Au fond du temple saint

"Au fond du temple saint" ("At the back of the holy temple") is a duet from Georges Bizet's 1863 opera Les pêcheurs de perles. The libretto was written by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. Generally known as "The Pearl Fishers' Duet", it is one of the best-known numbers in Western opera. It is sung by Nadir (tenor) and Zurga (baritone) in act 1.

Context

After a self-imposed absence, Nadir returns to the shores of Ceylon, where his friend Zurga has just been elected Fisher King by the local pearl fishermen. The two had once fallen in love with the same woman, but then vowed each other to renounce that love and remain true to each other. On meeting again, they sing this duet.

Later, the audience learns from a soliloquy by Nadir that he, despite his vows, had pursued the veiled woman and had returned only because of a rumour that she might be found there. By the end of act 1, Nadir and the woman, Leïla, have found each other and declared their passion. During act 2, their love is discovered by the fishermen who demand from Zurga that Nadir be executed. Only after Zurga recognises that the veiled woman is Leïla, he is overcome by jealousy and rage and orders both to be put to death. In act 3, Zurga realises that his love for Leïla is in vain and helps them flee from the funeral pyre by distracting the fishermen. After the loving couple have escaped, reprising the melody of this duet, the fishermen return and kill Zurga.

A key moment in the opera, this duet is the clearest depiction of the triangular relationships between the protagonists. The obvious situation at this point is that males will value their friendship higher than a heterosexual relationship.^[1] Peter Weir uses this duet in his 1981 film Gallipoli without the heterosexual aspect, purely to express male mateship and loyalty between a pair of doomed soldiers.^[2] A different view is possible by a reading of the duet as a "pair of parallel monologues",^[3] emphasizing the rivalry and deceit between the men.

Music

Nadir———Zurga transposed 1 octave up

The duet starts in the key of E-flat major and the time signature of common time (); after a general pause following the words "Elle fuit!", the score briefly omits all signature accidentals, and the time signature changes at "Non, que rien ne nous sépare" to 3
4 before returning to the starting configuration on "Oui, c'est elle" in the final duet. Nadir's part ranges from F₃ to B♭₄ with the tessitura between A₃ and G₄. Zurga's part ranges from D₃ to E♭₄. Depending on the version and on cuts to the recitatives within the aria, it takes between 4 1/2 to 6 minutes to perform.

Lyrics

References

1. ↑ Johnson, Edward Joe (2003). Once There Were Two True Friends: Or, Idealized Male Friendship in French Narrative from the Middle Ages Through the Enlightenment. Summa Publications. pp. 247–248. ISBN 9781883479428. 
2. ↑ Leonard, Richard (2009). The Mystical Gaze of the Cinema. Melbourne University Press. pp. 179–180. ISBN 9780522859942. 
3. ↑ Ashley, Tim (13 June 2002). "The Pearl Fishers". The Guardian. 

External links

French Wikisource has original text related to this article: Les Pêcheurs de perles

• "Au fond du temple saint": Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• "Au fond du temple saint", Aria Database
• One of the most celebrated versions on YouTube, sung Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill