The premiere of the opera Les Pêcheurs de Perles by Georges Bizet, written to the libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré, took place on the stage of the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris on the 30th of September 1863. It was the first opera by the twenty-four-year-old composer to be presented on stage.

The plot consists of a story about a competition between two friends, pearl divers Zurga and Nadir, who are both in love with the wonderful Leïla. It unfolds against exotic landscapes of the island of Ceylon (an unusual environment of exotic countries was used as an additional attraction for the public in many French operas). So, Leïla would have to make a choice, which is far more complicated: between duty and emotion. As with many romantic plots, the emotion wins: a priestess of Brahma, Leïla does not remain indifferent to the passionate confessions of Nadir and breaks the vow of purity and celibacy. An execution awaits the lovers, but they suddenly manage to escape and flee custody during a fire, which was organised by Zurga. In the key moment of the narrative, the perjury of the priestess, the echoes of two famous predecessors of Bizet can be “heard”: La Vestale by Gaspare Spontini and Norma by Vincenzo Bellini. The obsession with feelings defined the lyrical tone that prevails in the music. It is no coincidence that the most recognisable pages of Les Pêcheurs de Perles are the melancholically beautiful romance of Nadir and the duet of Nadir and Zurga from the first act, filled with memories and vows of eternal friendship.