Léo Delibes |
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Operas
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Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Delibes wrote the score during 1881–82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Set in British India in the mid 19th century, Lakmé is based on the 1880 novel Rarahu ou Le Mariage de Loti by Pierre Loti. The opera includes the famous and popular Flower Duet (Sous le dôme épais) for sopranos performed in Act 1 by the lead character Lakmé, the daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika.[1] Another famous aria from the opera is the Bell Song (L'Air des clochettes) in Act 2.
Like other French operas of the period, Lakmé captures the ambiance of the Orient that was in vogue during the latter part of the nineteenth century in line with other operatic works such as Bizet's The Pearl Fishers and Massenet's Le roi de Lahore.[2] The subject of the opera was suggested by Gondinet as a vehicle for the American soprano Marie van Zandt.
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Following its premiere at the Opéra Comique in 1883, Lakmé reached its 500th performance there on 23 June 1909 and 1,000th on 13 May 1931. A series of performances took place at the Théâtre Gaîté Lyrique Paris in 1908, with Alice Verlet, David Devriès and Félix Vieuille.[3]
Role | Voice type | Premiere cast,[3] 14 April 1883 (Conductor: Jules Danbé) |
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Lakmé, a priestess, daughter of Nilakantha | soprano | Marie van Zandt |
Gérald, a British army officer | tenor | Jean-Alexandre Talazac |
Nilakantha, a Brahmin priest | bass | Cobalet |
Frédéric, officer friend of Gérald | baritone | Barré |
Mallika, slave of Lakmé | mezzo soprano | Frandin |
Hadji, slave of Nilakantha | tenor | Chennevière |
Miss Ellen, fiancée of Gérald | soprano | Rémy |
Miss Rose, companion of Ellen | soprano | Molé-Truffier |
Mistress Bentson, a governess | mezzo-soprano | Pierron |
Fortune teller ('Un Domben') | tenor | Teste |
A Chinese merchant | tenor | Davoust |
Le Kouravar | baritone | Bernard |
Chorus: Officers, ladies, merchants, Brahmins, musicians |
The Hindus go to perform their rites in a sacred Brahmin temple under the high priest, Nilakantha. Nilakantha's daughter Lakmé (which derives from the Sanskrit Lakshmi) and her servant Mallika are left behind and go down to the river to gather flowers where they sing the famous "Flower Duet." As they approach the water at the river bank, Lakmé removes her jewelry and places it on a bench. A party of British officers, Frederic and Gérald, arrive nearby while on a picnic with two British girls and their governess. The British girls see the jewelry and request sketches: Gérald volunteers to stay and make sketches of the jewelry. He sees Lakmé and Mallika returning and hides. Mallika leaves Lakmé for a while; while alone Lakmé sees Gérald and, frightened by the foreigner's incursion, cries out for help. However, simultaneously, she is intrigued and so she sends away those who had responded to her call for help when they come to her rescue. Lakmé and Gérald begin to fall in love with each other. Nilakantha returns and learns of the British officer's trespassing and vows revenge on him for his affront to Lakmé's honour.
At a bazaar, Nilakantha forces Lakmé to sing (Bell Song) in order to lure the trespasser into identifying himself. When Gérald steps forward, Lakmé faints, thus giving him away. Nilakantha stabs Gérald, wounding him. Lakmé takes Gérald to a secret hideout in the forest where she nurses him back to health.
While Lakmé fetches sacred water that will confirm the vows of the lovers, Fréderic, a fellow British officer, appears before Gérald and reminds him of his duty to his regiment. After Lakmé returns, she senses the change in Gérald and realizes that she has lost him. She dies with honour, rather than live with dishonour, killing herself by eating the poisonous datura leaf.
In conventional form and pleasant style, but given over to the fashion for exoticism, the delicate orchestration and melodic richness earned Delibes a success with audiences.[4] The passionate elements of the opera are given warm and expressive music, while the score in general is marked by subtle harmonic colours and deft orchestration. Oriental colour is used in prayers, incantations, dances and the scene in the market.[2]
The Act 2 aria "Où va la jeune Hindoue?" (the 'Bell Song') has long been a favourite recital piece for coloratura sopranos (recordings of it in Italian, as "Dov'e l'indiana bruna?", exist).
In recent years, the Flower Duet in Act 1 has become familiar more widely because of its use in advertisements, in particular the British Airways commercial,[1] as well as in films.[5]