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Bizet, The Pearl Fishers:  Soloists, chorus, and orchestra of Opera Colorado, Sebastian Lang-Lessing (cond)  Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Colorado 14.2.2009 (TA)

Zurga: Brian Mulligan
Nadir: Sean Panikkar
Leila: Mary Dunleavy (replacing Heidi Stober)
Nourabad: David Cushing

Bizet's Pearl Fishers has often been neglected due to the fact that the libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré never seemed to work. Rumor has it that the librettists once said that if they had known Bizet was going to write such beautiful music they would have come up with a better story. Originally set in Mexico, Bizet chose to change the location to Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka) in an effort to provide a more exotic locale. Pearl Fishers, from a dramatic standpoint, struggles because it relies on several coincidences. Zurga was once saved by Leila. Nadir once ran off with Leila. Nadir returns to his home village on the same day that Leila arrives and then there is an instant conflict. Zurga then proceeds to burn the entire village down to save his friend who betrayed him.The story just never quite reaches a level of believability, but then again what opera does.

Rather than focusing on the negatives why not explore the gorgeous music that is weaved throughout a masterful score? The highlight of any Pearl Fishers performance is the baritone/tenor duet "Au fond du temple saint," but that is just the start. The tenor romanze "Je crois entendre encore," Leila's riveting "Comme autre fois," the love duet between Nadir and Leila , "Leila, dieu puissant," and the gut wrenching "L'orage s'est calme" are like the fine jewels that Sri Lanka is known for.

Fortunately for us, this opera has been having a renaissance as of late. In recent years it has been seen in San Diego twice, Seattle, San Francisco, Florida, Montreal, Washington, and now Denver where it enjoyed an enthusiastic Valentine's Day opening. The most popular production making the rounds is by Australian director Andrew Sinclair who teamed up with British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes to provide one of the more colorful productions in opera today. Zandra Rhodes' sets remind one of youthful expressions when a box of crayons and a blank piece of paper meant endless boundaries. These sets are definitely not traditional with fluorescent oranges and hot pinks laced throughout against teal costumes. One look at the designer's hot pink hair and you can see that she has a personal fascination with the bold.

Andrew Sinclair's production works because it doesn't focus on the holes of the story. Rather he creates a back story involving a prior conflict between Nadir and Zurga which caused a separation. He also leads us to believe that Nadir and Leila may have had a past history albeit never consummated. Beyond the actual staging, Andrew's greatest mark was to add choreographer John Malashock's brilliant mind to the production. His choreography has raw tribal aspects and refined graceful gestures which serve to fill gaps in the score where operatic drama is lacking.

At Saturday night's sold out performance, the dancers were clearly the highlight of the night. Wearing little more than loin cloths, they transported the crowd to another culture. Consisting of locals and dancers from previous Sinclair productions, there was not a weak link in the bunch. The drama of the night belonged to the soprano. Heidi Stober, last seen in Denver as Pamina, turned up ill and was forced to cancel. On little notice Opera Colorado was able to secure Mary Dunleavy as Leila. The circumstances of Dunleavy being available befits the coincidences of Bizet's story. Ms. Dunleavy sang in this very production in 2005, was just in Seattle's production less than three weeks ago, and was available for the opening. Without a hint of insecurity she stepped into the production and had there not been an announcement, nobody would have known she was a last minute substitution. Dunleavy has a thrilling top and ultra clean coloratura. She recently gave birth and the only impact on her voice has been positive. There is a warmth to her tone that wasn't quite as developed in previous performances. Needless to say she quite literally saved the day.

The three male principals also fared well. Sean Panikkar, a young tenor of Sri Lankan heritage, was an elegant Nadir. He has a strong voice which he uses to good effect in the two duets, but most impressive was his aria, "Je crois entendre encore." Panikkar was able to scale back his voice and sing a hauntingly beautiful voix-mixe as he sang high B naturals and a final C in the aria all while laying down on the stage. The men in the crowd might have wished he had a little more clothing on as many of their dates were swooning over his bare chest and defined arms. The Zurga of Brian Mulligan was also thrilling albeit for different reasons. Brian has a powerful baritone that he used commandingly to convey Zurga's torment and anger. He fully committed to the physicality of his character in a way that more experienced performers aren't able to do. As Nourabad, David Cushing, was a suitable high priest with a rich if somewhat unrefined bass.

The chorus under the direction of John Baril was sound. German conductor Sebastian Lang-Lessing paced the Colorado Symphony extremely well with an extraordinarily sensitive baton. The Pearl Fishers runs at the Ellie Caulkins Opera house in downtown Denver through February 22nd.

Thomas Angelos

Picture © Ken Howard

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