Les pêcheurs de perles. Georges Bizet
2005; Oxford University Press; Volume: 21; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/oq/kbi068
ISSN1476-2870
Autores Tópico(s)Historical and Literary Studies
ResumoLes pêcheurs de perles is just the appropriate opera to be revived by the Teatro La Fenice, Venice’s ornate monument with a phoenixlike history of rising from its ashes. This performance actually occurred at Venice’s Teatro Malibran, before the full reopening of La Fenice in November 2004. Unlike the old Fenice, Bizet’s 1863 opera wasn’t burned to ashes at its first performance, but the undeservedly negative press reaction caused its absence from the Paris repertory until 1893. Bizet, who died in 1875, was thus denied the eventual glory of both Carmen and the far less significant though admirable Les pêcheurs de perles. Only the vocal score survived from 1863, and it was the source for several worthy attempts to realize Bizet’s original orchestral intentions. Considering the various changes evident in the earliest recordings, it appears that the opera’s rather inconclusive stage action leaves room for different dramatizations of its finale. But Bizet’s music, fortunately, covers them all, uniformly resulting in the demise of Zurga, one of opera’s noble villains. One important return to Bizet’s 1863 thoughts, while doubtless authentic, leaves me rather cold. The show-stopping act 1 duet between Nadir and Zurga, “Au fond du temple saint,” has usually ended with the repeat of the main theme. In this recording we hear an expanded version of the duet, which makes the whole scene a tad too long and far less effective (this is, of course, a personal opinion).
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