Lakmé

This article is about the opera. For the Indian cosmetics manufacturer, see Lakme cosmetics.

Léo Delibes
Operas Le roi l'a dit (1873) Jean de Nivelle (1880) Lakmé (1883)
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Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille, based on the 1880 novel Rarahu ou Le Mariage de Loti by Pierre Loti.

The subject of the Opera was suggested by Gondinet as a vehicle for the American soprano Marie van Zandt. Delibes wrote the score during 1881-82. 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, Bizet's The Pearl Fishers and Massenet's Le roi de Lahore being two other examples.^[1]

Performance history

The opera was first performed on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris, reaching 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.^[2]

Music

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.^[3] 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.^[1]

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, Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs (The Flower Duet) in Act 1 has become familiar more widely because of its use in advertisements - in particular the British Airways commercial - ^[4] as well as in films.^[5]

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast,[6] 14 April 1883 (Conductor: Jules Danbé)
Gérald, a British army officer	tenor	Jean-Alexandre Talazac
Nilakantha, a Brahmin priest	bass	Cobalet
Lakmé, a priestess, daughter of Nilakantha	soprano	Marie van Zandt
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

Synopsis

The story is set in the late nineteenth century British Raj in India. Many Hindus have been forced by the British to practice their religion in secret.

Act 1

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.

Act 2

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.

Act 3

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.

Musical numbers

• Prelude

Act I

• No. 1 Introduction: "À l'heure accoutumée" (Nilakantha)
• Prière: "Blanche Dourga" (Lakmé, Nilakantha)
• No. 1 Bis - Scène: "Lakmé, c'est toi qui nous protégeons!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé)
• No. 2 - Duetto (The Flower Duet): "Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs ... Dôme épais, le jasmin" (Lakmé, Mallika)
• Scène: "Miss Rose, Miss Ellen" (Gérald)
• No. 3 - Quintette & couplets: "Quand une femme est si jolie" (Gérald)
• Récitatif: "Nous commettons un sacrilège" (Gérald)
• No. 4 - Air: "Prendre le dessin d'un bijou" (Gérald)
• No. 4 Bis - Scène: "Non! Je ne veux pas toucher" (Gérald, Lakmé)
• No. 5 - Récitatif & Strophes: "Les fleurs me paraissent plus belles" (Lakmé)
• No. 5 Bis - Récitatif: "Ah! Mallika! Mallika!" (Lakmé)
• No. 6 - Duo: "D'où viens-tu? Que veux-tu?" (Lakmé, Gérald)
• No. 6 Bis - Scène: "Viens! Là! Là!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé)

Act II

• Entr'acte
• No. 7 - Choeur & Scène du marche: "Allons, avant que midi sonne"
• No. 7 Bis - Récitatif: "Enfin! Nous aurons du silence!"
• No. 8 - Airs de danse: Introduction
• No. 8 - Airs de danse: Terana
• No. 8 - Airs de danse: Rektah
• No. 8 - Airs de danse: Persian
• No. 8 - Airs de danse: Coda avec Choeurs
• No. 8 - Airs de danse: Sortie
• Récitatif: "Voyez donc ce vieillard"
• No. 9 - Scène & Stances: "Ah! Ce vieillard encore!" (Nilankantha, Lakmé)
• No. 9 Bis - Récitatif: "Ah! C'est de ta douleur" (Lakmé, Nilankantha)
• No. 10 - Scène & Legende de la fille du Paria (Air des Clochettes/The Bell Song):

  "Ah!... Par les dieux inspires... Où va la jeune Hindoue" (Lakmé, Nilankantha)

• No. 11 - Scène: "La rage me dévore" (Nilankantha, Lakmé)
• No. 12 - Scène & Choeur: "Au milieu des chants d'allegresse" (Nilankantha, Lakmé)
• No. 12 Bis - Récitatif: "Le maître ne pense qu'à sa vengeance"
• No. 13 - Duo: "Lakmé! Lakmé! C'est toi!" (Lakmé, Gérald)
• No. 14 - Finale: "O Dourga, toi qui renais" (Gérald)

Act III

• Entr'acte
• No. 15 - Berceuse: "Sous le ciel tout étoile" (Lakmé)
• No. 15 Bis - Récitatif: "Quel vague souvenir alourdit ma pensée?" (Gérald, Lakmé)
• No. 16 - Cantilène: "Lakmé! Lakmé! Ah! Viens dans la forêt profonde" (Gérald)
• No. 17 - Scène & Choeur: "La, je pourrai t'entendre" (Lakmé, Gérald)
• No. 18 - Scène: "Vivant!" (Gérald)
• No. 19 - Duo: "Ils allaient deux à deux" (Lakmé, Gérald)
• No. 20 - Finale: "C'est lui! C'est lui!" (Nilankantha, Lakmé, Gérald)

Recordings

• 1940: Lily Pons (Lakmé), Armand Tokatyan (Gérald), Ezio Pinza (Nilakantha), Ira Petina (Mallika), New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Wilfrid Pelletier (conductor) (The Golden Age; live)
• 1952: Mado Robin (Lakmé), Libero de Luca (Gérald), Jacques Jansen (Frédéric), Jean Borthayre (Nilakantha), Agnés Disney (Mallika), Chœurs et Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique, Georges Sébastian (conductor) (Decca)
• 1967: Joan Sutherland (Lakmé), Alain Vanzo (Gérald), Gabriel Bacquier (Nilakantha), Jane Berbié (Mallika), Chœurs et Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte Carlo, Richard Bonynge (conductor) (Decca)
• 1970: Mady Mesplé (Lakmé), Charles Burles (Gérald), Roger Soyer (Nilakantha), Danielle Millet (Mallika), Chœurs et Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique, Alain Lombard (conductor) (EMI)
• 1998: Natalie Dessay (Lakmé), Gregory Kunde (Gérald), José van Dam (Nilakantha), Chœur et Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson (conductor) (EMI)

External links

• Essay by Donald Fagen of Steely Dan about the use of music from Lakmé in films.

References