By Erica Miner
October 17 marks the much-anticipated opening of Seattle
Opera’s production of Bizet’s The
Pearl Fishers (Les Pêcheurs de Perles).
Often viewed as a youthful neglected endeavor hovering in the shadow of Bizet’s
hugely popular Carmen, Pearl Fishers nonetheless boasts some of
the composer’s most sensuous and compelling music, as well as a story that
depicts the perilous existence of the death defying Pearl Fishers of ancient
Ceylon.
According to Seattle Opera General Director Aidan Lang, once it was
decided to mount Pearl Fishers, the
2005 San Diego Opera production designed by recently named DBE Zandra Rhodes
and directed by Andrew Sinclair was the clear choice. Though the opera takes
place in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) at an undetermined time in the distant past,
Lang was quite taken with the stylized fantasy element and vibrant colors of
Rhodes’ design.
In advance of the opening, cast members Maureen McKay, Elizabeth
Zharoff and Anthony Kalil and choreographer John Malashock (all making their
Seattle Opera debuts) weighed in on their respective roles in the production.
Starring as Léïla, the goddess-like priestess who is the apex of the
opera’s love triangle, Maureen McKay (http://www.maureenmckay.com) finds
that performing roles in diverse styles and languages “Is like going to a
museum and experiencing Renoir for an hour and then walking over to the Goya
section for the rest of the day.”
The insightful singer likens stylistic differences between, for
instance, Mozart and Bizet to visual artistry. “Their brush strokes are
different but the medium is the same. Singing both of these styles requires a
very clean and clear technique and strict observance of the composer’s
markings.” McKay believes the challenge of performing a lesser-known opera like
Pearl Fishers as opposed to the
composer’s universally known Carmen lies
in persuading audiences to come see and hear the work live. “It is a story of
complex love, forbidden desire, and forgiveness,” she says. “The vocal lines
are stunning, the harmonies complex, and the choir and dancers are quite
moving.” Having been deeply touched by the music as a young artist, she is
convinced that the audience impact will be stunning. “Especially with Andrew Sinclair and his
team's beautiful rendering.”
In addition to being one of the world’s most prominent rising young
sopranos, Washington State native Zharoff (http://elizabethzharoff.com) also is a
composer of multimedia music, and has sung a plethora of opera repertoire of
diverse periods and languages, including Morning
Star by contemporary composer Ricky Ian Gordon.
Zharoff describes the particular challenges of singing Léïla’s main
aria as “incredibly different from any other French aria I've sung.” Since
Sinclair has her singing the aria from her bed, Zharoff opts for a “peaceful,
dreamy, and slightly erotic” character, which necessitates throwing inhibition
to the wind. Compared to other French heroines such as Marguerite and Micaela, Léïla
must be “completely lost in the moment of the dream, and let all resistance and
nerves slip away.”
Tenor Anthony Kalil (http://www.cami.com/?webid=2412), who
plays one of Léïla’s two suitors, comes from an unusual background for an opera
singer. Four years ago he was working in Seattle for the Sherwin Williams Paint
Company, traveling throughout the Northwest to train workers on how to use wood
finishing products, when he suddenly found himself in the prestigious Lindemann
Program at the Metropolitan Opera and has since garnered attention from opera
enthusiasts.
Having focused largely on Italian repertoire thus far, the role of
Nadir in Seattle’s Pearl Fishers is Kalil’s
first full role in French. “I have always loved French opera. I find the
language to be extremely beautiful and very friendly to the voice,” he says. Kalil
finds the dramatic challenges of this role similar to those of others in the
operatic firmament. “Dramatically, I just try to bring what I bring to every
role, an open mind. Working with new directors and conductors as well as
singers, allows me to challenge myself in new ways.”
Choreographer John Malashock (http://malashockdance.org), a
familiar artistic presence as a San Diego resident, originally choreographed
this production in 2004. “One of the greatest pleasures of the production is
the reunion between Andrew, Zandra and I,” he says. According to Malashock,
dance has a more integral role in this production than in other French opera
productions, although the score and libretto only call for dance in one section.
“In a normal world, dance might play less of a role in The Pearl Fishers than it does in Carmen. But in this production we put a tremendous amount of dance
into it. This is one of the ‘danciest’ opera productions you’ll find anywhere,”
Malashock says. Unlike most operas, where dance is “a diversion that’s dropped
in,” he adds, “Here it really helps tell the story, and carry the emotion of
the village.”
Though he works closely with designer Rhodes, who has some of the
dancers wearing animal masks in the big Act 3 ensemble, Malashock works more closely
with director Sinclair on integrating dance into the production. “But on a very
practical level, working with Zandra to understand how she was costuming people
definitely influenced some of the choreographic decisions,” he says. “Just in
terms of how much of the bodies are exposed, or how restrictive the costumes
were, it was important to know early on what she was doing.”
Using dance to help advance the story substantially energizes the
production, Malashock says. “It never gets bogged down for any length of time.
People will be quite astonished to see how different it is from the way ballet
usually is.” Coincidentally, the Met Opera, which has not done Pearl Fishers for 100 years. also is performing
the opera this season. “Not our production. Shame on them,” he says, laughing.
Malashock’s dynamic choreography,
Rhodes’ vivid designs, Sinclair’s energetic direction, and the fresh voiced debuting
singers all collaborate to help make this creative, captivating production of Pearl Fishers a must-see event for
Seattle audiences. Performances run Oct. 17-31 (https://seattleopera.org/on-stage/the-pearl-fishers/).
Photos used by permission of: Ken Howard, San Diego Opera, Seattle Opera, Elise Bakketun (McKay, Zharoff, Kalil, Malashock), pinterest.com (Rhodes)
Erica Miner can be reached at: [email protected]
No comments:
Post a Comment