Ten years before Carmen, his masterwork, Georges Bizet wrote The Pearlfishers (Les pêcheurs de perles). He was only 25, reviews were tepid and it was not performed again in his lifetime. History and opera-lovers have been kinder: successive generations have grown to love it.

The Pearlfishers features the fabled duet ‘Au fond du temple saint’. Voted No.1 in ABC Classic FM’s poll of top operatic moments, this duet is arguably the most beautiful ever written for tenor and baritone. Indeed, George Bizet’s flair for melody makes this one of the most popular operas in the repertoire.

This spectacular production, directed by Ann-Margret Pettersson, sets the plot’s eternal love triangle in a vividly romantic colonial Ceylon. This year’s staging has a fresh cast of Opera Australia’s young stars – Andrew Jones, Henry Choo and Nicole Car – with Opera Australia favourite Jud Arthur and French conductor Guillaume Tourniaire.

Performance commences at 7.30pm.
Performed in French with English surtitles.
Running time: Approximately two hours and twenty minutes, including two twenty-minute intervals.

BOOKINGS

Opera Australia
(02) 9318 8200
www.opera-australia.org.au

Sydney Opera House
(02) 9250 7777
sydneyoperahouse.com