A Fine Offering Needing A Bit Of Bite
For many years the Fournet Pearl Fishers was my go-to recording. I still have a place in my heart for it, particular moments that are delicate and sweet as no other. However, when I feel the need to hear the opera now, this is the recording I play. It is very good.

The performances, especially that of Barbara Hendricks are lovely. The recorded sound is a pleasure compared to the others, whereby one hears the full lushness of the music, the dreamy quality of an exotic and secreted Ceylon (Sri Lanka). My only regret (and this goes for all the available recordings of which I'm aware) is that more sweep and punctuation, particularly in the form of tempi is lacking. I find that the conducting hesitates to bring forth moments that would add so much more life to the characters, opting instead for what might be deemed sanctimony.

All in all, it's the best recording available, but I'm not unwilling to keep searching. It's very pretty Bizet.

Pearl Fishers
The singing over-powered the music so much, made it difficult to enjoy the flow of the opera.

Couldn't agree more.....
This is certainly one of my favorite opera recordings. I agree with the reviewers who mention that there are few if any "routine" moments in this opera. I am reminded of the taughtness of a work such as "Rigoletto".
The music is ravishing and the opera abounds with memorable arias and duets....the famous ACTI duet and also "Je Crois..." as well as "Comme Autrefois" and Zurga'a aria.
The choruses are lovely too.
The singers are outstanding as well. Barbara Hendricks can lack a bit of emotion in her singing but does have a ravishing tone and is technically wonderful.
Bizet's first famous opera is, I think, greatly underrated and deserves a more permanent place in the repertory.
Buy this recording.....

Desert island disc
If you like opera, or even if you think you don't, you'll love this performance of The Pearl Fishers. This simple and moving story of friendship and love inspired Bizet to a wealth of melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic invention. The tenor/baritone duet Au fond du temple saint is justly famous; the tenor aria Je crois encore entendre is ravishingly beautiful; and the soprano's coloratura aria is equally lovely.

Fortunately, the cast and conductor are up to the demands of the music. Tenor and soprano must have light, agile voices with high extensions. John Aler and Barbara Hendricks actually make this music sound easy and effortless. Aler brings back memories of the great Leopold Simoneau, and he far exceeds Nicolai Gedda, an outstanding and versatile tenor whose heavier voice has to strain for the high notes of Je crois encore entendre. Hendricks catches the sweetness and innocence of Leila, and her coloratura is light, skillful, beautiful of tone. Gino Quilico matches Aler in their thrilling duet. Plasson, the orchestra, and the chorus give deeply committed performances. As a final bonus, the French pronunciation is very satisfying.

Ardent, exotic, lovely - the pearl among Pearlfishers
There is no question in my mind about which role Barbara Hendricks was born to sing.

In the role of Leila, she achieves a miracle. The voice is simply ideal for the music, like a swathe of silk mysteriously draped over the invisible air. The French language has an excellent exponent in her, too. This is the period, style and language in which Ms Hendricks beautifully exemplifies the best qualities required of a Leila.

John Aler is passionate and beautifully contained as Nadir, and an excellent Zurga is met with in Gino Quilico. The famous "duet from Pearlfishers" is most exquisitely performed here, and the lesser-known but no less lovely duet work between Leila and Nadir has never sounded better than in this recording.

The chorus, too, rises to the height of the occasion. Wonderfully supported by an excellent orchestra and conducted by Michel Plasson, the chorus add to the extraordinarily lovely spellbinding quality of this recording.

Les Pecheurs de Perles was one of the first operas I ever heard as a little girl. To this day, it remains a favourite, and I cannot recommend any recording of the opera more highly than this one.