Show reviewed: The Pearl Fishers

Date saw the show: November 11, 2007
Place saw the show: Kansas City, Missouri
Company: Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Principal Leads: Troy Cook, Brian Stucki, Angela Turner Wilson, Rod Nelman
Stage Director: Marc Verzatt

Conductor: Ward Holmquist

Reviewed by: Deborah Ground Buckner

3 ½ Stars

The Pearl Fishers was the first opera written by Georges Bizet (libretto by Eugene Cormon and Michel Carre). It pales in comparison to his later Carmen, but considering Bizet was 25 years old at the time he wrote The Pearl Fishers (with the libretto handed to him), it is a work worthy of its many performances since its 1863 debut at the Theatre-Lyric in Paris.

It is the story of two childhood friends, Zurga (Troy Cook) and Nadir (Brian Stucki), whose friendship was once threatened by both of them falling in love with the same woman, Leila (Angela Turner Wilson). As the opera begins, a party of pearl fishers prepares to begin their dangerous dives, choosing Zurga as their king. Nadir, a former fisherman, arrives, and he and Zurga rejoice at being reunited. They recall the night that once threatened their friendship and vow to remain friends forever in one of the most beautiful duets in the world of opera, Au fond du temple saint. Cook's baritone and Stucki's tenor blend beautifully. Enter the priestess come to bless the pearl dive, none other than Leila. Nadir recognizes her, and his lost love is rekindled.

Charged by the high priest Nourabad (Rod Nelman) to keep watch, Leila is left alone. She assures him she will honor her promise to pray for the divers, holding out a necklace she keeps. Once, she aided a fugitive, and he gave her the necklace in gratitude, and she swore to keep it forever. Soon, she is joined by Nadir. When Nourabad finds them together in the sacred place, they are sentenced to death. Zurga, in pity for his friend, offers pardon, until he sees Leila unveiled and recognizes her; in a fit of jealousy, he revokes his pardon.

While Zurga frets about sentencing his friend to die, Leila approaches him, begging for Nadir to be spared. Again, Zurga's jealousy takes control, and he rejects her pleas. As she prepares for her death, Leila gives the necklace to a fisherman, asking that he deliver it to her mother. Zurga sees it, recognizing it as the necklace he, the fugitive, gave to the woman who helped once helped him. He sets a fire in the village, and while all scatter in panic to fight it, the lovers escape. In this staging, Nourabad realizes what Zurga has done and stabs him, leaving Zurga alone on stage to die for his friends. Cook, as Zurga, fully portrayed the nobility and pathos of sacrificing all for friendship.

The plot is simple, and often this opera is dismissed for its story. (The teenagers beside me had this dialogue: “Why does everything take so long? Two friends meet—okay, that shouldn't take fifteen minutes to greet each other.” “But you have to understand, it takes sixteen measures to say 'Hi.'”). But many is the Hollywood film that has centered around two fast friends who fall in love with the same girl.

The story should not be a barrier to the music. Bizet seized this opportunity and poured his heart into the music. He is particularly well served by Stucki's tenor, rich and clear in tone and emotion. When he sings of his love for Leila, he is to be believed. Stucki's upcoming performances include Chevalier in Dialogues of the Carmelites with The Kentucky Opera, November 30 and December 2; Handel's Messiah with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, December 15; and Hadyn's The Creation with Boston Baroque, May 2 and 3, 2008.