"" ("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 Pierre-Étienne Piestre, known as Eugène Cormon (5 May 1810 – March 1903), was a French dramatist and librettist. He used his mother's name, Cormon, during his career. Cormon wrote dramas, comedies and, from the 1840s, libretti; around 15 ...

and

Michel Carré Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist. He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing lib ...

. Generally known as "The Pearl Fishers' Duet", it is one of the most popular numbers in Western opera – it appeared on seven of the

Classic 100 Countdowns Since 2001, ABC Classic FM, ABC Classic has organised a number of Classic 100 Countdown surveys. The results of each survey are decided by votes cast by the listeners of ABC Classic. After the voting, the works are played in reverse order of popul ...

conducted by ABC Classic FM. It is sung by Nadir (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

) 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 pledged to each other to renounce that love and remain true to each other. On meeting again, they sing this duet, remembering how they first fell in love/were fascinated with a veiled priestess of Brahma whom they saw passing through the adoring crowd. 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.

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...

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. A different view is possible by a reading of the duet as a "pair of parallel monologues", emphasizing the rivalry and deceit between the men. This duet reappears at the end of the opera, but is sung in unison as the soprano Leila and the tenor Nadir sing together of their love which will transcend all their trials—while Zurga sacrifices himself, knowing of their love, as he lets them flee to safety.

Music

The duet starts in the key of

E-flat major E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically ...

and the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

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 before returning to the starting configuration on "Oui, c'est elle" in the final duet. Nadir's part

ranges In the Hebrew Bible and in the Old Testament, the word ranges has two very different meanings. Leviticus In Leviticus 11:35, ranges probably means a cooking furnace for two or more pots, as the Hebrew word here is in the dual number; or perhaps ...

from F₃ to B₄ with the

tessitura In music, tessitura (, pl. ''tessiture'', "texture"; ) is the most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer or less frequently, musical instrument, the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding (or characte ...

between A₃ and G₄. Zurga's part ranges from D₃ to E₄. 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

External links

"Au fond du temple saint"
Aria Database *, sung

Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...

and

Robert Merrill Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American operatic baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical theatre circuit. He received the National Medal of Arts in 1993. Early life Merrill was born Moishe Miller, ...

{{Authority control Compositions by Georges Bizet Opera excerpts 1863 compositions Arias in French Compositions in E-flat major