Les Pêcheurs de Perles
Georges Bizet
Nadir - Eric Cutler
Zurga - Nathan Gunn
Leïla - Nicole Cabell
Nourabad - Christian van Horn
John Mauceri cond.
Lyric Opera of Chicago
October 6, 2008
WFMT radio broadcast
next performances: October 10th, 13th, 22nd, 25th, November 1st, 4th
In short:
N.B. This review being based on an audio broadcast does not take into account the stage presence of the cast.
Weaknesses of this production: Nathan Gunn, John Mauceri, the orchestra and chorus of the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Highlight: Eric Cutler
Leïla and Nadir, Act II
Photo by Dan Rest/Lyric Opera of Chicago
First of all, let me state my disappointment over the musical execution of Bizet's masterpiece. I know this is the US and nobody cares about the French diction but I do. A lot.
In that department, the chorus (mainly the female elements) and Nathan Gunn should invest in some desperately needed French lessons. I don't know what language they think they're singing, but I can assure them it has absolutely nothing to do with French.
Obviously, this is not an easy language to speak, especially for Americans, because of the strange sounds they're not accustomed to (and Eric Cutler is not very good at that either), but the main thing when singing in French is to understand the musicality of the language. Some may say such a thing doesn't exist but the truth is, it does, even if it's not obvious.
Nathan Gunn has no clue about that. Words are dissolved in one another and really, his diction sounds like he's chewing several marshmallows while singing. As a result, his Zurga lacks leadership (a crucial element to the role), charisma and passion.
The orchestra & John Mauceri's conduction
The orchestra had some issues as well - double basses in the opening scene (especially "chassez tous ces méchants!"), violins in "voici les deux coupables!" (Act II), orchestra as a whole in the opening chorus of Act II and in the bars before Leïla's aria "Me voilà seule dans la nuit" (a true nightmare).
The conduction of John Mauceri lacked sharpness and was overall very uneven.
The first chorus "Dansez" was interesting, but things became too heavy after that.
A bit of staccato would have be appreciated in Zurga's aria "Amis, interrompez vos danses et vos jeux", for Leïla's arrival "Une femme inconnue", "Seule au milieu de nous" & "Si tu restes fidèle" but should have been avoided in parts such as "Chassez tous ces méchants" (first scene).
The rhythm was also an issue; too fast in "Une femme inconnue" and too slow at the end of the same aria "Et son chant, qui plane sur nos têtes"; very fast also after that, "Sois la bienvenue amie inconnue" & "Si tu restes fidèle"; slow again in the beginning of Act II (chorus and duet between Leïla and Nourabad); too "military" at numerous times throughout the entire piece (very unpleasant I must say, especially in the big duet between Nadir and Leïla in Act II and the end of the act).
All and all, the view of John Mauceri on this piece is - let's not be afraid to use the word that comes to mind -
boring.
Nadir (front) and Zurga "Au fond du temple saint", Act I
Photo by Dan Rest/Lyric Opera of Chicago
As stated
before, I like Cutler's Nadir.
His performance was once again interesting, as his Nadir is full of character and life. His high notes were beautiful - except for the sentence before the beginning of "Je crois entendre encore" where one note was a total disaster "ces doux chants emportés dans l'es
pace" and a little later on for the second "
charmant souvenir".
The duet with Leïla in Act II was beautiful, as well as the big aria of the first act with Zurga, "Au fond du temple saint".
He might not be the greatest Nadir of all times, but he's amongst the best of this time, for sure.
Nathan Gunn
If Nathan Gunn's diction is truly a sinking parameter for his Zurga, his vocal performance for the Chicago premiere of
Les Pêcheurs was equally unpraiseworthy. Truth be told, I was really eager to hear him in this role - well, it turns out I'm hugely disappointed.
He struggled with his high notes from the middle of Act I (just after "Au fond du temple saint" but he was too weak a counterpart to Eric Cutler in that aria either) and never fully recovered ("
dérobe son visage" was the first of many totally screwed notes).
He completely drowned at the end of Act II (from "Vengez-vous, vengez-moi" to the end of the act - just several bars - I counted way too many totally awckward moments). The beginning of his big aria in Act III, "L'orage s'est calmé" was not good either but he somehow managed to get out of his mess by the second half of the piece, which was a relief (especially for me).
His duet with Leïla after that was much better, and he ended the opera as an acceptable Zurga.
Zurga and Leïla, Act III
Photo by Dan Rest/Lyric Opera of Chicago
I was wrong to be so skeptical about her. She turned out to be a pretty decent Leïla (though Patricia Ciofi was on a whole different level in
Avignon last year).
My issue with her is her high register, that I find oddly disgraceful. Other than that, her Leïla was worth listening to ("Me voilà seule dans la nuit" being the highlight of her performance).
Nourabad, Nadir and Leïla, Act III
Photo by Dan Rest/Lyric Opera of Chicago
As predicted, the version played in Chicago is the original 1863 version, so his score is especially tiny - hard to judge on just a few sentences. His French diction was the best of the cast, and his low register is nice. The high notes on the other hand were problematic.
YouTube extract:
-
audio medley
In conclusion, here's how I would rate the performance;
John Mauceri's conduction : D
Eric Cutler' Nadir : B+
Nathan Gunn's Zurga : C-
Nicole Cabell's Leïla : B-
Christian van Horn's Nourabad : C+
Overall : C
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