of art. 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