"" ("At the back of the holy temple") is a
duet from
Georges Bizet's 1863 opera ''
Les pêcheurs de perles''. The
libretto was written by
Eugène Cormon
Pierre-Étienne Piestre, known as Eugène Cormon (5 May 1810 – March 1903), was a French dramatist and librettist. He used his mother's name, Cormon, during his career.
Cormon wrote dramas, comedies and, from the 1840s, libretti; around 15 ...
and
Michel Carré
Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist.
He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing lib ...
. Generally known as "The Pearl Fishers' Duet", it is one of the most popular numbers in Western opera – it appeared on seven of the
Classic 100 Countdowns
Since 2001, ABC Classic FM, ABC Classic has organised a number of Classic 100 Countdown surveys. The results of each survey are decided by votes cast by the listeners of ABC Classic. After the voting, the works are played in reverse order of popul ...
conducted by
ABC Classic FM. It is sung by Nadir (
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
) and Zurga (
baritone) in act 1.
Context
After a self-imposed absence, Nadir returns to the shores of Ceylon, where his friend Zurga has just been elected Fisher King by the local pearl fishermen. The two had once fallen in love with the same woman, but then pledged to each other to renounce that love and remain true to each other. On meeting again, they sing this duet, remembering how they first fell in love/were fascinated with a veiled priestess of Brahma whom they saw passing through the adoring crowd.
A key moment in the opera, this duet is the clearest depiction of the triangular relationships between the protagonists. The obvious situation at this point is that males will value their friendship higher than a heterosexual relationship.
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...
uses this duet in his 1981 film ''
Gallipoli'' without the heterosexual aspect, purely to express male mateship and loyalty between a pair of doomed soldiers. A different view is possible by a reading of the duet as a "pair of parallel monologues", emphasizing the rivalry and deceit between the men.
This duet reappears at the end of the opera, but is sung in unison as the soprano Leila and the tenor Nadir sing together of their love which will transcend all their trials—while Zurga sacrifices himself, knowing of their love, as he lets them flee to safety.
Music
The duet starts in the
key of
E-flat major
E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically ...
and the
time signature
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...
of common time (); after a
general pause following the words "Elle fuit!", the score briefly omits all signature
accidentals, and the time signature changes at "Non, que rien ne nous sépare" to before returning to the starting configuration on "Oui, c'est elle" in the final duet. Nadir's part
ranges
In the Hebrew Bible and in the Old Testament, the word ranges has two very different meanings.
Leviticus
In Leviticus 11:35, ranges probably means a cooking furnace for two or more pots, as the Hebrew word here is in the dual number; or perhaps ...
from
F3 to B
4 with the
tessitura
In music, tessitura (, pl. ''tessiture'', "texture"; ) is the most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer or less frequently, musical instrument, the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding (or characte ...
between A
3 and G
4. Zurga's part ranges from D
3 to E
4.
Depending on the version and on cuts to the recitatives within the aria, it takes between 4 1/2 to 6 minutes to perform.
Lyrics
References
External links
"Au fond du temple saint" Aria Database
*, sung
Jussi Björling
Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...
and
Robert Merrill
Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American operatic baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical theatre circuit. He received the National Medal of Arts in 1993.
Early life
Merrill was born Moishe Miller, ...
{{Authority control
Compositions by Georges Bizet
Opera excerpts
1863 compositions
Arias in French
Compositions in E-flat major