OPERA : Chinese Singers Debut in ‘Pecheurs’

“Les Pecheurs de Perles” looks inadvertently hilarious as presented by Opera Pacific at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The ornate production, staged by David Gately, offers a jumble of would-be exotic cliches, cheaply mounted and awkwardly enacted. Under the circumstances, it may be wisest to close one’s eyes to the cartoon and concentrate on Bizet’s pretty tunes--all three of them.

For the last two performances of the run, the prettiest tunes have been reassigned to a pair of promising young singers originally from the People’s Republic of China. Ai-Lan Zhu--best known as Peter Sellars’ masochistic Zerlina and PCH Pamina--has taken over the lyrical duties of Liela, the not-so-saintly Brahman priestess. Jianyi Zhang--a tenor with experience in Paris, Lyon and Nice--has assumed the ardent stances of Nadir, the Ceylonese hero who fishes for more than pearls.

On Friday, both artists struck attractive poses in Marjorie McCown’s flashy, fleshy costumes. Both conquered the hurdles of Johniene Papandreas’ muddled unit set with reasonable assurance. More important, both sang with with freshness and purity.

Zhu’s gleaming, shimmering soprano tones sometimes became a bit edgy as she ascended the scale, and this role requires a lot of ascending. She mustered ample agility, however, for the florid flights, and traced the arching lines with legato grace.

Zhang’s bright, open tones rang with dauntless fervor throughout the range. He held his own valiantly against the burly baritone of James Dietsch in the friendship duet, and conquered the climactic C of “Je crois entendre encore” with incisive thrust.

Neither artist paid much attention to the Bizet’s requests for subtle inflections and pianissimo climaxes. The breach of style seemed almost inconsequential, however, in context. As conducted by Mark Flint, this performance wasn’t exactly predicated on introspection or finesse.