Have you seen that new show, “Pearl Fishers: The Challenge”?
Last night they revealed who won the last elimination round! It’s this guy who’s in love with one of the girls on the show, but his best friend is in love with her too… They promised to stay friends even though they want the same girl. We’ll see how well THAT works out!
No, this isn’t really a new reality show, but the Israel Opera’s new production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, originally produced at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. The staging, by director Lotte de Beer, plays on a concept with which we are all only too familiar: “Survivor” shows.
de Beer’s interpretation makes the chorus the most influential character in the opera, and the set design by Marouscha Levy is a truly impressive use of the stage. Towering over the singers is a large edifice divided into rooms and apartments, where the chorus members portray the audience. As in reality shows, they are the ones who elect the winner and the outcome of the story – and ultimately they turn into a bloodthirsty mob. Sitting in the audience, we see these “viewers at home” watching the same drama we are watching, from either side of the stage – a metatheatrical mirror effect.
An opera production based on a television show needs a television, and here it is created by video designer Finn Ross. Video shots of the stage itself, styled after interview scenes in reality shows, are projected onto a screen covering the apartments. We see the singers’ faces up close, hugely magnified, as they sing their arias, bridging the gap of the stage. Video interviews with “passersby” (we recognized several members of the Israel Opera staff and a cameo by general manager Hanna Munitz, as herself) break the tension in the drama between Acts II and III.
Despite being a bit overbearing at times, this modern take on The Pearl Fishers adds a sense of familiarity that is sometimes lost in more traditional operatic productions. The set design stays true to the original setting of Ceylon, with elaborate costumes and sets, while the TV cameras and director (played by actor Andreas Zimmerman) hover around.
Excellent singers, first-timers in Israel as well as familiar faces, can be heard in this production. Sharing the role of Leila are two soprano powerhouses, our own Alla Vasilevistky, and Romanian soprano Cristina Pasaroiu in her Israel Opera debut. Up-and-coming bass Insung Sim shares the role of Nourabad, the High Priest of Brahma, with Israel Opera veteran Vladimir Braun. Michael Anthony McGee and Nikola Mijailovic sing the role of Zurga, the leader of the pearl fishers, and the role of Nadir is sung by two visiting singers we already know, Alexei Dolgov and Robert McPherson. Steven Sloane and Ethan Schmeisser conduct.
Whether you love it or not, the concept is an amusing one, and an interesting way to bid goodbye to the Israel Opera’s 2015-2016 season.
Performances continue through July 16. For more information and tickets, visit www.israel-opera.co.il.
