WEST AUSTRALIAN OPERA 2016
THE PEARL FISHERS BIZET
Director’s Message
The Pearlfishers belongs to a long list of works cashing in on 19th audiences’ fascination with all things oriental. But these works were not accurate portraits of far flung countries, many of them now colonies of European powers. What mattered was a general air of The Exotic, not specific peoples or cultures. Indeed the first version of this libretto was actually set in Ancient Mexico, requiring only a change of locale and new names for Bizet to start work. This led to some terrible inaccuracies, the worst and most obvious being the holy Buddhist city of Kandy here described as a centre of Hindu worship. And the character names chosen are from all over the East near and far; Leila is Persian, Nadir is Arabic, Nourabad is vaguely Indian and Zurga is, interestingly, a Portuguese surname (the Portuguese were the first Europeans to colonise Ceylon). To give some reality to the characters, to give their story some reality and truth, I’ve made the men colonial Europeans, from the time of the opera’s composition, the early 1860s. This idea became very clear when I read a story by Leonard Woolf. Between Cambridge and becoming a major figure in the Bloomsbury Group, Woolf served in the Ceylon Civil Service and actually oversaw a pearling season. In a terrifying story called ‘Pearls and Swine’ he described a character like this;
He hadn’t succeeded as a gentleman at home, so they sent him to travel in the East. He liked it, it suited him. So he became a planter in Assam. That was fifteen years ago, but he didn’t like Assam; the luck was against him – it always was – and he began to roll; and when a man starts rolling, in India, well – He had been a clerk in merchants’ offices; he had served in a draper’s shop in Calcutta; but the luck was always against him. Then he tramped up and down India, through Ceylon, Burma; he had got at one time or another to the Malay States, and when he was very bad one day, he talked of cultivating camphor in Java. He had been a sailor on a coasting tramp; he had sold horses (which didn’t belong to him) in the Deccan somewhere; he had tramped day after day begging his way for months in native bazaars; he had lived for six months with, and on, a Tamil woman in some little village down in the south. Now he was ‘dealing in pearls’. “India’s got hold of me’, he’d say, “India’s got hold of me and the East.” Reading this story I recognised a world that was familiar; still an imaginary, literary world, but nonetheless a world full of people at least based in reality. It’s the world of Woolf’s Ceylon stories, of Brecht’s amoral Surabaya Johnny, Orwell’s angry novel Burmese Days, of Forster’s India, of Joseph Conrad’s half crazed obsessives in novels like Victory; shysters, racketeers, planters, hunters, drunks, dealers in everything that can be sold, all sick with fever and too much sun, all revolving around Leila, wanting her, using her, not understanding her or her world. Michael Gow DIRECTOR
Conductor’s Message
Bizet’s short and struggling life was littered with operatic projects, most of which he abandoned or left unfinished at his death. The great irony of his last years was the mixed success of Carmen, the later performances of which in 1875 gained increasing acclaim but which Bizet did not live to see. His first full-length operatic commission, at the age of 24, had been for the ThéâtreLyrique in Paris, and came at relatively short notice – in fact Bizet composed the entire opera in only a few months. The libretto had been concocted by Cormon and Carré, and owed much to the then-fashionable theme of a priestess sacrificing her duty to a forbidden love. Unlike Norma, however, the heroine of Les Pêcheurs de perles survives, to love and live another day. The core of the story is contained in Act Two, the collision of duty and desire, and in terms of plot invention is the most straightforward. Act One shows its theatrical weakness, since the plot involves a complicated pre-history between the three main principals, none of which the audience sees. Act Three presented difficulties which Bizet and the librettists wrestled with throughout rehearsals for the premiere, and possibly even during the run of performances – what should happen to Zurga, the chief who betrays the trust of his own followers in order to give Léïla and Nadir the opportunity to escape? In the original version, Zurga
remains behind on stage as the voices of the lovers are heard in the distance. The Director of the Théâtre-Lyrique, Léon Carvalho, would later reframe this moment after Bizet’s death. Musically, Bizet stakes out his claim to the grandest kind of opera with Les Pêcheurs de perles. Originally, operas commissioned by the Théâtre-Lyrique were demure in conception and avoided violent subjects and treatments. Musical numbers were linked with spoken dialogue, and originally this is how Les Pêcheurs was structured. At a late stage, however, Bizet composed this spoken dialogue as musical recitative accompanied by orchestra. This reveals his ambition – to compose a Wagnerian kind of continuous music drama, and to hijack the conventional performing space of the Théâtre-Lyrique with it. This ambition is confirmed by Bizet’s daring harmonic language, and the use of a leading motive (Leitmotiv) to identify characters and emotional atmospheres. This would have been enough in itself to provoke disapproval on the part of some Théâtre-Lyrique patrons. More controversial even than this, however, was Bizet’s appearance in front of the curtain to acknowledge applause at the premiere. Such forward behaviour for a composer, especially a 25-year-old, was highly unusual, and was evidence of Bizet’s determination to establish himself before the public.
“Les Pêcheurs de perles is a masterpiece. It pleases the casual listener with marvellous melodies, the connoiseur with harmonic and formal sophistication, and the operagoer with scenes of the highest drama”
Despite these initial problems, the opera was moderately successful, and had eighteen performances in 1863. Bizet himself created a vocal score for publication, and as far as he was concerned left his opera in a definitive form. The troubled post-history of Les Pêcheurs de perles begins with the enormous success of Carmen, which led many people to explore Bizet’s earlier works in the hope of capitalising on Carmen’s popularity. Carvalho revived the opera in Paris some years after Bizet’s death, and adapted it for then-current taste, by commissioning new numbers and re-orchestrations from unacknowledged composers (perhaps Benjamin Godard), while cutting and re-writing other numbers. Zurga died at the close in this version, and the famous duet between Nadir and Zurga in Act One was extensively altered. While Carvalho undoubtedly had the work’s success in mind, the loss of Bizet’s orchestral autograph and the various posthumous revisions combined to obscure Bizet’s version, in all its originality, until recent years. In 2002 a critical edition by the present author, followed by a recording in 2008, restored the opera as far as possible to its original state.
Whichever version is presented of Les Pêcheurs de perles, Bizet’s daring, verve and passionate dramatic instinct come through strongly. There is an amusing anecdote that, when the librettists first heard Bizet’s setting of their text, they were a little embarrassed, saying that if they had known how talented the composer was, they would not have foisted such rubbish on him. The principal characters have not only fine arias and magnificent ensembles to sing; Bizet also gives them music rich in atmosphere, delicacy and intimacy. This restraint had a huge influence on later French operas, notably Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. Complementing this quiet intensity are dances, choral tableaux, confrontation scenes and orchestral storms. Les Pêcheurs de perles is a masterpiece. It pleases the casual listener with marvellous melodies, the connoiseur with harmonic and formal sophistication, and the operagoer with scenes of the highest drama. Brad Cohen CONDUCTOR
THE PEARL FISHERS
ACT ONE It’s pearl diving season in Ceylon. Zurga greets the villagers as they celebrate, and during the festivities a young man named Nadir arrives. Nadir and Zurga were once friends, and they reminisce about a woman. Nadir does not tell Zurga that he spent a night with this woman and has been in love with her ever since. When Nourabad arrives with a woman Nadir recognizes her voice and knows it is Leila, the woman he is obsessed with. ACT TWO Nourabad barricades Leila in a temple. Leila tells him about a man she once rescued and who, in gratitude, gave her the necklace she wears. Nadir reunites with Leila but when Nourabad catches them he tells the villagers that Nadir has betrayed them all. Zurga calms the villagers until Nourabad reveals Leila’s identity, and Zurga realises that Nadir has lied to him. ACT THREE Leila begs Zurga for Nadir’s life and admits she loves him. Leila asks Zurga to give her mother the necklace that she wears. Zurga recognizes the necklace as the one he gave to the woman who saved him, and realizes that it was Leila who had rescued him years before.Nourabad urges the villagers to kill Leila and Nadir. Realising it is his turn to save Leila, Zurga tells the villagers that the village is on fire, allowing Leila and Nadir time to escape. Zurga awaits the judgment of Nourabad and the outraged pearl fishers.
7.30pm | His Majesty’s Theatre 25, 27, 29 Oct & 1, 3, 5 Nov 2016 Composer Georges Bizet Conductor Brad Cohen Director Michael Gow Set & Costume Designer Robert Kemp Lighting Designer Matt Scott Leila Emma Matthews Nadir Jonathan Abernethy Zurga Sam Roberts-Smith Nourabad Wade Kernot Stage Manager Karen Farmer Deputy Stage Manager Josh Marsland Assistant Stage Manager Erryn Hanson & Hugo Aguilar Lopez Head of Wardrobe Sue Kerr Wardrobe Assistant Louise Arcus Wardrobe Maintenance Holly Sansalone Dressers Sacha Mahboub & Molly Werner Head of Wigs Christopher Lyons Wigs Assistant Lee-Anne McKinley, Virginia Hawdon & Siouxane Martincic Head of Make Up Sharon Krywood Surtitle Operator Allison Fyfe Repetiteur Tommaso Pollio Pre-Performance Talks Annie Patrick Actors Sahil Dewan, Mary Soudi, Nelson Clemente, Salvatore Dodeci, Brodie Masini, Christopher Sansoni, Darius Tunbridge Smith West Australian Opera Chorus West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Governor’s Message
Chairman’s Message
As Patron, I welcome you all to West Australian Opera’s production of The Pearl Fishers by Bizet.
Welcome to The Pearl Fishers which we are proud to present in this new Opera Conference production directed by Michael Gow and designed by Robert Kemp. We welcome our cast including Emma Matthews as Leila, John Longmuir as Nadir, Sam Roberts-Smith as Zurga and Wade Kernot as Nourabad. I thank the artists, the creative team, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and West Australian Opera Chorus, conducted by Brad Cohen, who bring this production to life on stage.
This year we have been fortunate to experience the new work The Riders and a work not often performed here The Elixir of Love. To conclude a wonderful year of opera in His Majesty’s Theatre, we now welcome The Pearl Fishers, directed by renowned playwright Michael Gow and produced through the Opera Conference which represents West Australian Opera, Opera Australia, Opera Queensland and State Opera of South Australia. Next year is a special year. For 50 years, West Australian Opera has contributed to the arts in our state by presenting world class opera at His Majesty’s Theatre, offering education and community programs, and developing young artists through the Wesfarmers Arts Young Artist Program. I join the Chairman, Terry Bowen, and General Manager, Carolyn Chard, in acknowledging the generous support of State and Federal governments, as well as expressing appreciation to our private and corporate supporters. Her Excellency The Honourable Kerry Sanderson AC GOVERNOR OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Opera is a beautiful but expensive art form and we value the contribution of our sponsors, patrons, donors, board and you, our audiences. Subscribers play an important role in the life of West Australian Opera and I encourage you to subscribe to the 2017 season during West Australian Opera’s 50th anniversary year of celebrations (see waopera.asn.au or Ticketek). I acknowledge Principal Partner Wesfarmers Arts, Major Partner Healthway, Civic Partner the City of Perth, Official Airline Partner Qantas, Conductor Partner NAB and Media Partners Channel Seven Perth and The West Australian.We are grateful for the continued support of the Federal Government through the Australia Council and the State Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts and Lotterywest. Terry Bowen CHAIRMAN West Australian Opera
General Manager’s Message
West Australian Opera is pleased to present this new production which was produced in Australia by the Opera Conference. Director Michael Gow teamed with Robert Kemp, Set and Costume Designer, and Matt Scott, Lighting Designer, to bring this treat to the theatre for you. Featuring the beloved Pearl Fishers Duet “Au fond du temple saint”, Bizet’s Opera is tale of love, friendship and betrayal.
of house stories, theatre stories, rehearsal stories and so on. Stories can be submitted to the 50th Anniversary section of the WAO website or can be emailed to cchard@waopera.asn.au Carolyn Chard GENERAL MANAGER West Australian Opera
When three people are linked by conflicting bonds of loyalty and attraction, we hear the heart sing its secret songs. West Australian Opera was established in 1967 and celebrates its golden anniversary in 2017. We are proud of being the only opera company in Australia trading under the same name, the same constitution and in the same theatre. Opera ‘tells stories’ and we invite you to submit your memories and stories. It is hoped that this will capture some of the history of the company in ‘your own words’ and build a picture of Fifty Years of Opera in Western Australia (1967-2017). You may be an audience member, a singer, performer, chorus member, a member of the orchestra, the theatre, or the company and we welcome your backstage stories, front
The hea rt sings its s ecret song s
Michael Gow
Brad Cohen
Robert Kemp
Michael Gow’s plays include the Australian classic Away, Toy Symphony, The Kid, On Top of the World, Europe, Sweet Phoebe, Live Acts on Stage, 17 (for the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain), Toy Symphony and Once in Royal David’s City. His plays have been performed in Poland, the Czech Republic, Vietnam, Japan and all over the US.
Since being appointed Artistic Director of WAO in 2015, Brad Cohen has conducted Faust, Gianni Schicchi for Opera in the Park and most recently, The Riders. He has also conducted Carmen, Lucia di Lammermoor and The Magic Flute for WAO. In 2017 he will conduct Opera in the Park, as well as Tosca and Lucia di Lammermoor.
Robert graduated with a BA from The University of Sydney and a Diploma of Dramatic Art in Design from NIDA.
Michael has been Associate Director of Sydney Theatre Company and Artistic Director of the Queensland Theatre Company. He has directed for all the major Australian theatre companies as well as Opera Australia, Australian Theatre for Young People and the Lincoln Centre’s New Visions New Voices programme.
Brad first came to public attention when he conducted the world premiere of Thomas Adès’ Powder her Face, just a year after winning the 1994 Leeds Conductor’s Competition. His career spans a wide ranging repertoire at English National Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Australia, Opera North, opera companies including Luzern, Nantes/Angers, Nederlands Reisopera, and at festivals including Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Adelaide, Hong Kong, Rossini in Wildbad. Most recently, a concert with Melbourne Symphony, Otello with State Opera of SA, Stiffelio at London’s South Bank with Chelsea Opera Group and Flight with Opera Holland Park. Complementing his performing career, Brad is an editor and publisher of Urtext operatic editions, including the edition used for this evening’s performance of The Pearl Fishers.
Director
Michael’s awards include two NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, two Sydney Theatre Critics Circle Awards and an AFI Award for writing the ABC miniseries Edens Lost. His most recent play Once in Royal David’s City premiered at Belvoir in 2014. In 2015 he directed a remount of his production of The Magic Flute for Opera Australia and his translation of Mother Courage and Her Children premiered at Belvoir. 2016 has seen two critically acclaimed productions touring under Michael’s direction
Conductor
Set & Costume Designer
Since then he has designed over 70 productions for Australia’s major theatre and opera companies, including the Sydney Theatre Company, the Queensland Theatre Company, the State Theatre Company of South Australia, the Melbourne Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company, Black Swan, the Australian Theatre For Young People, Company B Belvoir and Opera Australia. He is the recipient of a Sydney Theatre Critics Award and a Matilda Award. For Opera Australia he has designed sets and costumes for Iphigenie en Tauride, The Abduction From the Seraglio, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, The Pearl Fishers and The Marriage of Figaro.
Matt Scott
Lighting Designer Matt returns to WAO having previously lit The Riders, La Boheme and La Sonnambula for the company. For the past 22 years Matt has lit over 200 productions for theatre, opera and dance in Australia and overseas.
Directed
by Micha
His most recent work includes The Pearlfishers, The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Rigoletto and Don Pasquale for Opera Australia; Aida for Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour; Banquet of Secrets, Voyage to the Moon, The Flying Dutchman, The Riders and Nixon in China for Victorian Opera; Angels in America, As You Like It and A Streetcar Named Desire for Black Swan State Theatre; Jasper Jones, Skylight, Last Man Standing, The Weir and Jumpy for Melbourne Theatre Company; The Red Shoes for Expression Dance Company; La Traviata and Madame Butterfly for SOSA,NZ Opera and Opera Q. He has been nominated for and received numerous awards. He received a 2005 Helpmann Award for his lighting on Urinetown for Melbourne Theatre Company which followed his 2003 Helpmann Award win for The Blue Room, also for the Melbourne Theatre Company.
el Gow
roduction P w e N
The Pea r lF
ishers Du et
Emma Matthews
Jonathan Abernethy
Australia’s most highly awarded soprano, Emma Matthews has received more Helpmann Awards than any other individual artist, nine Green Room Awards, the Mo Award and the Remy Martin Australian Opera Award. She has performed regularly with Opera Australia, all the state opera companies and the major Australian symphony orchestras and festivals.
NZ Tenor Jonathan Abernethy, is an HSBC Laureate with the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and winner of the Australian Opera Awards. In 2015 he was invited into the Aix-en-Provence Mozart Residency, the Solti Accademia in Tuscany and Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute in Chicago, working with distinguished artists including Sir Richard Bonynge, James Conlon, and Leo Nucci.
Her operatic repertoire includes the title roles in The Cunning Little Vixen (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden), Lulu, Lakmé, Lucia di Lammermoor and Partenope; Violetta (La Traviata), Gilda (Rigoletto), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), Juliette (Roméo et Juliette), Marie (La Fille du Regiment), Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Amina (La Sonnambula), the four heroines (The Tales of Hoffmann).
He joined Opera Australia as a Young Artist in 2012 and roles since then have included Tamino (The Magic Flute), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Fenton (Falstaff) for which he received a Green Room award nomination, Ruiz (Il Trovatore), Normanno (Lucia di Lammermoor), Count Lerma (Don Carlos), Remendado (Carmen), and Nadir (Les Pêcheurs de Perles). Concert highlights include Die Schöne Müllerin and the Great Opera Hits at the Sydney Opera House, Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem with Sydney Phillharmonia, the G & S Spectacular (Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) and Beethoven 9th Symphony (Dunedin Symphony Orchestra).
Leila
Career highlights include appearing as special guest with Jose Carreras at the Sydney Opera House, performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo and Ismene (Mitridate) for Sydney Festival, and her three solo recordings: Emma Matthews in Monte Carlo (Deutsche Grammophon/ABC Classics), Mozart arias (ABC Classics) and last month’s release: Agony and Ecstasy (ABC Classics).
Nadir
Upcoming engagements include Nanki-Poo (The Mikado) with NZ Opera, St Matthew Passion with Sydney Philharmonia, Messiah with New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and to Aix-enProvence for their 2017 season.
Sam Roberts-Smith
Wade Kernot
Australian baritone Sam Roberts-Smith graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2008 with a Bachelor of Music and Graduate Diploma in Opera. After completing his studies he took a full time position with Opera Australia, firstly as a member of the Young Artist Program before joining the Principal Artist roster.
Principal artist at Theater St Gallen, Switzerland, from 20102015, Wade’s roles included Monterone (Rigoletto), the Forester (The Cunning Little Vixen), Osmin (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Zuniga, Père Laurent (Roméo et Juliette), Gubetta (Lucrezia Borgia), Jacopo Loredano (I due Foscari), Wotan (Siegfried), Truffaldino, Il Pedone di Schnals (La Wally), Commendatore (Don Giovanni), Melisso (Alcina), Méphistophélès (La Damnation de Faust), Sarastro, Sprecher, Erster Priester and Zweiter Geharnischter (Die Zauberflöte), Sam (Un Ballo in Maschera), the main bass roles in Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, Frank (Die Fledermaus) Comte des Grieux, 1st Nazarene (Salome), and Handwerkbursche (Wozzeck).
Zurga
Sam has won numerous competitions and awards including the Australian Singing Competition, the Joan Sutherland Vocal Scholarship, Symphony Australia Young Vocalist Award, and winner of multiple prizes at the International Paris Opera Awards held in Paris, France. In 2015 he returned to Perth as one of The West Australian Opera’s inaugural Mentored Artists while also joining Australia’s premier classicalcrossover group the TEN Tenors. Sam has performed extensively throughout Australia and internationally including performances in France, The Netherlands, South Korea, China, England, Scotland, New Zealand and North America. Sam would like to dedicate his performance to his parents for their unwavering love and support. Happy 70th Birthday Dad.
Nourabad
This year, engagements include the role of Fred in a new work by Ross Harris (libretto by Vincent O’Sullivan), Brass Poppies, for New Zealand Festival, Sarastro for New Zealand Opera. In 2017 Wade’s engagements include Zuniga in Carmen for New Zealand Opera; and Angelotti (Tosca) and Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor) for West Australian Opera.
West Australian Opera Chorus SOPRANOS
MEZZO SOPRANOS
TENORS
BASSES
Alexandra Bak
Helen Brown
Johnathan Brain
Mark Alderson
Mary-Attracta Connolly
Rebecca Bunn
Cian Elliott
Dudley Allitt
Fiona Cooper-Smyth
Sonni Byrne
Tim Schoenmakers
Charles Bogle
Naomi Johns
Yann Kee
Simon Wood
David Dockery
Harriet O’Shannessy
Anne Millar
Ry Charleson
Thomas Friberg
Emma Pettemerides
Elizabeth Vale
Jason Kroll
Mark Hurst
Penny Shaw
Chelsea Kluga
Robert Littlewood
Paull-Anthony Keightley
Xiaojia Zhang
Kathleen How
David Jones
David Penco
Program Notes
“The Pearl Fishers is one of the few surviving works in the operatic repertoire portraying France’s passion for the Exotic”
Georges Bizet (1838-1875) was only twentyfour when he was commissioned by Léon Carvalho in 1863 to compose The Pearl Fishers for the Téâtré Lyrique in Paris. Both had a specific audience in mind – the Parisians of the Second Empire with their love of exoticism, now known as Orientalism. In the opera house they could enjoy the sensual and sexual aspects of exotic plots and locations without corrupting the respectability of family values. According to Charles Sowerine: ‘Orientalism was the global form of the double standard.’ The opera was initially set in Mexico and entitled Léïla, after the eponymous virgin priestess at the centre of a love triangle that included the two fishermen Zurga and Nadir. However, a recently published travel book on Ceylon gave the librettists, Eugene Cormon and Michel Carré, all the needed ingredients for an even more exotic location and context for their plot: Detailed descriptions of pearl fishing; religious ceremonies used to protect the divers; a rocky platform overlooking the sea from which the Priestess sang; and behind it a ruined temple. The opera was subsequently renamed Les Pêcheurs de perles and set in Ceylon. This provided the perfect setting for Bizet’s exotic imagination. From the opening bars of the Prelude his score contains an abundance of beautiful, dramatic and intimate music, with the Nadir/Zurga duet in Act One Au fond du temple saint, (a modern ‘hit’ tune), and
Leila’s arias in Acts one and two being lasting testaments to his lyric powers. The production’s biggest novelty is the ending. In the final moments Zurga remains alone onstage, his fate unknown, as the lovers escape. Such open-endedness and lack of convention disturbed Bizet’s collaborators, and after his death his opera suffered a variety of interventions by unknown hands, including the reprise of Au fond du temple saint, which was certainly not Bizet’s original intention. Fortunately, in this current Opera Conference production West Australian Opera’s Artist Director, Brad Cohen, is working from his own critical Peters’ edition (2002), using Bizet’s extant 1864 vocal score and 1863 conducting score as principal sources. In the dénouement or finale, Zurga breaks the chains binding the lovers, Leila and Nadir, and they sing of their joyful reunion while Zurga bids farewell to his sweet dreams of love, “Adieu!” The Pearl Fishers is one of the few surviving works in the operatic repertoire portraying France’s passion for the Exotic. Surely this is due to Bizet’s ability to evoke the ambience of the orient in a piece of theatre where the drama is so well-paced and the music so rich and accessible. It is this notion of ‘exotica’ that keeps the opera in the repertoire and maintains its irresistible fascination for the magic of distant lands. Annie Patrick September 2016
Photograph by James Rogers of Milica Ilic (The Magic Flute, West Australian Opera)
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