Music Review: The Met in HD Presents 'The Pearl Fishers'

The Metropolitan Opera’s Live in High Definition performances have been taking place in movie houses around the world for 10 years, and we still don’t know how these presentations are affecting hometown opera companies, ticket sales or, for that matter, how they’ve influenced the Met itself.

But, speaking strictly as a consumer and patron – of the Met’s performances and those at Sarasota Opera – I’m mightily grateful for them.

First, the Met’s schedule of productions allows us to see operas we probably wouldn’t get to see elsewhere. “Tannhaüser,” “Lulu,” “La Donna Del Lago,” all three of Donizetti’s Tudor Queens operas, and “Elektra,” aren’t common fare, but they’re all part of the Met’s 2015-2016 season, some in HD. Their productions are different from what we get here in Sarasota, not necessarily better. And the HD lets us hear singers who are too costly to bring to a city of this size, no matter how good the company.

Interestingly, The Metropolitan Opera hasn’t presented Bizet’s “The Pearl Fishers” for about 100 years, but Sarasota Opera has offered it three times since 2000, making it an old friend to opera lovers from these parts.

My question is: Why on earth has the Met stayed away from this Bizet masterpiece for so long? 

We have the great soprano, Diana Damrau, the impressive director, Penny Woolcock, and the great conductor Gianandrea Noseda  to thank for its appearance at the Met. According to one of the insightful intermission interviews led by Saturday’s HD host, Patricia Racette, Damrau was speaking with General Manager Peter Gelb about a vehicle for the star soprano and it was she who suggested a new production of “The Pearl Fishers.”

As Leila, Damrau grows from a complex young girl with a past she’s abandoned in favor of being a Hindu priestess, into a tempestuous woman with a temper that makes Tosca, the Queen of the Night and Turandot seem like pussy cats. Her voice in this production is sublime, combining coloratura deftness with a rich, spinto-like warmth that makes you feel as if you’re in the theater, as well as the opera.

Matthew Polenzani, as Nadir, her lover, is passionate and sensitive as a singing actor. And he’s not afraid to sing pianissimo in order to color the words and music in ways rarely heard on any operatic stage. His soliloquy, “Je crois entendre encore,” was sung with a gentleness and fluidity of tone, including the high C, that was simply stunning.

Mariusz Kwiecien’s Zurga, the leader of the pearl-diving village, and dear friend of Nadir, has the difficult role of a man who wants to do the right thing but is pulled by honor, duty, love and jealousy. A baritone of great heights and depths, Kwiecien is a deft actor who is supremely believable no matter how often he changes his mind. His aria, and his duets with Damrau were spellbinding.

Tuneful and dramatic as all these well-known arias were, many in the audience were there to hear the famous duet of male bonding, “Au fond du temple saint,” and they weren’t disappointed. Polenzani and Kwiecien sang the poo out of it.

One thing you won’t see in most opera houses is pearl fishers diving hundreds of feet beneath the surface of the ocean, complete with sunshine shimmering down and air bubbles effervescing to the surface. Since this was live in our local cinema, we were shown just how all this magic was performed, from the dancers who were suspended in harnesses to the magical projections by 59 Productions. This was cinematic enchantment as much as it was grand opera. And, with popcorn in hand, it was spectacular theater.