Jump to content

The Pearl Fishers (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by KolbertBot (talk | contribs) at 18:58, 1 July 2018 (Bot: HTTP→HTTPS (v485)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Pearl Fishers
Directed byWilliam Sterling
Production
company
ABC
Release date
3 April 1963 (Sydney)
Running time
115 mins
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

The Pearl Fishers is a 1963 Australian TV play based on the opera by Bizet. It was filmed in Sydney at the ABC's Gore Hill studios and marked the one hundredth anniversary of the first performance of the opera.[1]

Cast

Character Singer
Leila Rosalind Keene
Zurga Ronal Jackson
Nadir Raymond McDonald

Keene and Jackson appear in the production, but not McDonald; Edward Brayshaw mimes and lip-synchs the role of Nadir.[1]

Reception

The critic from the Sydney Morning Herald wrote that, "it may be that producer William Stirling doubted that the music could hold the viewers' interest should the action flag for a moment, for his sets were distractingly cluttered up at times. He also used such film techniques as flashbacks, and in the love duel the closeup was excessive. The flames in which Ronal Jackson expired at the end of the. .opera were a further innovation; such an impressively elaborate production obviously cried out for colour television."[2]

References

  1. ^ a b James, Dawn (10 April 1963). "SPINE-TINGLING OPERA". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 30, no. 45. Australia. p. 19. Retrieved 25 November 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "Opera". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 April 1963. p. 16.