Georges Bizet - Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers)

Georges BIZET (1838–1875)

Les Pêcheurs de Perles - Opera in three acts (1863)

 

Leila – Annick Massis

Nadir – Yasuharu Nakajima

Zurga – Luca Grassi

Nourabad – Luigi De Donato

Orchestra & Chorus: Teatro La Fenice di Venezia

Marcello Viotti

Recorded live:Teatro Malibran, Venice, April 2004

This proclaims itself to be the unabridged original edition of the 1863, ed. Choudens. It is derived from live, staged performances at La Fenice. The live sound, a little ambient rustling notwithstanding, is OK without being crisp, but the orchestral playing, choral singing and conducting are all excellent – clearly very well rehearsed and idiomatic; Viotti – who succumbed to a stroke all too early in his life – was an opera specialist and utterly reliable. An Italian/English libretto is provided. So far so good, but the first voice we hear, Luca Grassi’s solid Zurga, is merely satisfactory; his French is good but the voice is plummy at centre and loses body on high notes, having nothing of the allure of leaner, more refined baritones such as Borthayre, Dens, Blanc or Quilico. Nor, unfortunately is there much resonance or juice in Yasuharu Nakajima’s tenor. His dry tone can encompass the notes of “Je crois entendre encore” but spins no magic and his French is – perhaps understandably – sometimes indistinct; neither lead male singer has recourse to the floating head notes which should decorate this score and both can turn shouty; they sing in a generally competent “international” style which hardly resembles the requisite Gallic elegance. A very young – too young for the part – Luigi De Donato as Nourabad does not sound to me like a true bass at all.

The best singing here comes from Annick Massis, even if I am not keen on the constant, incipient edge in her tone; she is agile, possesses a fine trill, and uses text intelligently but the voice noticeably thins out as she descends – the inevitable consequence of having too much “squeak” in her high register. Other reviewers are more impressed by her than am I, it must be said.

Music Web review