Whatever anyone was expecting from Opera Cleveland’s production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers is probably not the actuality they experienced. No doubt a goodly number of the audience was at least minimally familiar with the famous tenor-baritone duet that happens fairly early on. It’s a gorgeous piece of music to the ears, but seeing it performed by two such vibrant singers lends another aspect to it.

If only the entire opera contained such beautiful music! Granted there are several lilting solos and duets, and an absolutely marvelous orchestral storm sequence (certainly rivaling that of Beethoven!), but in general, it’s a difficult story to tell – whether in words or words and music.

The plot, such as it is, revolves around the three points of a triangle: the two male leads Zurga and Nadir have pledged eternal friendship and vow to let nothing and no one interfere with that bond. (This is that gorgeous first-act duet.) However, each of them also has a past connection with Leïla, the female lead. As usual, she gets blamed for the problems that befall the village. In the end, though, it’s her integrity that saves everyone, as she and Nadir are banished but still alive. Zurga, having incited the anger of his people, pays the price for his supposed betrayal of them, and is killed. The island folk will survive, continuing the pearl fishing in the surrounding Indian ocean.

There are only four principal parts, and I think it would be difficult to find better performers than presented here. Not only were the voices superb, but they were all excellent actors – and visually perfect, as well. (There was a lot of skin showing on stage in this production – on everyone – from principals to chorus to dancers, about which more later.) But then, the inhabitants of Ceylon in the 1860s probably weren’t usually as well-covered as these performers, either. Oh, well.

As Zurga, Michael Todd Simpson is a force to be reckoned with, his baritone voice large enough to easily ride over the orchestra, while his muscular and regal stature suits his role as king. His friend Nadir is well-served by tenor Robert McPherson, whose voice soared effortlessly yet beautifully through the range of difficult music written for him. His second-act paean of love to Leïla could easily have coaxed tears from a stone! The other male principal role featured bass Ben Wager as the very physical high priest Nourabad.

Leïla was perhaps the most complex role, and soprano Caitlin Lynch proved very well suited to all the facets of it. She was dignified, playful, romantic, passionate – everything required for this unusual portrayal, all while singing beautifully.

Artistic director Dean Williamson conducted the orchestra with sensitivity and great attention to detail, encouraging wonderful solos from principal flute Sean Gabriel, principal oboe Thom Moore and acting principal harp Melody Rapier. The storm music was a real ear-and eye-opener, for those of us who may never have heard it previously. This music could easily stand on its own as part of an orchestra concert, as does Britten’s Sea Interludes.

The opera chorus, prepared by CM Shearer, sounded excellent, while portraying various villagers. Several beguiling children were also on stage, as was the fabulous GroundWorks DanceTheater, led by founder/choreographer David Shimotakahara. The dancing was fast-paced and evocative, exactly suited to the action of the opera, and greatly enhanced the overall effect.

Stage direction by Kay Walker Castaldo was extraordinary, producing the effect of being in the middle of an impressionist painting. Of course, this was emphasized by the wonderful scenic design of Boyd Ostroff and fabulous lighting of Barry Steele. The use of scrims was fascinating, as they occasionally served as movie screens for the underwater effects. Costuming by Richard St. Clair was imaginative and sturdy considering the fast-pace of all the characters, whether dancing or fighting or the rare moments of just singing. (English captions were by Jonathan Dean, although the singing was in the original and perfectly enunciated French.)

The Pearl Fishers was definitely one of the better productions I’ve seen at Opera Cleveland, and I commend them for providing us with this unusual and very well-done experience.

There is one more production for this season, scheduled for November. Information is available through their web-site: http://OperaCleveland.org or by phone at: 216.575.0903.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an e-book, but perhaps will be in print later this year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!

By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there’s always been the writing. I can’t imagine my life without it.

And now, after more than a few requests, I’ve started a blog about writing. You can find it here.

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