So what was French composer Georges Bizet up to before he staked his claim to immortality on “Carmen” shortly before he died in 1875? A dozen years before, the 25-year-old Bizet was warming up to scale the “Carmen” heights with another opera,...
Considering the popularity of “Carmen,” you’d think that Georges Bizet’s other major opera, “The Pearl Fishers,” would be at least vaguely familiar. Not really. Many longtime operagoers in this country have never heard, let alone seen, a...
On Oct. 19, Virginia Opera begins its 35th consecutive season performing in downtown Richmond. From 1978-1983, Virginia Opera was sponsored by Richmond Friends of Opera, led by Anna Garner and a group of opera devotees from across the greater Richmond community. The...
When tenor Chad A. Johnson found out he’d be performing in Virginia Opera’s production of island fantasy “The Pearl Fishers,” he acknowledges having some misgivings. “Many times when they perform ‘Pearl Fishers,’ it’s...
The Virginia Opera’s current production of Georges Bizet’s early opera, Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) at GMU’s Center for the arts this weekend was a delightful surprise. Spare, yet colorful, active without seeming too busy, the production was given a...
