- Georges Bizet and Arthur Hammond
Les Pêcheurs de perles
- Choudens (World)
Reconstruction of the 1863 version made in 1975 by Arthur Hammond. English translation by Nell and John Moody. Opera in Three Acts and 4 Scenes
- Arthur Hammond
- Eugène Cormon & Michel Carré
- English, French
Programme Note
Les Pêcheurs de Perles is a three acts opera by Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. The world premiere was performed in 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris. The opera was not revived in Bizet's lifetime, but from 1886 onwards it was regularly performed in Europe and North America, and from the mid-20th century it has joined the repertoire of opera houses all over the world. Set in ancient times on the island of Ceylon, the opera tells the story of how two men's vow of eternal friendship is threatened by their love for the same woman, whose own dilemma is the conflict between secular love and her sacred oath as a Priestess.