Les Pêcheurs de perles

‘A bull’s eye’, ‘a 100% successful tour de force’, ‘an impressive Pêcheurs de perles’: when FC Bergman tackled its first opera in 2018, the press showered it with superlatives. The Antwerp-based theatre company gave an ingenious twist to the orientalist reverie by composer Georges Bizet. Setting: from the exotic beaches of Ceylon to the grey tones of a retirement home. Cast: from a colony of pearl fishermen to a community of elderly people battling against time.

Once upon a time, best friends Nadir and Zurga fell in love with the same woman. They vowed to let the friendship prevail and to suppress their feelings for Léïla. Years later, history repeats itself… but how much later is it, exactly? FC Bergman stretches time and allows past and present to flow into each other. The result is a diorama of love that reaches to the core of Bizet’s nostalgic – and grossly underrated – score. Anyone who may have missed this opera gem, will now get a new chance.