Recommended for Grades 6-12
In this resource, you will:
- Learn the opera’s background and synopsis
- Meet the opera’s composer
Part of the Opera Overviews collection. Explore the history of opera with our resource Understanding Opera.
The Pearl Fishers
by Georges Bizet
The Pearl Fishers
by Georges Bizet
A quick overview of Bizet’s 1863 love triangle opera.
Background
When Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) premiered in Paris in 1863, the work was ill-received by critics though pleasing to audiences. The opera had a short run of only 18 performances before it closed. It was never again performed during Bizet’s lifetime. Indeed, The Pearl Fishers suffered a similar fate as Bizet’s most celebrated work, Carmen, which was initially denounced for its mature and immoral themes and consequently left out of the operatic repertoire for nearly a decade.
Synopsis
Act I
On a beach in Ceylon, the pearl fishers prepare to begin their work. They choose a leader, Zurga, and await the arrival of the consecrated virgin whose prayers will ward off storms while they are at sea. The hunter, Nadir, Zurga’s childhood friend, returns after a long absence. Together he and Zurga recall the night at a temple in Candi when they caught sight of a woman whose perfect beauty captured both their hearts.
Their love for her has driven the two men apart, but they swear to forget her in order to preserve their friendship. A veiled woman approaches. It is Leïla, the virgin priestess who will pray to protect the fishermen. She is led to a rocky perch, and her prayer is heard. Nadir recognizes Leïla as the woman from Candi and makes himself known to her.
Act II
Night falls. Nourabad, the high priest, reminds Leïla of her vow of chastity. Leïla tells him she knows how to keep her faith, recalling an incident from her childhood when she risked her life to protect a fugitive who gave her a necklace as a token of his gratitude. Nourabad leaves. Alone in the night, Leïla senses the presence of Nadir. Her reverie is answered by Nadir’s song.
He approaches and declares his love, and Leïla does not reject him. The howling and rumbling of a storm are heard. Nourabad returns with his guards, who seize Nadir and Leïla. When Zurga recognizes Leïla and realizes Nadir has betrayed him, he cannot contain his fury and condemns the pair to death.
Act III
Zurga is alone after the storm. He agonizes over his decision to condemn his friend. Leïla comes to ask him to spare Nadir, saying that she alone should die. This rekindles Zurga’s jealousy and he angrily rejects her supplication. As she’s being led away, Leïla requests that her necklace be returned to her mother. Zurga recognizes the necklace, for he was the fugitive whom Leïla saved.
A dance is performed in anticipation of the sacrifice of Leïla and Nadir. Suddenly Zurga rushes in to announce that someone has set fire to the pearl fishers’ camp. They disperse, abandoning the prisoners. Zurga tells Nadir and Leïla that he started the fire. He breaks their bonds and urges them to make their escape. He remains behind to face his impending death at the hands of Nourabad and the guards.
Meet the Artists
Listen to the Story
Antonio Bonamore (1845–1907), illustration published April 1886 in Il Teatro illustrato of Giovanni Zuccarelli’s (1846–1897), set design for the final scene of Act 1 (duet of Leïla and Nadir) in the opera Les pêcheurs de perles by Georges Bizet, as produced at La Scala on 20 March 1886, the Milan premiere. [Source]
Presented by Washington National Opera, host Saul Lilienstein takes you through the musical world of Bizet’s 1863 love triangle opera, The Pearl Fishers.
Watch an Excerpt
Rehearsal footage from the Met’s 2016 production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, directed by Penny Woolcock and starring Diana Damrau, Matthew Polenzani, and Mariusz Kwiecien.
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