Pearl Fishers Duet – Bizet: Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill

This duet has been sung by many different people. I have selected this recording because I have never heard it sung better. Usually, the tenor and the baritone sound as if they are fighting with one another. This time, I can show the translated lyrics below.

https://youtu.be/5PYt2HlBuyI

Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on September 30, 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris and was given 18 performances in its initial run. Set in ancient times on the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the opera tells the story of how two men’s vow of eternal friendship is threatened by their love for the same woman, whose own dilemma is the conflict between secular love and her sacred oath as a priestess. The friendship duet “Au fond du temple saint”, generally known as “The Pearl Fishers Duet”, is one of the best-known in Western opera.
At the time of the premiere, Bizet (born on October 25, 1838) was not yet 25 years old: he had yet to establish himself in the Parisian musical world. Modern critical opinion has been kinder than that of Bizet’s day. Commentators describe the quality of the music as uneven and at times unoriginal but acknowledge the opera as a work of promise in which Bizet’s gifts for melody and evocative instrumentation are clearly evident. They have identified clear foreshadowings of the composer’s genius which would culminate, 10 years later, in Carmen. Since 1950 the work has been recorded on numerous occasions, in both the revised and original versions.

Jussi Björling was a Swedish lyric tenor who achieved much success in Europe and in the US. He had an amazing breathing technique that allowed him to be heard in all areas of the house, and he was a wonderful artist. Singing this duet with him is Robert Merrill. Robert Merrill was an American operatic baritone, who also took part in American musical theater. He was born Moishe Miller, and he worked his way up from the Borscht Belt to the Met (I’m shortening the path somewhat). He was an outstanding singer, and he died in 2004 after having received many accolades.