06/09/18 – The Pearl Fishers – 1pm
NEW-TO-CHICAGO PRODUCTION
(Les pêcheurs de perles)
by Georges Bizet
Sung in French
photo credit: Andrew Cioffi
The Pearl Fishers Opera Overview
For sheer exotic beauty, Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers has few rivals in the entire repertoire. The opera’s famed duet for tenor and baritone is a soaring 
melody that has turned countless opera newcomers into ecstatic fans. Bizet (who composed this work 12 years before Carmen) transports us to Ceylon, where two devoted friends find themselves in love with the same woman, an entrancingly beautiful priestess, Leïla. From its leading men and leading lady, The Pearl Fishers demands the ultimate in vocal beauty and elegance to do justice to this sweepingly romantic drama.
– The New York Times
Marina Rebeka
Leïla
Matthew Polenzani†
Nadir
Mariusz Kwiecień
Zurga
Andrea Silvestrelli
Nourabad
Sir Andrew Davis
Conductor
Andrew Sinclair
Director
Zandra Rhodes*
Set & Costume Designer
Ron Vodicka*
Lighting Designer
Michael Black
Chorus Master
John Malashock
Choreographer
