Sun 28 Mar 2021
Music I’m Listening To: PLACIDO DOMINGO & ANDREA BOCELLI “The Pearl Fishers duet.â€
Posted by Steve under Music I'm Listening To[5] Comments
A duet from Georges Bizet’s opera Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers). How many other songs written in 1863 have endured from that date to this?
March 29th, 2021 at 4:21 am
It is a fine duet. However, I’m by no means a fan of Domingo in French repertoire; he pronounces French with a strong Spanish accent.
Can I suggest Nicolai Gedda (a polyglot Swede who sounded authentic in everything he sang) and Ernest Blanc:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbAKWOemzjg
or Alain Vanzo and Robert Massard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olfM22mCnwo
March 29th, 2021 at 9:30 am
Thanks for the links, Nick. To my untrained ear (to say the least), both are excellent performances, and I’d have to listen to all three many times over before I could tell you which one I prefer.
March 29th, 2021 at 11:42 am
Here is one more, this one suggested by my brother, who is the real musician in the family:
Jussi Björling & Robert Merrill / Pearl Fishers Duet
And for another duet he thinks I ought to listen to, this one female, he recommends:
Delibes: Lakm̩ РDuo des fleurs (Flower Duet), Sabine Devieilhe & Marianne Crebassa
March 29th, 2021 at 5:59 pm
Here are young performers Adam Ulrich and Kyle Guglielmo giving a heartfelt version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98lJbu0Mrsw
The duet is one of the first pieces of classical music I heard as a kid.
It is still a favorite.
Thank you for all the wonderful recommendations.
Nick Fuller’s opera website is terrific.
March 29th, 2021 at 6:11 pm
Do we have space for one more? Absolutely!
Hvorostovsky & Kaufmann – Pearl Fishers duet: