Seattle Opera audiences know that William Burden is a gifted lyric tenor, singing with ease and artistry in a variety of roles with the company.
Thanks to the digital age and YouTube, anyone can confirm this: Just Google “Au fond du temple saint” along with the name William Burden and hear one of the greatest duets in all of opera, sung by Burden and baritone Nathan Gunn in a production of French composer Georges Bizet’s “The Pearl Fishers.”
The beauty of Burden’s voice, and the Bizet music showcased in this sensuous duet, are part of the allure of “The Pearl Fishers,” which Seattle Opera opens on Saturday.
Bizet, of course, is best known for “Carmen,” one of the most loved and performed operas in the world. “Pearl Fishers” does not soar that high into the operatic stratosphere, but its tragic love triangle, set in exotic ancient Ceylon (Sri Lanka today), is well told with a score of great lyric beauty. Bizet was but 25 when he wrote it in 1863; its exotic setting lends itself to fantasy costume and set design.
French opera has been good to Burden, whose ease with the language and vocal agility, and the sweetness and warmth of his singing, has helped him to carve out a significant career singing an ever-expanding repertoire in major opera houses around the world.
A favorite at Seattle Opera, he’s an old hand at “The Pearl Fishers”; a year ago he sang the role of Nadir at Florida Grand Opera in an over-the-top production by hip fashion designer Zandra Rhodes that was a show in itself.
In Seattle, Burden again sings the role (in a production from Opera Company of Philadelphia). Nadir is one of two fishermen in Ceylon (the other is Zurga, sung in Seattle by baritone Christopher Feigum in the opening-night cast). In the story, they are great childhood friends and as adults they both love the same woman, the priestess Leila (American soprano Mary Dunleavy in her Seattle Opera debut). Complications and treachery follow. In the end, one will escape with Leila and one will die.
Burden took a break from rehearsal last week to talk about the opera and his career. He’s a handsome man, trim and tan, part of a cadre of younger opera singers whose looks and fitness are career assets. So he has no problem doffing his shirt if the part calls for it, and for this production he’s even hit the tanning salon.
Burden didn’t get serious about singing until graduate school at Indiana University. He gives credit to two great voice teachers who nurtured his talent and taught him one of the commandments of opera singers: how to breathe to support the voice.
As his voice bloomed, so did his technique. An opera singer can have an extraordinary voice, but still muddle the language, but that’s not an issue for Burden; a hallmark of his singing is its clarity. Even with scant training in French (one year in high school), Burden is a natural. “I have a good ear for language,” he said.
So what’s going on in the famous “friendship duet” in “The Pearl Fishers”? This is easily one of the greatest vocal moments in all opera, a tenor-baritone duet that seems to reach into the soul with a visceral punch.
Two men, friends since childhood, sing about falling in love with the same beautiful woman. Now they believe they are over that old love, and swear eternal friendship. But it’s enough to simply listen. This is music that transcends language.
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