Fishing for Social Inequities: An Exploration of the Sexual and Oriental in Les pêcheurs de perles

Abstract

“Fishing for Social Inequities: An Exploration of the Sexual and Oriental in Les pêcheurs de perles” explores Georges Bizet’s opera, Les pêcheurs de perles, in order to highlight works outside of the canon and focus on social progress through an art form that can oftentimes feel conservative. Deceivingly like the typical 19th-century French opera, this opera subverts conservative views of alternative sexuality and separate spheres through a reflection of France within an exoticised narrative. Bizet satirized France’s treatment of women and colonial practices through methods of dramatization and characterization commonly part of 19th-century exoticist operas, which is seen through Leila’s symbolic and voyeuristic depiction. Exoticism in opera is typically coupled with alternative sexuality which is present in Les pêcheurs de perles with the two main male characters, Nadir and Zurga, in their intimate duet, “Au fond du temple saint,” as they display characteristics of Foerster’s “heterosexual trouble” and Sedgwick’s “homosocial desire.” These explorations within the opera attempted to open a dialogue about feminism and alternative sexuality which was shut down through Parisian music periodicals. Despite the opera’s failed reception, it routinely pops up in the program for larger opera houses and proves to be a significant piece for social progress