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THE CAST

Learn more about our artists by clicking or tapping on their headshot.

Emily Pogorelc, Leïla

Will Liverman, Zurga

Duke Kim, Nadir

know before you go

Pricing
Subscribe to the 2025-2026 season today!
Single tickets will go on sale later this summer. Stay tuned.

Pre-performance talk
5:00 PM
Included in price of performance ticket
Takes place inside Lisner Auditorium
To be given by WCO co-founder Peter Russell

Opera Gems
Free online lecture by Peter Russell
Date/Time TBA

Approximate run time
Two hours and thirty minutes, including a 20 minute intermission

THE OPERA

The Pearl Fishers (Les Pêcheurs de Perles)
Georges Bizet

Sung in French with projected English supertitles

After winning the prestigious Prix de Rome, a young Georges Bizet was offered a commission to write The Pearl Fishers. Premiering at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris (1863) when Bizet was only 24 years old, the opera tells the story of how two men’s vow of eternal friendship is threatened by their love for the same woman. Featuring the famous duet “Au fond du temple saint”, or “The Pearl Fisher’s Duet”, the opera showcases Bizet’s transcendent gifts for melody which would culminate over ten years later in his most famous work, Carmen. This season WCO presents stunning vocal beauty and elegance in Bizet’s romantic drama, The Pearl Fishers.

American soprano Emily Pogorelc, praised for her soaring voice and captivating stage presence, plays Leïla. Grammy Award-winning baritone Will Liverman plays Zurga, while tenor Duke Kim (an alumnus of the Cafritz Young Artist program) plays his friend, Nadir. All three artists are making their WCO debuts.