Description
Sutherland, Vanzo, Bacquier - Delibes: Lakmé - Highlights (Flower Duet; Bell Song) / Opera Gala / Decca Audio CD 1998 / 458 220-2
UPC 028945822020
Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille.
The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart in Paris, with stage decorations designed by Auguste Alfred Rubé and Philippe Chaperon (act 1), Eugène Carpezat and (Joseph-)Antoine Lavastre (act 2), and Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (act 3). Set in British India in the mid-19th century, Lakmé is based on Théodore Pavie's story "Les babouches du Brahmane" and the novel Le Mariage de Loti by Pierre Loti. Gondinet proposed it as a vehicle for the American soprano Marie van Zandt.
The opera includes the popular Flower Duet ("Sous le dôme épais") for a soprano and mezzo-soprano, performed in act 1 by Lakmé, the daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika. The name Lakmé is the French rendition of Sanskrit Lakshmi, the name of the Hindu Goddess of Wealth. The opera's most famous aria is the "Bell Song" ("L'Air des clochettes") in act 2.
Lakmé combines many orientalist aspects that were popular at the time: an exotic location, similar to other French operas of the period, such as Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles and Massenet's Le roi de Lahore, a fanatical priest, mysterious Hindu rituals, and "the novelty of exotically colonial English people".
| Label: | Decca – 458 220-2 |
|---|---|
| Series: | Opera Gala |
| Format: |
CD
|
| Country: | Europe |
| Released: |
1998 |
| Genre: | Classical |
| Style: | Opera, Romantic |
Tracklist:
| From Act I | |||
| 1 | Viens, Mallika... Dôme Épais Le Jasmin [Lakmé, Mallika] | 6:01 | |
| 2 | Quand Une Femme Est Si Jolie... Leur Vertu Bizzarre Manque D'Apparat [Ellen, Frederick, Gerlad, Rose, Miss Bentson] |
4:47 | |
| 3 | Prendre Le Dessin D'Un Bijou... Fantaisie Aux Divins Mensonges [Gerald] | 6:02 | |
| 4 | Les Fleurs Me Paraissent Plus Belles... Pourquoi Dans Les Grands Bois [Lakmé] | 3:58 | |
| 5 | D'Où Viens-Tu?... C'Est Le Dieu De La Jeunesse [Lakmé, Gerald, Hadji, Nilakantha, Indians] | 8:38 | |
|
From Act II |
|||
| 6 | Allons, Avant Que Midi Sonne [Chinese And Hindu Pedlars And Merchants, Miss Bentson, Frederick, Rose] | 4:41 | |
| 7 | Lakmé, Ton Doux Regard Se Voile [Nilakantha] | 3:32 | |
| 8 | Ah!... Où Va La Jeune Indoue [Lakmé, Nilakantha, Crowd] | 7:56 | |
| 9 | Lakmé! Lakmé! C'Est Toi... Ah! C'Est L'Amour Endormi... Dans La Forêt Près De Nous [Gerald, Lakmé] | 7:58 | |
|
From Act III |
|||
| 10 | "Sous Le Ciel Tout Étoilé..." [Lakmé] | 3:27 | |
| 11 | Lakmé! Lakmé! Qu'As-Tu?... C'Est Lui! C'Est Lui! [Lakmé, Gerald, Nilakantha] | 10:10 |
- Baritone Vocals [Frederick] – Claude Calès (tracks: 2, 6)
- Baritone Vocals [Nilakantha] – Gabriel Bacquier (tracks: 5, 7, 8, 11)
- Chorus – Monte Carlo Opera Chorus (tracks: 5, 6, 8)
- Composed By – Léo Delibes
- Conductor – Richard Bonynge
- Contralto Vocals [Miss Bentson] – Monica Sinclair (tracks: 2, 6)
- Engineer – Kenneth Wilkinson, Michael Mailes
- Mezzo-soprano Vocals [Mallika] – Jane Berbié (tracks: 1)
- Orchestra – Orchestre National De L'Opéra De Monte-Carlo
- Producer – John Mordler
- Soprano Vocals [Ellen] – Gwenyth Annear (tracks: 2)
- Soprano Vocals [Lakmé] – Joan Sutherland (tracks: 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- Soprano Vocals [Rose] – Josephte Clément (tracks: 2, 6)
- Tenor Vocals [Gerald] – Alain Vanzo (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 9, 11)
- Tenor Vocals [Hadji] – Emile Belcourt (tracks: 5)
