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CONTRIBUTION WRITERSMICHELLE F. SOLOMON (/OUR‐WRITERS/MICHELLE‐F‐SOLOMON)

SEAN ERWIN (/OUR‐WRITERS/SEAN‐ERWIN)

REBEKAH LANAE LENGEL (/OUR‐WRITERS/REBEKAH‐LANAE‐LENGEL)

GUILLERMO PEREZ (/OUR‐WRITERS/GUILLERMO‐PEREZ)

ANNE TSCHIDA (/OUR‐WRITERS/ANNE‐TSCHIDA)

CATHERINE HOLLINGSWORTH (/OUR‐WRITERS/CATHERINE‐HOLLINGSWORTH)

CELESTE FRASER DELGADO (/OUR‐WRITERS/CELESTE‐FRASER‐DELGADO)

ELIZABETH HANLY (/OUR‐WRITERS/ELIZABETH‐HANLY)

HELENA ALONSO (/OUR‐WRITERS/HELENA‐ALONSO)

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It was distressing to see entire rows of empty seats at the Ziff Opera house of the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, when Florida Grand Opera unveiled its production ofBizet’s The Pearl Fishers.

Hopefully it was the flooding caused by the day’s heavy rain, or the remnants of flu season and not laziness or worse, ignorance, the cause of missing an excellent performance of astill underappreciated jewel of the operatic repertoire.

Bizet wrote Fishers at the tender age of 24, one among 30 operatic works he wrote in his lifetime, all culminating in his masterpiece Carmen. Alas, there is just no way to escape thatvast shadow. Nonetheless, Fishers began to create some traction on the world’s stages in the middle of the 20th century, and has been drawn toward a mild popularity ever since.

That Saturday’s performance included many company debuts with FGO, including those of three out of four cast members. Sydney Mancasola was a haunting Leïla, a Brahmin priestesswho is torn between secular love and her sacred oath.

Mancasola’s voice has all the emotional layers needed for her character: devotion, anguish, anger, and passion. Her second act aria “Comme autrefois,” one that deals with earthlyconcerns like fear, loneliness, and happiness, she portrayed almost spiritually. The effect was sublime.

Fishers is one of few operas where the “love triangle” aspect of the story is so heightened. Fishermen Nadir and Zurga are best friends since childhood. They both love Leïla, and sheloves Nadir. The exploding chemistry that is vital to the drama simply did not react among the three cast members.

FGO POLISHES BIZET’S ‘PEARL FISHERS’ ADD TO FAVORITES (/FAVORITEPROCESS.ASPX?OID=8817302&OTYPE=35) 

WRITTEN BY: FERNANDO LANDEROS (/OURWRITERS/FERNANDOLANDEROS) ARTICLE RATING

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French tenor Philippe Talbot, the evening’s Nadir, displayed great vocal projection, though at the expense of convincing acting. He is a solid singer, with a both sweet and penetratingsound, except when he is cautious, and breaks the exquisiteness he himself created.

Without spoilers, in this particular production things did not go well for Zurga. Unfortunately his portrayer, baritone Corey McKern, had a bad night as well. Curiously, he had on theonly silly costume. There is no sensical reason for this.

While McKern did not look sharp, his singing certainly was, throughout the performance. A real shame, because his voice is well‐rounded and his timbre is especially pleasing.Hopefully, it was something he ate.

Chorus Master Brett Karlin should pat himself on the back, profusely. The chorus sounded glorious. Not a large one, it sang with power and superb balance. Its rendition of “Brahma” atthe end of the second act was a harmonic flood worthy of any god.

The entire performance had a freshness to it, an eagerness that can only come from youth. Maestro Anthony Barrese is only 39 years old, but his musical maturity sounds a few decadesolder. Also making his FGO debut Saturday (Feb. 28), he not only kept all the moving parts of the opera well‐hinged, but he managed to convey its intimacy.

And finally, the best part of any performance of Fishers is, of course, Bizet’s music. If you know his Carmen, then you know he could write a heck of a tune. There will be moreupcoming performances, and the weather forecast looks favorable.

‘The Pearl Fishers’ March 12 and 14, 7:30 p.m., at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. 5th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale; tickets $21 to $200; www.fgo.org.

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Fernando Landeros (/ourwriters/fernandolanderos)Classical pianist, music writerFernando Landeros is a pianist who has performed throughout Mexico, the United States, Australia, Germany, and Austria. A native of San Diego, his..About the Writer (/ourwriters/fernandolanderos)

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