Bizet - The Pearl Fishers (highlights) | Chandos - Opera in English CHAN3156

Bizet - The Pearl Fishers (highlights)

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Label: Chandos - Opera in English

Cat No: CHAN3156

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 1st September 2008

Contents

Artists

Rebecca Evans (soprano)
Barry Banks (tenor)
Simon Keenlyside (baritone)
Alastair Miles (bass)
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor

Brad Cohen

Works

Bizet, Georges

Les Pecheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) (highlights)

Artists

Rebecca Evans (soprano)
Barry Banks (tenor)
Simon Keenlyside (baritone)
Alastair Miles (bass)
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor

Brad Cohen

About

Bizet’s exotic opera The Pearl Fishers is now released on the Chandos Opera in English label. Although not as well-known as Bizet’s Carmen, The Pearl Fishers contains a wealth of attractive music, including the well-known duet ‘Au fond du Temple saint’, one of the UK’s ‘favourite tunes’. There is surely no better way of discovering the jewels of this romantic work than listening to the superb voices of Rebecca Evans, Barry Banks, Simon Keenlyside, and Alastair Miles.

A leading interpreter of the bel-canto repertoire, internationally renowned for his conducting of operas of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini, the Australian Brad Cohen here makes his debut on Chandos. He first came to public attention when, a year after winning the 1994 Leeds Conductor’s Competition, he conducted the world premiere of Thomas Adès’s 'Powder Her Face'. Since that promising beginning he has conducted a wide-ranging repertoire at English National Opera, Opera Australia and Opera North, to name but a few. This recording is the first to use Cohen’s own edition of The Pearl Fishers. Cohen was able to secure the original conductor’s score from 1863 and has created a new version, published by Peters Edition, that is arguably much closer to Bizet’s intentions.

The soprano Rebecca Evans takes the role of Leila. Her previous appearances on OiE include the role of Gretel in the Grammy-Award-winning Hansel and Gretel: ‘It was Rebecca Evans’s Gretel, who took the honours. Spinning out radiant lines of delicious purity, she made it hard to see how the role could be sung better’, wrote The Times.

The baritone Simon Keenlyside, who takes the role of Zurga, has previously appeared on Chandos’ The Magic Flute. Both Barry Banks and Alastair Miles have recorded discs of arias for Chandos and here take the roles of Nadir and Nourabad, respectively.

Act I: Prelude
Act I Scene 1: Introduction: At the break of day with the waves at play (Chorus)
Act I Scene 1: My friends, you must delay your dances (Zurga, Chorus, Nadir)
Act I Scene 1: Recitative: Stay here and live with us, Nadir (Zurga, Nadir, Chorus)
Act I Scene 2: Recitative: At last I have found you again! (Zurga, Nadir)
Act I Scene 2: Duet: Then from the holy shrine (Nadir, Zurga)
Act I Scene 4: Recitative: Hearing her voice my soul is a cauldron of passion! (Nadir)
Act I Scene 4: Romance: Again her voice will haunt me (Leila, Chorus, Nadir)
Act I Scene 5: Air: Brahma the god, sovereign of the world (Leila, Chorus, Nadir)
Act II Scene 7: Recitative and Cavatina: I am alone here in the night (Leila)
Act II Scene 8: Chanson: My love was weeping while she was sleeping (Nadir, Leila)
Act II Scene 9: Duo: Leila! Leila! (Nadir, Leila)
Act III Scene 11: Entracte, Recitative and Air: The storm has run its course (Zurga)
Act III Scene 12: Recitative: She is here! My heart…is pounding… (Zurga, Leila)
Act III Scene 12: Duo: I would speak, but I cannot (Leila, Zurga, Chorus)
Act III Scene 14: Duo: Spirits of dreadful night (Nourabad, Chorus, Nadir, Leila)
Act III Scene 15: Trio: Sacred light of being (Leila, Nadir, Zurga)
Act I Scene 2: Duet: Then from the holy shrine (Nadir, Zurga) (posthumous ending)

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