Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Giacomo Puccini
César Cui. Igor Stravinsky
Gioachino Rossini
Francesco Cilea
Richard Wagner
Richard Strauss
Gaetano Donizetti
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Georges Bizet
Gioacchino Rossini
Alexander Ostrovsky, music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Umberto Giordano
Richard Strauss
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Andrei Rubtsov
Dimitry Rostovsky
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Alexei Verstovsky
Giuseppe Verdi
Anton Rubinstein
Benjamin Britten. Camille Saint-Saëns
Mieczysław Weinberg
Sergei Banevich
Modest Mussorgsky
Grigory Frid. Udo Zimmermann
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Georg Philipp Telemann
Sergei Prokofiev
Giuseppe Verdi
Sergei Prokofiev. Maurice Ravel
Dmitry Shostakovich
Tatiana Kamysheva
Georges Bizet
Giacomo Puccini
Jacques Offenbach
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Dmitry Shostakovich
Hector Berlioz
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
The premiere of the opera Les Pêcheurs de Perles by Georges Bizet, written to the libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré, took place on the stage of the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris on the 30th of September 1863. It was the first opera by the twenty-four-year-old composer to be presented on stage.
The plot consists of a story about a competition between two friends, pearl divers Zurga and Nadir, who are both in love with the wonderful Leïla. It unfolds against exotic landscapes of the island of Ceylon (an unusual environment of exotic countries was used as an additional attraction for the public in many French operas). So, Leïla would have to make a choice, which is far more complicated: between duty and emotion. As with many romantic plots, the emotion wins: a priestess of Brahma, Leïla does not remain indifferent to the passionate confessions of Nadir and breaks the vow of purity and celibacy. An execution awaits the lovers, but they suddenly manage to escape and flee custody during a fire, which was organised by Zurga. In the key moment of the narrative, the perjury of the priestess, the echoes of two famous predecessors of Bizet can be “heard”: La Vestale by Gaspare Spontini and Norma by Vincenzo Bellini. The obsession with feelings defined the lyrical tone that prevails in the music. It is no coincidence that the most recognisable pages of Les Pêcheurs de Perles are the melancholically beautiful romance of Nadir and the duet of Nadir and Zurga from the first act, filled with memories and vows of eternal friendship.
Premiered on December 10, 2020.
Presented with two intervals.
Sunday, 14:00
Saturday, 19:00
Friday, 19:00
Thursday, 19:00
Sunday, 14:00
Saturday, 19:00
Friday, 19:00
Thursday, 19:00
Sunday, 14:00
Saturday, 19:00
Friday, 19:00
Thursday, 19:00
Sunday, 14:00
Saturday, 19:00
Friday, 19:00
Thursday, 19:00
Sunday, 14:00
Saturday, 19:00
Friday, 19:00
Thursday, 19:00
Sunday, 14:00
Saturday, 19:00
Friday, 19:00
Thursday, 19:00
Sunday, 14:00
Saturday, 19:00
Friday, 19:00
Thursday, 19:00
Sunday, 14:00
Saturday, 19:00
Friday, 19:00
Thursday, 19:00
Act I
Pearl fishermen are getting ready for the new fishing season. They meet in the place which is the most important in the life of their community. They have to choose the leader from their midst, and Zurga becomes the head fisherman.
Nadir appears, and Zurga recognizes him as his old friend. Some time ago they fell in love with the same girl, called Leïla, and parted their ways not to become enemies.
Nadir agrees to stay with the fishermen. He assures Zurga that he has overcome his feelings and nothing can stand in the way of their friendship now.