Lakmé

Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written in 1881–2, 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 I), Eugène Louis Carpezat and (Joseph-)Antoine Lavastre (Act II), and Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (Act III).

Plot

The opera includes the popular Flower Duet (Sous le dôme épais) for soprano and mezzo-soprano in Act 1, and the aria Où va la jeune Hindoue? (Bell Song, Act 2).

Roles

The main roles in the opera include Lakmé, a Hindu priestess (soprano), Nilakantha, her father (bass), Gérald, a British officer (tenor), and Mallika, Lakmé's servant (mezzo-soprano).

Recordings

There have been numerous recordings of Lakmé, including those by Mady Mesplé (Lakmé), Charles Burles (Gérald), and Roger Soyer (Nilakantha) in 1970, and by Natalie Dessay (Lakmé), Gregory Kunde (Gérald), and José van Dam (Nilakantha) in 1998.

External links

• Lakmé at the Paris Opera
• Lakmé synopsis at the Metropolitan Opera

Lakmé Resources
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