Penny Woolcock's seductive staging returns to the ENO

Penny Woolcock's sultry Ceylon-set production of Georges Bizet's tragic opera returns to the ENO following its critically acclaimed 2010 premiere and subsequent 2014 revival. Roland Boer conducts a talented cast of singers including Dublin-based soprano Claudia Boyle as the beguiling Leila, whose appearance on the rocky shores severely tests the lifelong friendship of two pearl fishermen.

Bizet's tale of friendship tested by love first premiered in 1863 in Paris, where, like many of Bizet's early operas, it was met with a muted reaction. Despite this slightly inauspicious start, The Pearl Fishers has been re-evaluated over the years due to the popularity of its defining Friendship Duet and is now thought of as something of a companion piece to Bizet's most opulent work, Carmen.

What is it about?

On a beach in ancient Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), lifelong friends Zurga and Nadir are reunited after nearly a year apart. The two pearl fishermen recount the event that first drove them apart - the fleeting glimpse of a priestess Leila, with whom both fell instantly in love. However, determined not to let their friendship go to waste, they had sworn never to quarrel over a woman again.

It's at this moment that a boat arrives on the shore, with a beautiful female temple girl sent to bless the fisherman before they set sail on their next treacherous journey. And it just so happens that the girl in question is Leila. As Nadir recogises her, his passions are inflamed once more and he sets about to pursue her, breaking the oath he swore with Zurga just moments before. Declaring his love for Leila results in an angry mob storming her temple. as they believe her to be descrecrated and resulting in their sentence to execution by funeral pyre. But will Zurga overcome his jealousy enough to save his friend and true love?