Opera Scotland

Pearl Fishers 1981Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Pearl Fishers

Steven Pimlott's production of The Pearl Fishers had a long opening tour consisting of eleven performances in the autumn of 1981 which extended into the new year for a further 26 performances. It was billed as a medium-scale tour and visited many theatres too small for the full company - but the scale of the production was in fact ideal for this particular opera (and many others of a similar scale). The staging was quite adequate for performance in the larger theatres as well. The Capitol in Aberdeen, a large cinema in Union Street which still retained its stage largely for rock concerts, was used by the company for the first (and only) time because His Majesty's was closed for renovation work.

In pre-supertitle days it seemed an odd decision to perform the work in French, since no native French speakers were employed, and the standard of diction was distinctly variable. It was noticeable that performances were not marketed as Les Pêcheurs de Perles. In view of the number of performances given, it was sensible to double cast all four principal roles.

The actual production looked handsome - very simple with easily moved pieces of statuary, colourful costumes and subtle lighting. Perhaps only the smoke machine was overdone.