The pearl fishers at Deutsche Oper Berlin

"The Deutsche Oper gives a concertante performance of Georges Bizet's THE PEARL FISHERS and something remarkable happens. The performance makes do with four soloists, chorus and orchestra and everything goes off perfectly (…) an evening of music and song that conjures up memories of what sets opera apart from theatre - the capacity to sweep audiences away in a world of voices." Such was the enthusiastic review in the Berliner Zeitung after the concert premiere in the Deutsche Oper Berlin in December 2011. On a single evening this early work from 1863 by the future composer of CARMEN had taken the Berlin audience by storm with its exotic colour of distant climes and in particular its charming melodies, of which the famous duet "Au fond du temple saint" for tenor and baritone is but one of many. The evening showed that, if life is to be breathed into a simple love triangle, it is not an opera stage that is needed but great singers. And this performance of THE PEARL FISHERS marked a triumph for Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, wildly applauded by the audience in his role as Nadir. Following the runaway success of the evening a repeat performance has been scheduled for this season. Joseph Calleja appears again.