Pearl fishers

Opera in 4 actsLibretto: Michel Carré, Eugène CormonpraPremiere: 30/11/1863, ParisPremiere: 23/04/2027Co-production: Wiener Staatsoper, ViennaOriginal French language version with Polish and English subtitles

Georges Bizet is best known as the creator of Carmen. On the wave of interest in this opera, however, his earlier works also began to be discovered, including The Pearl Fishers, the first serious stage work of the twenty-five-year-old composer. Initially it was to be called Leila, although eventually the librettists — Michel Carré and Eugène Cormon — emphasized two male characters.

Set in Ceylon, the opera tells the story of the tested friendship of the king of pearl fishermen Zurgi and the hunter Nadir. The arrival from the temple of the priestess Brahma, who is tasked with driving away evil spirits by singing every night from a high rock, turns the course of events upside down. The girl is clothed in a veil that hides her identity, but Nadir recognizes in the girl Leila — a beauty that both heroes saw long ago in the temple and with whom they fell in love without repentance, but in the name of friendship they decided to renounce love. Both Nadir and Leila break their vows — he confesses to the girl that he has feelings for her, and she removes the veil from her face. They are caught by a priest and brought to Zurgi's court. The king initially acquits the couple, but when he realizes that the friend has not kept his word, he agrees to the death of both. Nadir and Leila prepare to be executed together, but in the meantime it turns out that the girl once saved Zurga's life, and Zurga, in an effort to repay the favor, concocts a plan to protect the lovers from the mob demanding punishment. Everything is heading for an unexpected, dramatic finale.

The press dealt quite harshly with the piece, although the criticism was mainly related to the shortcomings of the libretto, which was reworked almost until the premiere. However, the opera has found recognition from the public, and now it is returning more and more often to the repertoire. In it you can find themes that scroll through Bizet's work: the struggle of passion with morality, the dispute between the individual and society and the conflict of youth with authority. It is worth getting to know the Pearl Fishers to see how the composer spread his wings, trying to convey the conflict of passions unfolding in an exotic setting.

The production is directed by Ersan Mondtag, an interdisciplinary artist with an unbridled imagination, who has already had the opportunity to work in Poland at the Old Theatre in Krakow, and in Warsaw, for the first time, you will see his opera production prepared in co-production with the Wiener Staatsoper.

Choir and Orchestra of the Grand Theatre - National Opera