Londra - English National Opera: Les pêcheurs de perles

Proof that 'there's more to Bizet than gypsy girls and bullfighters'

The Pearl Fishers set in a modern Sri Lanka shanty town still exerts its exotic charm

The director, Penny Woolcock, unwittingly emphasises the pure hokum of Bizet's opera

Too much sangfroid, too little passion in Pearl Fishers

An enjoyable evening, despite the rather silly plot and starchy text

A young cast struggle to bring Bizet's cardboard characters to life

ENO revives Penny Woolcock's modern-day production of Bizet's exotic romance

Despite Woolcock’s revised staging, Bizet is still shackled by unidiomatic performances