The Pearl Fishers

The Pearl Fishers, an opera in three acts by Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré.

The action takes place in Ceylon. The local fishermen elect Zurga as their leader. Nadir returns to the village, and he and Zurga recall how their friendship was once threatened when they both fell in love with an unknown priestess.

They swear eternal friendship. The priestess Leila arrives for a vigil of prayer for the safety of the fishermen, and Nadir recognizes her as the woman he and Zurga had loved. In the night, he goes to her and they acknowledge their love for one another, but they are caught by the high priest Nourabad. For breaking her vow of chastity, she and Nadir are condemned to death. Zurga, feeling jealous and betrayed, discovered that in the past Leila had saved his life, and sets fire to the village to allow the two lovers to escape. The opera closes when Zurga is killed on the order of the high priest of Brahman, when he discovers Zurga's plot.