Photo Journal: The Pearl Fishers at Florida Grand Opera

By Matt Blank
March 20, 2008

Florida Grand Opera - in the midst of its 67th season - presented Georges Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) for eight performances in January and February.


FGO press notes describe the three-act work as "a tale of tightly woven friendship, loyalty and forbidden love. This opera transports the audience to the shores of Ceylon where a passionate love triangle unfolds in visual and dramatic spectacle."

This staging reunited the production team of fashion designer Zandra Rhodes and director Andrew Sinclair, who collaborated on the same piece for San Diego Opera.

Soprano Maureen O’Flynn sang the central role of Leila. O'Flynn has recently been seen as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette at The Metropolitan Opera, Amina in La sonnambula at the Opera de la Coruña and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Santander Festival in Spain.

American tenor William Burden portrayed the fisherman Nadir. Burden has sung the title role in Faust for Houston Grand Opera, the title role in Candide for both the Théâtre du Châtelet and La Scala, and recently created the role of Gilbert Griffiths in the world premiere of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy at The Metropolitan Opera.

Also featured in the small cast were Lucas Meachem as Zurga and Burak Bilgili as Nourabad. FGO music director Stewart Robertson conducted.

The Florida Grand Opera season continues April 12 with Puccini's La Bohème and will close out in May with Handel's Julius Caesar.

For more information and tickets visit www.fgo.org

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All photos by Deborah Gray Mitchell for Florida Grand Opera.

William Burden as Nadir and Maureen O'Flynn as Leila		Maureen O'Flynn as Leila and William Burden as Nadir

Maureen O'Flynn as Leila and Lucas Meacham as Zurga