Here's to a night of satisfying music at The Bowl with Victorian Opera's mood-changing The Pearl Fishers!

Published online at Limelight Magazine, 23rd April 2021

https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/the-pearl-fishers-victorian-opera/

It turned out to be a mood-changing experience last night as the art of opera injected Melbourne’s season of outdoor COVID-safe live performance with its intoxicating grip at the iconic Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Georges Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers (Les pêcheurs de perles), I must say, doesn’t usually come to mind when I’m considering favourites. That said, taking away the trimmings of sets and costumes which often portray its ancient Ceylonese exoticism awkwardly, what is always highlighted is a score rich and wondrous. And Victorian Opera showcased it at its best with wave upon wave of deeply satisfying music and a superlative local cast. 

Kathryn Radcliffe as Leïla and Stephen Marsh as Zurga

Under The Bowl’s stretched steel shell, in cool but comfortable, windless conditions, the music resonated  with a combination of warmth, sensitivity and vigour as Artistic Director Richard Mills led Orchestra Victoria’s more than 50 musicians on stage. The playing was faultless, the music perfectly balanced and the tempi ever so thoughtful. And, from start to finish, the hard yards of preparation delivered meaning for what was just one performance only. 

Bizet was a mere 24 years old at the time of its premiere in 1863. The score exhibits wide-ranging colour and inventiveness, with much evidence of the signature he was to put on what is now the most popularly performed opera, Carmen, composed 12 years later. The plot has its downfalls but the work’s assortment and arrangement of arias, duets, trios and choruses add both engagement and dramatic structure. And  passions are in good supply in its story focusing on the bonds of friendship, love and loyalty between two fishermen, Zurga and Nadir, in love with the same women, the priestess Leïla, who herself has sworn an oath of obedience and chastity. 

In the first highlight of the night when Stephen Marsh stepped out as the newly elected leader of the fishing village, he owned the role and armed his character with a  commanding presence as Zurga. With every new role, Marsh goes from strength to strength, his flexing and smoky baritone a treasure to hear. Marsh seized every moment, including Act 3's introspective opening , “L'orage s'est calmé", as Zurga see-saws from remorse to jealousy and to which Marsh gave poignancy and depth. 

Passion and prowess came with Carlos E. Bárcenas’ impressive interpretation of Zurga’s returned friend, Nadir. Together and rivetingly in an early crowd-pleaser, Bárcenas and Marsh explored their characters’ friendship in one of opera’s most recognisable duets, Act 1’s “Au fond du temple saint”. Not long after, Nadir soliloquises on having broken his vow to Zurga and having pursued his love for Leïla. To this, in “Je crois entendre encore”, Bárcenas brought enormous gravity and penetrating form to the moment, his tenor agile and complex and use of falsetto exemplary.

 Carlos E. Bárcenas as Nadir with Richard Mills conducting
Orchestra Victoria

Portrayed with an elegantly poised demeanour and touch of vulnerability, soprano Kathryn Radcliffe sang Leïla with radiance and clarity, her Act 2 aria “Comme autrefois” especially mellifluous and seductive as Leïla ponders the times when she would secretly meet Nadir. Veiled and wearing a flowing gown in virginal white, one could also muse upon Radcliffe’s real life circumstances, or imagine Leïla’s plight, as she carries an unborn child. All the very best Kathryn. Your child was treated to the finest of art. 

Completing the principals, the familiar authority and thundering bass-baritone of Teddy Tahu Rhodes added significant weight to the high priest of Brahma, Nourabad, and, from the rear, the 28-member chorus were a combined strength of divinely sung fishermen, townsfolk, priests and priestesses, moulding every phrase from the jubilant to the funereal with excellence. 

Bar Leïla, the attire for the evening was black formals in what was more a concert performance than semi-staged as advertised. Nevertheless, Elizabeth Hill-Cooper’s subtle stage direction did lend a guiding light (one couldn’t rely the hard-to-see English titles) and the essence of the opera shone so much the better for it. 

Less than a couple of hours before the performance, I was on my couch feeling a little lethargic and nonchalant after a busy day. But then came that mood change and the beat which live opera can instigate. Much appreciated Victorian Opera! Oh, and let’s hope, too,  that The Bowl becomes a regular venue for a little season of opera in the future.

The Pearl Fishers

Victorian Opera

Sidney Myer Music Bowl

22nd April 2021

Performance Photos: Charlie Kinross