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Lakmé
''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 ' 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. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flower Duet
The "Flower Duet" is a duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano in the first act of Léo Delibes' opera ''Lakmé'', premiered in Paris in 1883. It is sung by the characters Lakmé, daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika, as they go to gather flowers by a river. The duet is frequently used in advertisements and films and is popular as a concert piece. It was adapted for the track "Aria" in the British Airways "face" advertisements of the 1980s by Yanni and Malcolm McLaren. More recently, it has been heard in films such as ''Carlito's Way, '' Meet the Parents'', ''Anomalisa'', and ''True Romance'' and television shows including ''Regular Show'' and ''The Simpsons''. Music The duet's time signature is ; its key is B major, except for the part "" until "," which is in G major. That part has a slightly faster tempo (=160) than the surrounding lines (=144). The final reprise is in the original key and tempo. A performance takes about six minutes. First line of duet \layou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Léo Delibes
Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and '' Sylvia'' (1876) and the opera ''Lakmé'' (1883), which includes the well-known "Flower Duet". Born into a musical family, Delibes enrolled at France's foremost music academy, the Conservatoire de Paris, when he was twelve, studying under several professors including Adolphe Adam. After composing light comic opérettes in the 1850s and 1860s, while also serving as a church organist, Delibes achieved public recognition for his music for the ballet '' La Source'' in 1866. His later ballets ''Coppélia'' and ''Sylvia'' were key works in the development of modern ballet, giving the music much greater importance than previously. He composed a small number of mélodies, some of which are still performed frequently. Delibes had several attempts at writing more serious operas, and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne. It was also called the Théâtre-Italien up to about 1793, when it again became most commonly known as the Opéra-Comique. Today the company's official name is Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique, and its theatre, with a capacity of around 1,248 seats, sometimes referred to as the Salle Favart (the third on this site), is located at Place Boïeldieu in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, not far from the Palais Garnier, one of the theatres of the Paris Opéra. The musicians and others associated with the Opéra-Comique have made important contributions to operatic history and tradition in France and to French opera. Its current mission is to reconnect with its history and discover its unique repertoire to ensu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugène Carpezat
Eugène Louis Carpezat (Paris, 4 November 1833 – Paris, 26 February 1912) was an acclaimed French scenographer in the Belle Époque. Career Carpezat was the son of lemonade makers Claude François Carpezat and Jacqueline Caniou. After considering a career in the fine and decorative arts (e.g., ''Sabre d'honneur'' designed with Henry Hayez, 1857; the sculpture ''Enfants sur un bouc'', Trouville, 1866), Carpezat studied with the famous scenic designer Charles-Antoine Cambon, whose speciality in architecture sets he inherited. In 1875, Carpezat set up a professional association with fellow scenographer (Joseph-)Antoine Lavastre in order to take over Cambon's workshop at the latter's death. Together, Carpezat and Lavastre would design some of the defining Parisian productions – or parts thereof, as was customary – of the late 1870s and early 1880s: the world premieres of Delibes' ''Lakmé'' (1883), Gounod's ''Polyeucte'' (1878) and ''Le tribut de Zamora'' (1881), Massenet's '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marie Van Zandt
Marie van Zandt (October 8, 1858 – December 31, 1919) was an American soprano. Early years Born in Manhattan, New York City, van Zandt was the daughter of Jennie van Zandt, who had sung at La Scala and at New York's Academy of Music. She studied in Milan with Francesco Lamperti, making her debut as Zerlina in ''Don Giovanni'' in Turin in 1879. Career Successful appearances followed her debut, including at Covent Garden in 1879. However, at that time, it was necessary to make official debuts in Paris. So she left for Paris in 1880 where her mother, who had acquaintances in Parisian high society, managed to introduce her daughter to professionals. Van Zandt, who was only 21, signed a contract with the Opéra-Comique in 1880, making her debut as ''Mignon''. Léo Delibes composed his opera ''Lakmé'' for her, and she created the title role for its world premiere in 1883, with Elisa Frandin playing Malika. Organized opposition at the Opéra-Comique was created at around thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philippe Gille
Philippe Emile François Gille (10 December 1831 – 19 March 1901) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, who was born and died in Paris. He wrote over twenty librettos between 1857 and 1893, the most famous of which are Massenet's ''Manon'' and Delibes' ''Lakmé''. Although Gille studied law and was a clerk for a time at the Préfecture de la Seine, he became secretary of the Théâtre Lyrique then from 1869 an art and music critic for ''Le Figaro''.Smith C. Philippe Gille. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Gille was elected to the Académie des beaux-arts in 1899. Librettos by Philippe Gille *Jacques Offenbach **''Vent du soir, ou L'horrible festin'' (1857) **''Le carnaval des revues'' (1860) **''Jeanne qui pleure et Jean qui rit'' (1864) **''Les bergers'' (1865) **''Pierrette et Jacquot'' (1876) **''Le docteur Ox'' (1877) *Léo Delibes **''Monsieur de Bonne-étoile'' (1860) **''Le serpent à plumes'' (1864) **'' Jean de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as '' Singspiel'' and '' Opéra comique''. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Baptiste Lavastre
Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (24 August 1839 – 24 April 1891) was a French landscape painter and scenic designer. Biography A student of Édouard Desplechin as soon as 1854 when he was only fifteen (and then his associate from 1864 to 1870), Jean-Baptiste Lavastre eventually took over the workshop with his brother Antoine and Eugène Carpezat. They worked for the Opéra Garnier as well as for the Comédie-Française and the Opéra-Comique in Paris. For the Opéra Le Peletier, he realised the decors, inter alia, for ''Hamlet'' by Ambroise Thomas, ''Don Giovanni'', ''L'Africaine'' by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The Opéra-Comique, whose ceiling he painted, owes him the setting for '' Jean de Nivelle'' and the forest of ''Lakmé'' by Léo Delibes, ''Manon'' by Jules Massenet and ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' by Jacques Offenbach. He is the author, among others, of the ceiling of the théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique The Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (, literally, Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Mariage De Loti
''Le Mariage de Loti'' (1880; also known as ''The Marriage of Loti'', ''Rarahu'', or ''Tahiti'') is an autobiographical novel by French author Pierre Loti. It was Loti's second novel and the first to win him great fame and a wide following. It describes Loti's romantic liaison with an exotic Tahitian girl named Rarahu. It is the basis of two operas * ''Lakmé'' by Léo Delibes * ''L'île du rêve'' by Reynaldo Hahn Background As a young boy in France, Julien Viaud (later known as Pierre Loti) was introduced to Polynesia by his older brother Gustave, a naval officer who brought home stories of the exotic islands, including stories about a relationship he had with a Tahitian woman. Julien would never forget these stories and aimed to one day follow his brother's example. He eventually joined the navy, and at the age of twenty-two in 1872, was stationed at the town of Papeete in Tahiti for two months. It was, as he put it, "the dream of my childhood."Kaori O'Connor (2002). It was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Loti
Pierre Loti (; pseudonym of Louis Marie-Julien Viaud ; 14 January 1850 – 10 June 1923) was a French naval officer and novelist, known for his exotic novels and short stories.This article is derived largely from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition'' (1911) article "Pierre Loti" by Edmund Gosse. Unless otherwise referenced, it is the source used throughout, with citations made for specific quotes by Gosse. Biography Born to a Protestant family, Loti's education began in his birthplace, Rochefort, Charente-Maritime. At age 17 he entered the naval school in Brest and studied at Le Borda. He gradually rose in his profession, attaining the rank of captain in 1906. In January 1910 he went on the reserve list. He was in the habit of claiming that he never read books, saying to the Académie française on the day of his introduction (7 April 1892), "''Loti ne sait pas lire''" ("Loti doesn't know how to read"), but testimony from friends proves otherwise, as does his libra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmond Gondinet
Edmond Gondinet (7 March 1828 – 19 November 1888) was a French playwright and librettist. This author, nearly forgotten today, produced forty plays of which several were successful. He collaborated with Alphonse Daudet and Eugène Labiche, among others. Plays *''Trop curieux'' (1863), comedy in one act performed for the first time in Paris at the Comédie Française on June 25, 1863. (Calmann Lévy, publisher) *''Les Victimes de l'argent'' (1865), comedy in three acts, performed for the first time in Paris in the Théâtre du Gymnase on June 15, 1865. (Calmann Lévy, publisher) *''Les Révoltées'' (1865), three-act comedy in verse, performed for the first time in Paris in Théâtre du Gymnase on November 30, 1865 (Théâtre Complet III-2) *''La Cravate blanche'' (1867), one-act comedy in free verse, performed for the first time in Paris in the Théâtre du Gymnase on July 23, 1867 (Théâtre Complet I-3) *''Le Comte Jacques'' (1868), three-act comedy, performed for the fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as the Mass (liturgy), Mass, requiem and sacred cantata, or the story line of a ballet. ''Libretto'' (; plural ''libretti'' ), from Italian, is the diminutive of the word ''wiktionary:libro#Italian, libro'' ("book"). Sometimes other-language equivalents are used for libretti in that language, ''livret'' for French works, ''Textbuch'' for German and ''libreto'' for Spanish. A libretto is distinct from a synopsis or scenario of the plot, in that the libretto contains all the words and stage directions, while a synopsis summarizes the plot. Some ballet historians also use the word ''libretto'' to refer to the 15 to 40 page books which were on sale to 19th century ballet audiences in Paris and contained a ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
