References

• Melbourne Opera present Pearl Fishers conducted by Maestro Richard Divall AO OBE. Melbourne Opera present Pearl Fishers conducted by Maestro Richard Divall AO OBE. Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was first performed on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in its initial run. Set in ancient times on the island of Ceylon, the opera tells the story of how two men's vow of eternal friendship is threatened by their love for the same woman, whose own dilemma is the conflict between secular love and her sacred oath as a priestess. The friendship duet "Au fond du temple saint", generally known as "The Pearl Fishers Duet", is one of the best-known numbers in Western opera. For more information see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Fishers
• Melbourne Opera's Pearl Fishers taps experience in memorable Bizet performance Barney Zwartz THE PEARL FISHERS ★★★ Melbourne Opera Until October 4 The Pearl Fishers is Bizet's "other" opera, the less well-known one after Carmen. It is famous for one glorious duet between the tenor and the baritone, and also boasts another couple of under-rated arias and duets. <i>The Pearl Fishers</i>: This is an opera of considerable drama and colour. The Pearl Fishers: This is an opera of considerable drama and colour. Melbourne Opera's very young singers and orchestra managed the not inconsiderable feat of persuading the audience that this is an opera of considerable drama and colour, including a fine rendition of the famous duet. But the company did have the advantage of a highly experienced director in Hugh Halliday and conductor in Richard Divall, both of whose gifts and insights were strongly in evidence at the Athenaeum Theatre. In fact, Divall conducted a celebrated Pearl Fishers with soprano Yvonne Kenny for the Victoria State Opera in 1979 (not 1978, as in the program) that was the first opera I went to in Australia. His resources in 2014 are considerably thinner, but it is still a rousing and lively account with many felicities. All the principal singers were uneven but each had fine moments. Soprano Barbara Zavros as Leila had a lovely legato but problems with pitch, tenor Robert Barbaro (Nadir) has a sweet and pleasing tone but the voice but is as yet small. Baritone Michael Lampard as Zurga was the pick of the singers, while bass Matthew Thomas (Nourabad) was the most consistent. But it is great to see them taking advantage of this opportunity. The chorus and young orchestra were also uneven and sometimes ragged in ensemble, yet had episodes of power and conviction – the chorus especially during the storm scene – while the orchestra played with gusto. The production team did a fine job with limited resources, especially Daniel Harvey's costumes and set, and Michele Forbes' choreography on the small stage. In all, a good effort by an increasingly ambitious Melbourne Opera.
• My Secret Melbourne: Richard Divall Mary O'Brien Conductor Richard Divall was invited to make Melbourne his base 42 years ago. Newman College is his spiritual home, the State Library is his refuge and he believes Port Phillip Bay is at its best on a cold, rainy day. Which place sums up your sense of Melbourne? Spiritual home: Conductor Richard Divall outside Melbourne University's Newman College dome. Spiritual home: Conductor Richard Divall outside Melbourne University's Newman College dome. Photo: Luis Ascui/Getty Images The State Library of Victoria is a repository of learning and a place of serious scholarship and great collecting. I was a fellow there for two years with an office. I worked on early Australian music and there's a huge collection of wonderful material from 1840 to 1940. I've always loved libraries and adored books. I wasn't very good at sport and libraries and books were not only my refuge, they were my love. I have 2½ rooms of books at home. Why did you move here? Richard Divall, aged 12, in his sailor suit. Richard Divall, aged 12, in his sailor suit. I grew up in Sydney beside the seaside. There's a photo of me, aged 12, in a little sailor suit with very curly blond hair and little round glasses. It was for a fancy dress ball for young people. I worked at the ABC as a radio producer in music and I sang in 30 operas but people made me take up conducting. At 26, I was asked to come to Melbourne by Dame Joan Hammond to become the first music director of the Victoria State Opera. Now I'm at four universities and I've been asked to go to King's College London, which will be the climax of my whole life. The best piece of architecture? Advertisement I love the dome at Newman College (University of Melbourne), which was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. It sits over the dining hall and has all sorts of architectural marvels and follies. It's my spiritual home as I'm a brother in a hospital and refugee order (the Order of Malta). I'm on the high table there and I mentor students and do charity work. Your favourite escape from the city? St Kilda Pier on Port Phillip Bay. St Kilda Pier on Port Phillip Bay. I love Mansfield, near the mountains, which is God's own country. I had a little farm there. I also love Dunkeld and the Royal Mail Hotel and I introduce concerts there several times a year. That massive mountain at the base of the Grampians rises like a colossus from the flat plain; it's so dramatic and so like Scotland. What book best captures your sense of the city? The hills around Mansfield The hills around Mansfield Marshall-Hall's Melbourne, edited by Therese Radic and Suzanne Robinson. George Marshall-Hall, the University of Melbourne's first professor of music, was a dashing bohemian who wrote dangerous anti-religious poetry. Some poems were about leading his mistress "abed at night". You can imagine in the 1890s that went down like a lead balloon and he was dismissed from his post. He knew all the Heidelberg painters and he epitomised Melbourne of that period. It's a wonderful collection of essays, taking in the literature, visual arts and music of Marvellous Melbourne. Where do you never want to go back to? Manly Boys High School. It wasn't particularly manly and I learnt far more outside the school than inside. It was a very unhappy period for me and I left school at 15 and went straight to work. I didn't get to university till later in life and I've just finished my doctorate at 68. Melbourne has been my home for 42 years, I love the style of the city, the personalities, and I adore its multiculturalism and its quality of life. All of my friends are here. Your favourite spot on a cold day? I love winter. Having coffee outdoors on Lygon Street or walking beside the bay, especially if it's raining, I adore the rain. The cold is an excuse to have an open fire, which I really love. I'd make a good farmer – I come originally from an old Australian farming family. Where do you take visitors to the city? It depends on who they are. Because of the gothic aspect, some people adore St Patrick's Cathedral; people who love Victorian architecture at its grandest love the Exhibition Buildings; those who love a great collection of art – and it is a great world collection – are bowled over by the National Gallery. If I was allowed in – Government House. One of my closest friends, Sir James Gobbo, was the previous governor and I've known all the governors since Brian Murray. Which doorway would you most like to go through? Apart from heaven, the most important doorway that one goes through is the doorway to people's hearts and souls because that's where you find real friendship, understanding and communication. I have the most wonderful collection of close friends. As a single man, they mean a heck of a lot to me because they're my family. Richard Divall conducts Melbourne Opera's The Pearl Fishers at the Athenaeum Theatre, September 19-30; Alexander Theatre, Monash University, October 4. melbourneopera.com