Just as, I suspect, many others will do, on acquiring this disc I
immediately accessed track 7. That, as you will have guessed, if you have
even a passing acquaintance with
The pearl fishers, got me straight
to the tenor/baritone declaration of what they naively assume to be eternal
comradeship,
Au fond du temple saint.
The classic recording by Jussi Björling and Roberto Merrill has always
been much loved. For many years it was invariably at or near the top of the
popularity chart compiled by BBC Radio 2's long-running programme
Your Hundred Best Tunes. It continues to offer a high tingle-factor
benchmark to any competitor.
In several ways it's unfair to compare that Björling/Merrill
recording with the version offered on this Blu-ray Disc. The older artists
were pretty much at the height of their powers when they made that recording
in 1951. Moreover, they made it as a stand-alone taping, in the comparative
calm and controlled environment of a professional studio.
Messrs Korchak and Solari on this Blu-ray Disc are, on the other hand,
performers who, while obviously accomplished, have yet to reach the very
highest rung of their profession. Moreover, they were also recorded during
the extra stress of performing live in the opera house with no opportunity
for a retake.
In fact, in that particular duet, the younger men do very well. The
Russian tenor Korchak begins a little tentatively but soon gets securely to
grips with the music, so that he's suitably full of ardour at the
duet's emotional high point (
Oui, c'est elle! C'est
la déesse, Plus charmante et plus belle!). His partner, the
Uruguay-born Solari, sings strongly and confidently throughout with a most
attractive vocal timbre. They make a well balanced pair who listen closely
to each other and are clearly comfortable in each other's company. As
a result, just as with Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill more than sixty
years ago, the overall effect is both strongly virile yet sensitive and
pleasing to the ear.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Having been reassured that
we're not going to be disappointed by the delivery of the
opera's "Big Number", we need to start again at the
beginning.
This Blu-ray Disc preserves a relatively straightforward and pared-down
production of Bizet's contribution to the 19th century fad for
orientalism. Thankfully there are no gimmicks or weird directorial conceits
in evidence. This version’s "Ceylon" is much more simply
represented than it would have been on the stage in Bizet's day. Act
1 is set on a beach, with nothing more to see than undulating dunes and a
withered, bleached tree stump. More sand dunes appear in Act 2, although
this time they are the setting for an Ozymandias-like half-submerged giant
Buddha head, offering not only a little visual variety but a perch on which
the heroine, as and when required, can play hide-and-seek with the hero. The
third Act set is initially a temple facade overgrown by tree trunks and
roots, rather reminiscent of the Khmer ruins of Ta Promh; its second scene
returns us to the beach, though this time on a stretch dominated by an
enormous tree, around which the climax of the story unfolds.
All the sets are perfectly serviceable and, by their very restraint, allow
the singers, quite properly, to dominate the stage. They do, though,
occasionally make nonsense of the words - as when Zurga, in the closing
pages, exhorts the lovers to "escape by this pathway" when all
around, right to the edge of the stage, is simply bare sand. The final
minute also brings an odd touch when, as Zurga is singing alone at the front
of the stage, the curtain is brought down behind him. His final few words
are actually sung in front of it, as if addressing the audience directly.
Maybe, given that his final word of all is "Adieu!", director
Fabio Sparvoli is thereby attempting a little joke?
The three lead singers themselves are impressive. Tenor Dmitry Korchak
demonstrates convincing versatility. Genuinely affecting in his Act 1 aria
Je crois entendre encore, he can display, just a few moments later,
a convincing combination of the heroic (
Me voici! Je suis là! Prêt à
donner mes jours, mon sang pour te défendre!) and the lyrical. In the
second Act, his duet with Patrizia Ciofi is a particular success. Ms Ciofi
hit the UK headlines two years ago when she was famously parachuted in at
short notice to take on a leading role in Covent Garden's production
of
Robert le diable (
see
here). Clearly regarded on that occasion as a safe pair of hands, she is
rather more than that here. Though not the greatest of actresses, her very
attractive voice is enough to convince us of the love she feels for Nadir
and, in her moving confrontation with Zurga, her willingness to sacrifice
herself to save him. The exciting emotional climax of that scene (
De mon
amour pour lui tu m'oses faire un crime?) is also very
powerfully and convincingly done. That also offers an opportunity to the
usually stolid figure of Zurga to demonstrate, in the intensity of his
hatred, far more animation than he does elsewhere. Dario Solari does his
considerable best with that implausibly written part, imperturbably skating
over a variety of emotional U-turns that would leave anyone else a candidate
for the proverbial psychiatrist's couch. He is helped considerably by
a powerful voice that is sensitively used - as when he matches it perfectly
to those of the two lovers in their final trio (
Ô lumière sainte, ô
divine étreinte!).
The San Carlo chorus do a good job as Indian Ocean fisher-folk, variously
credulous, outraged or homicidal, and judging from their beaming smiles at
curtain call they seem to have had a great time. The orchestra lends solid
support under the experienced baton of veteran conductor Gabriele Ferro, a
sprightly seventy-five year old at the time of this performance, who
conjures up tenderness or passion as required. Both the picture and the
sound on my copy of the Blu-ray Disc version were of a very high
standard.
While the Björling/Merrill recording will no doubt continue giving huge
pleasure to many, there is certainly more to
Les pêcheurs de perles
than just that one duet. This new recording of a well presented performance
provides an excellent opportunity to discover that all over again.
Rob Maynard
A review of the DVD version ...
Premiered at the Paris Théâtre Lyrique on 30 September 1863, a month before Bizet’s twenty fifth birthday,
Les Pêcheurs de perles was the composer's sixth opera, but only the second to be staged. Circumstances determined that the composition was something of a rush job for Bizet who used some music from his earlier works. The opera was only modestly received despite Berlioz recognising significant qualities within it, including "a considerable number of beautiful expressive moments, filled with fire and rich colours".
Les Pêcheurs de perles ran for eighteen performances and was never revived in Bizet’s short lifetime. He died at the young age of thirty-six shortly after the premiere of
Carmen and never knowing the great success of the latter work.
Les Pêcheurs de perles tells the story of the virgin priestess Lêïla, who is loved by two men, Zurga, chief of the pearl fishers and his friend Nadir. They are torn between their friendship and their love of the same woman. Complications come in the last act as Nadir’s life is held in the hand of Zurga whilst Lêïla pleads that she be sacrificed and that he be released.
Set in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, this production is half naturalistic and half imaginary orient. The costumes look authentic Indian with turbans worn by the men and saris by the women. The set in act one is a simple beach with the remains of a washed-up tree. In act two a massive toppled Buddha’s head lies in the sand; there is a touch more realism in both scenes of act three. A director’s quirk, albeit an elegant one, is the inclusion of dancers as spirits. All in all this is no producer concept setting, but one that allows for imagination whilst being one that Bizet would recognise as his work. It makes a welcome change from much that emanates from northern Europe these days.
In over fifty odd years of regular opera-going I have seen staged performances of
Les Pêcheurs de perles only a couple of times, yet it is an operatic name with echoes for many who have never seen a staged opera, yet alone this one. This is because of one duet from the work, that between Nadir and Zurga in act one,
Au fond du temple saint (Ch.7). It became famous because of a 1950s recording by RCA of the duet featuring Swedish tenor Jussi Björling and American baritone Robert Merrill. In the UK the duet regularly featured at number one in the list of
Your Hundred Best Tunes, a programme broadcast by the BBC; one that ran for many years on Sunday evenings. I gather it enjoys similar popularity in Australia today. Yet the performance on that RCA record, and in this staging, is not as Bizet wrote and nor would it be found in any Critical Edition based on the latest research. It was only in the 1880s, after the death of Bizet and the enormous popularity of Carmen that
Les Pêcheurs de perles was performed again in France. At this time Bizet’s publishers, Choudens, aware of the popularity of the duet, allowed a verse reprise as well as other so-called improvements. This is the version heard in this performance.
In a recent review of love duets by the American husband and wife team of Stephen Costello and Ailyn Pérez (
review), I commented on their command of the Gallic style as exemplified in the love duet from
Faust. I was particularly impressed with his high floated notes and expressiveness allied to the French language vocal inflection and phrasing. A lack of those qualities is evident in this performance with its polyglot cast. Dmitry Korchak particularly disappointed me. He had impressed me in Rossini’s
Mosè in Egitto at Pesaro in 2011, when I admired his clear forward tone and flexible voice. I suggested that he would grace many of Rossini’s
opera seria roles written for Naples’ Giovanni David (
review). Regrettably, I find his tone harder now and with more edge whilst showing little sympathy, or knowledge, of the French vocal style. Neither of his two male fellow principals are particularly notable in that respect although Dario Solari has better moments in this regard. What is possible for singers inured in Italian operatic style is exemplified by the portrayal of Lêïla by Patrizia Ciofi. She acts every one else off the stage and carries her awareness of the French words and vocal approach into her portrayal. Gabrielle Ferro paces the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples well and seems more at home with the French idiom than his cast.
Robert J Farr
