ON REWRITING THE FINALE OF ACT III: Les pêcheurs de perles (1863) of Georges Bizet
The decision to revise the ending of the third act of Pêcheurs was not taken lightly. On the contrary, in my view, one begins studying any score assuming that the composer's ideas work and that what was written is effective, otherwise, the composer would have written something else. In the case of Pêcheurs, it is clear that the efficacy of the finale has always been in question. Bizet himself did not seem convinced enough of what he had conceived to orchestrate it. Later productions, most notably the revival of 1883 (after Bizet's death), featured wholesale recomposition of the music and a complete altering of the dramatic action. It became clear to me in the course of my research that, historically speaking, anything went when it came to making Pêcheurs stageworthy.
With this in mind, I proceeded on the assumption that other music could be substituted for the weak duet originally offered by Bizet, "O lumiere sainte." This particular piece was itself adapted from Bizet's grand opera, Ivan IV, written prior to Pêcheurs, though we do not know the precise date of its composition. In the 1893 Paris revival of Pêcheurs, contrived nearly two decades after Bizet's death, the duet was replaced by a trio written by Benjamin Godard. Through a not very subtle rearrangement of the set pieces in the last scene, the 1893 version concludes with the murder of Zurga at the hands of a villager while Leïla and Nadir escape. While this ending may have been more in keeping with the tastes of the time, it bears no resemblance to Bizet's apparent intent.
Upon further investigation, I came to believe that the problem did not lie with the original duet itself, although this piece is certainly not the finest moment in the opera. In fact, this type of religious invocation is not unique in Bizet's output; to my taste his other works of this type are no more memorable.
If one accepts the authenticity of the duet from the original 1863 version and the ending wherein Zurga is not killed, one must seek opportunities for revision in the music between the duet and the final ensemble, a reprise of the classic Act I duet, "Au fond du temple sainte," sung at the close of the opera by the lovers offstage. Focussing on this passage, all seems to be dramatically coherent through the music that describes the return of the natives to their burning village. A recitative ensues during which Zurga confesses to Leïla and Nadir that he himself set the fire to afford the two lovers time to escape. He does not adequately explain his motives for doing so. Instead, upon reaching a triumphant resolution in B-Flat major, he quickly urges Leïla and Nadir to flee. When asked what will become of him, he replies that God alone knows his fate. Eight bars of chromatic noodling follow, awkwardly resolving in the aforementioned duet reprise, which concludes the opera.
I began by eliminating the chromatic passage, the original intent of which was, I suppose, to depict the village women in frantic flight to save their offspring. Instead, I wanted to resolve the recitative directly into the duet reprise, transposed down to D-Flat major for the remainder of the opera. While making more musical sense, to my ear, this did not solve what I perceived to be a crucial dramatic flaw in the preceding recitative. By a process which was for the most part intuitive, it occurred to me that, instead of a continuation of the recitative after the B-Flat major cadence, what was wanted was a little more descriptive music.
Descriptive of what, and from whence was this music supposed to come? To answer these questions, one must inquire as to the raison d'etre of Pêcheurs itself. The answer is vague; the librettists Carré and Cormon didn't lose any sleep pondering the dramatic reason of the work. On the contrary, their minimal interest in the piece was summed up in Carré's remark to the effect that, had they known that Bizet would write such beautiful music, they would not have stuck him with such a "white elephant" of a libretto.
While we cannot succeed in making a dramatic whole out of Pêcheurs, I feel that, with the revision I have suggested, some sense can be made of Zurga's motivation and ultimately of his actions. The brief interlude I have put together employs motives from two lyric episodes heard earlier in the work. The first motive refers back to the scene in Act I when Zurga describes the type of woman sought for the vigil on the rock; the second recalls the recent confrontation between Leïla and Zurga in the cabaletta of their Act III, Scene 1 duet. By juxtaposing these two musical ideas, it is possible to convey something of the conflict in Zurga's mind and heart as he realizes the significance of the necklace. That Zurga didn't recognize Leïla from the necklace as the girl who had saved him years earlier is echoed by a solo cello, playing the tune, "Une femme inconnue." I see him realizing now for the first time the futility of his passion for her. The recollection of their previous encouter makes Zurga aware that Leïla is indeed too young for him and that he, who has sacrificed his integrity as leader of the tribe first by loving her and second, by abetting her escape, must now accept the consequences of his behavior. The second, "confrontational" motive evoked by the cello appropriately describes the difficult decision Zurga now faces and the choice he is obliged by honor to make.
In making these revisions and in writing supplementary text for the protagonists, we have turned the focus both of the scene and inevitably of the whole opera more towards Zurga. Yet, if Pêcheurs is about anything, why shouldn't it be about Zurga; his rise to power and his fall in the face of misplaced love and honor? Perhaps more to the point, we can say that the opera describes the evolution of the relationship between Zurga and Leïla. In a sense, their relationship has, by the end of the opera, reverted to that of their very first encounter, when Zurga was once again a fugitive. Now however, Zurga no longer hides behind Leïla - he has learned from her bravery and from his foolish love. Furthermore, it seems appropriate that the opera conclude as it began, with Zurga facing the elders of the tribe. Where earlier he accepted from them the honor and responsibility of leadership, now he must accept from them, implicitly, his ultimate fate and demise.
It is not my intent to suggest that, by these changes, I have succeeded in transforming a dramatically troubled work into a piece that functions like Carmen. If it proves more convincing than before, if the audience does not respond with laughter and disbelief during the final recitative, as so often occurs, that would be enough compensation. Nor is it my intent to stop looking for more appropriate and effective solutions to the problems of Les pêcheurs de perles. For now, this is another alternative, to be added tot he long list of efforts made, for better or worse, by producers, directors, composers and conductors out of their affection for and advocacy of this glorious, flawed work.
MG
The decision to revise the ending of the third act of Pêcheurs was not taken lightly. On the contrary, in my view, one begins studying any score assuming that the composer's ideas work and that what was written is effective, otherwise, the composer would have written something else. In the case of Pêcheurs, it is clear that the efficacy of the finale has always been in question. Bizet himself did not seem convinced enough of what he had conceived to orchestrate it. Later productions, most notably the revival of 1883 (after Bizet's death), featured wholesale recomposition of the music and a complete altering of the dramatic action. It became clear to me in the course of my research that, historically speaking, anything went when it came to making Pêcheurs stageworthy.
With this in mind, I proceeded on the assumption that other music could be substituted for the weak duet originally offered by Bizet, "O lumiere sainte." This particular piece was itself adapted from Bizet's grand opera, Ivan IV, written prior to Pêcheurs, though we do not know the precise date of its composition. In the 1893 Paris revival of Pêcheurs, contrived nearly two decades after Bizet's death, the duet was replaced by a trio written by Benjamin Godard. Through a not very subtle rearrangement of the set pieces in the last scene, the 1893 version concludes with the murder of Zurga at the hands of a villager while Leïla and Nadir escape. While this ending may have been more in keeping with the tastes of the time, it bears no resemblance to Bizet's apparent intent.
Upon further investigation, I came to believe that the problem did not lie with the original duet itself, although this piece is certainly not the finest moment in the opera. In fact, this type of religious invocation is not unique in Bizet's output; to my taste his other works of this type are no more memorable.
If one accepts the authenticity of the duet from the original 1863 version and the ending wherein Zurga is not killed, one must seek opportunities for revision in the music between the duet and the final ensemble, a reprise of the classic Act I duet, "Au fond du temple sainte," sung at the close of the opera by the lovers offstage. Focussing on this passage, all seems to be dramatically coherent through the music that describes the return of the natives to their burning village. A recitative ensues during which Zurga confesses to Leïla and Nadir that he himself set the fire to afford the two lovers time to escape. He does not adequately explain his motives for doing so. Instead, upon reaching a triumphant resolution in B-Flat major, he quickly urges Leïla and Nadir to flee. When asked what will become of him, he replies that God alone knows his fate. Eight bars of chromatic noodling follow, awkwardly resolving in the aforementioned duet reprise, which concludes the opera.
I began by eliminating the chromatic passage, the original intent of which was, I suppose, to depict the village women in frantic flight to save their offspring. Instead, I wanted to resolve the recitative directly into the duet reprise, transposed down to D-Flat major for the remainder of the opera. While making more musical sense, to my ear, this did not solve what I perceived to be a crucial dramatic flaw in the preceding recitative. By a process which was for the most part intuitive, it occurred to me that, instead of a continuation of the recitative after the B-Flat major cadence, what was wanted was a little more descriptive music.
Descriptive of what, and from whence was this music supposed to come? To answer these questions, one must inquire as to the raison d'etre of Pêcheurs itself. The answer is vague; the librettists Carré and Cormon didn't lose any sleep pondering the dramatic reason of the work. On the contrary, their minimal interest in the piece was summed up in Carré's remark to the effect that, had they known that Bizet would write such beautiful music, they would not have stuck him with such a "white elephant" of a libretto.
While we cannot succeed in making a dramatic whole out of Pêcheurs, I feel that, with the revision I have suggested, some sense can be made of Zurga's motivation and ultimately of his actions. The brief interlude I have put together employs motives from two lyric episodes heard earlier in the work. The first motive refers back to the scene in Act I when Zurga describes the type of woman sought for the vigil on the rock; the second recalls the recent confrontation between Leïla and Zurga in the cabaletta of their Act III, Scene 1 duet. By juxtaposing these two musical ideas, it is possible to convey something of the conflict in Zurga's mind and heart as he realizes the significance of the necklace. That Zurga didn't recognize Leïla from the necklace as the girl who had saved him years earlier is echoed by a solo cello, playing the tune, "Une femme inconnue." I see him realizing now for the first time the futility of his passion for her. The recollection of their previous encouter makes Zurga aware that Leïla is indeed too young for him and that he, who has sacrificed his integrity as leader of the tribe first by loving her and second, by abetting her escape, must now accept the consequences of his behavior. The second, "confrontational" motive evoked by the cello appropriately describes the difficult decision Zurga now faces and the choice he is obliged by honor to make.
In making these revisions and in writing supplementary text for the protagonists, we have turned the focus both of the scene and inevitably of the whole opera more towards Zurga. Yet, if Pêcheurs is about anything, why shouldn't it be about Zurga; his rise to power and his fall in the face of misplaced love and honor? Perhaps more to the point, we can say that the opera describes the evolution of the relationship between Zurga and Leïla. In a sense, their relationship has, by the end of the opera, reverted to that of their very first encounter, when Zurga was once again a fugitive. Now however, Zurga no longer hides behind Leïla - he has learned from her bravery and from his foolish love. Furthermore, it seems appropriate that the opera conclude as it began, with Zurga facing the elders of the tribe. Where earlier he accepted from them the honor and responsibility of leadership, now he must accept from them, implicitly, his ultimate fate and demise.
It is not my intent to suggest that, by these changes, I have succeeded in transforming a dramatically troubled work into a piece that functions like Carmen. If it proves more convincing than before, if the audience does not respond with laughter and disbelief during the final recitative, as so often occurs, that would be enough compensation. Nor is it my intent to stop looking for more appropriate and effective solutions to the problems of Les pêcheurs de perles. For now, this is another alternative, to be added tot he long list of efforts made, for better or worse, by producers, directors, composers and conductors out of their affection for and advocacy of this glorious, flawed work.
MG
