We want to be taken to “dream places”. That’s why Lord of the rings and Harry Potter are such HUGE successes. Even in these digital days. It is therefore foolish to take away the very core of what makes this story magical: the fairy tale. Only the Fort Worth production comes close to this idea: here we see the style that I emulate: rich but not gaudy, intense and seductive As I pointed out real fairy tales are not what Walt Disney made of them. Most of the time they are dark tales, full of mysteries and dangers. They appeal to our deepest fears and hold up a mirror to our innermost desires. And yes, they are also driven by a sensual force. No wonder children love them: there is somewhat secret and scary in those stories. Pearl-fishers is just as mysterious and dark at times, I therefore believe it can be a blockbuster of a production. Given it is as overwhelming as its music! This Peal-fishers I seek to pull in the audience with an great theatrical effect in the beginning of the show. An invitation to join us on this magical trip. The stage setting should then develop from rather simple (fishermen in a shamble village) through rich and opulent (with the arrival of the princess) to dramatic and grand (third act with fire and execution). This way the beginning is stunning and the end as well. But the production will not suffer this way from overkill of effects. The story is after all a very intimate tale of love and friendship. So as soon as we tell this story the grandeur of the stage setting should be isolated by means of lighting and staging. But moreover this deeply human story should be acted and directed in the intimate and realistic style that befits the time of Bizet. Verismo is not yet en vogue during Bizet’s writing of the opera but the first signs of it are very present in his work. Bizet writes people of flesh and blood. Not icons like in the early work of Verdi. His characters have a very “Puccinian” feel: flesh and blood with real pain and passion. 13
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