Opera Graz: ‘The Pearl Fishers’
06/02/22
Graz Opera is a thriving opera company in Austria’s second city, housed in a neo-baroque opera house, which opened in 1899, and despite World War 2 bomb damage and reconstruction, and major renovation in the 1980’s, retains all the character and detail of the classical building. It has long been seen as a training ground for future stars, with Philippe Jordan and Oksana Lyniv amongst its more famous recent Music Directors.
This interesting and enjoyable performance of Bizet’s ‘The Pearl Fishers’ shows Graz’s capable ensemble to good advantage, with at least two likely future stars much in evidence. The Grazer Philharmoniker, under the baton of the company’s Kapellmeister, young Berlin-trained Marcus Merkel, performed Bizet’s wonderfully melodic music with its hints of orientalism and Wagnerian drama with great spirit and fluency. Merkel is a lively conductor who ‘sang along’ with the performers throughout the performance and provides articulate pre-performance commentary, as can be seen in the short introductory film (in German) below.
The Polish lead tenor, Andrzej Lampert as Nadir, and baritone Dariusz Perczak, were both a degree or two below their best, with Perczak apologising for the effect of a cold at the interval, and Lampert replaced by Frederic Antoun a week later, also on account of illness. Both nonetheless provided a capable, if not exceptional, rendering of the famous friendship duet “Au fond du temple saint” in Act 1.
The star of the show though is undoubtedly Ukrainian soprano Tetiana Miyus as the priestess Leila. A strong crystal clear soprano, with excellent acting skills, she gives credibility and emotional weight to a somewhat unlikely story. Miyus has been an ensemble member for the last 10 years, taking a range of leading and supporting roles. It would be good to hear more of her.
Another strength of this performance is the set, designed by Ben Baur. A simple rock formation on a beach under various shades of tropical sky, a flexible and appropriate set for this tale of simple Ceylonese pearl fishers, struggling to survive a hazardous occupation. Whatever the vagaries of human emotion expressed in the opera, whether passionate desire, jealousy, superstition or solidarity, the set unobtrusively asserts the dominance of the environment in the lives of the participants.
If you are attracted to Austria to the world-famous Vienna Opera, then do consider an add-on visit to Graz. It’s a comfortable, inexpensive (and very beautiful) two hour train journey from Vienna, and this thriving provincial opera house has much to offer. Serving an audience rooted in the south-east of Austria, they provide not only opera, but also ballet, musical theatre and children’s theatre. Other features of this year’s calendar have or will include ‘La Boheme’, ‘The Flying Dutchman’, ‘Anatevka’ (Fiddler on the Roof), ‘Guys and Dolls’, the ballets ‘Schwanengesang’ and ‘Undine’, and ‘Robin Hood’ and ‘Rotkäppchen’ for the kids.
Like all opera houses, Graz has been adapting to the effects of Covid lockdowns and took a while to recover its audience. But this Sunday afternoon matinee performance was packed, with several busloads of Austrian fans travelling in from surrounding towns and villages, all well-turned out for the opera and wearing the prescribed FFP2 masks.
