On Tuesday, 16 September 2025, at 8 p.m., the lights will come back on in the Sala Grande del Maggio for the first event after the summer break: Georges Bizet's “Les pêcheurs de perles” is on the programme.

Conducting the Maggio Orchestra and Chorus will be Jérémie Rhorer.

The production is directed by Wim Wenders.

The protagonists on stage are Hasmik Torosyan, Javier Camarena, Lucas Meachem, and Huigang Liu.

Production by the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin.
 

Florence, 6 September 2025 – The lights come back on at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino for the first opera performance of the season after the summer break: on Tuesday 16 September at 8 p.m., Les pêcheurs de perles by Georges Bizet will be staged in a production by the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. Three more performances are scheduled: on 19 September at 8 p.m., on 21 September at 3:30 p.m. and on 23 September at 8 p.m.

Conducting the Maggio Orchestra and Chorus in the theatre's Main hall will be Jérémie Rhorer. The production, revived for this occasion by Derek Gimpel, is by Wim Winders, whose opera direction is being staged for the first time ever in Italy.

The sets are by David Regehr; costumes by Montserrat Casanova; lighting, taken over from Oscar Frosio, is by Olaf Freese. The dramaturgy is by Detlef Giese. The choir master of the Maggio is Lorenzo Fratini.

The vocal cast includes Hasmik Torosyan in the role of Léila; Javier Camarena plays Nadir; the role of Zurga is played by Lucas Meachem and Huigang Liu plays Nourabad.

Speaking about Bizet's opera – presented for the second time during the Maggio season after its staging in February 2016 – maestro Jérémie Rhorer, making his debut at the theatre, emphasised his enthusiasm at conducting Les pêcheurs de perles for the first time in his career: 'I have rarely conducted Bizet's operas during my career; instead, I have tackled Bizet's symphonic music more frequently, which is why I am very happy about this first encounter with Les pêcheurs'. Continuing his analysis, the maestro also highlighted the relationship between Italian and French music: "In recent years, I have also begun to focus my interest on the underestimated relationship between Italian and French music, a relationship born out of a network of historical, artistic, literary and musical connections that fascinate me enormously. Take Puccini, for example, a composer I have had very little opportunity to conduct but who has always been my favourite. Coming specifically to Les pêcheurs de perles, a very stimulating question that arises from listening to this opera is to what extent Puccini knew it and used it as a model in some of his own works. There are many aspects of Pêcheurs that seem to be reflected in an ideal twin relationship in several pages of Puccini's work. Maestro Rhorer will also be performing on 20 September in the Zubin Mehta Hall for a symphonic concert featuring music by Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky.

The opera is directed by Wim Wenders, who was interviewed by Derek Gimpel. Speaking at the premiere at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in 2020, Wenders highlighted both the rarity of the performance and the musical beauty: "In my eyes (or rather my ears), this opera is unfairly under-performed: my desire was therefore to “expose” the story as much as possible and to tell it in such a way as to induce or encourage the viewer to listen through all our means. I have often seen operas where there was always something to see, so that watching became more important than listening. I didn't want the audience to leave remembering that they had seen something grand; I wanted to leave them with the feeling that they had “discovered” this music and, above all, that it was the music that told them the story. Bizet really created a world of his own with his music."

The world that Wenders brings to the stage is dominated by an essential set, very dark and deep projections (sea, waves, clouds and palm tree shadows), puffs of smoke and equally simple and essential costumes. Only the choir in the first act wears saffron-yellow costumes and red hair; a splash of colour and light that contrasts with the black. Wenders constructs a space that allows the drama to unfold.

‘I am really happy to be back here at the Teatro del Maggio after the performances of Rigoletto in 2021,’ says Javier Camarena, who plays Nadir, "and to be able to do so with this opera which, although less well known than the famous Carmen, is a true musical masterpiece, full of truly iconic moments, including the duet between Nadir and Zurga. Nadir is a role that I have only tackled a few times in my career, and it is really exciting to be able to perform it again here in Florence. I can certainly say that, technically speaking, this is not an easy opera to interpret; the style required for the role of Nadir makes it difficult to find the right balance between the composer's original intention and the vocal technique of our time. It is interesting to be part of this production by Wim Wenders; the way it has been conceived, combined with the fact that there are only four soloists on stage, gives us singers a lot of “responsibility” on stage. The set design is minimalist and simple, which allows us soloists to be more active and “fill” the stage with our movements and actions. We are also working harmoniously with Jérémie Rhorer: when it comes to productions like this, it is natural for a singer to infuse the character they are playing with something of themselves, and working with Maestro Rhorer, it is almost spontaneous to find a balance between this and his musical and interpretative vision of Bizet's work.

Hasmik Torosyan – starring in the role of Léila – returns to Maggio after her debut in autumn 2017 in Giacomo Puccini's La rondine: "I am really happy to be back at the Maggio and to be playing the role of Léila: a character who, at the beginning of the story, has almost angelic traits but who, as the story unfolds, turns out to be a strong woman with a truly combative spirit, willing – for her love – to stand up to anything. This is a really interesting aspect because this change can be noticed and, above all, appreciated on a vocal and musical level. Wim Wenders' direction and staging, characterised by large, simple spaces, push us to give an even more incisive interpretation because each character in the story must also “fill” these spaces: there are no moments when we are “covered” on stage, and this requires a great deal of work, even on the smallest details."