Georges Bizet

The Pearl Fishers

Because he had formerly won the Prix de Rome prize in composition, George Bizet (1838-1875) had the opportunity to write his opera Les pecheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) on commission. With a libretto written by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré, it received its premiere in Paris at the Theatre Lyrique on September 30, 1863. It ran for eighteen performances, then was not performed again until after the composer's passing. "Me voila seule dans la nuit" (Here I am alone in the night), sung by the priestess Leila in Act 2, expresses her fear of being left alone in the night, and her solace in recalling the childhood memory of secret meetings with the fugitive youth, Nadir. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.0.0.0: Timp: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Solo Soprano. Reprint edition.