''Lakmé'' is an

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 librett ...

in three acts by

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and French opera, operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and ''Sylvia (ba ...

to a French

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 t ...

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, ...

and

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 '' Mano ...

. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the

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 (second) Salle Favart in Paris, with stage decorations designed by

Auguste Alfred Rubé Auguste Alfred Rubé (20 June 1817 – 13 April 1899) was a French painter. Biography Born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, Rubé was an innovator in the field of theatrical set design. This "decorator of rare ingenuity", focused on a local ...

and

Philippe Chaperon Philippe Chaperon (2 February 1823 – 21 December 1906) was a French painter and scenic designer, particularly known for his work at the Paris Opera. He produced stage designs for the premieres of numerous 19th-century operas, including Verdi's ...

(act 1),

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 conside ...

and (Joseph-)Antoine Lavastre (act 2), and

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), J ...

(act 3). Set in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in the mid-19th century, ''Lakmé'' is based on Théodore Pavie's story "Les babouches du Brahmane" and the novel ' by

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 El ...

. Gondinet proposed it as a vehicle for the American soprano

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. ...

. The opera includes the popular

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 g ...

("Sous le dôme épais") for a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

and

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

, performed in act 1 by Lakmé, the daughter of a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

priest, and her servant Mallika."''Lakmé'' by Leo Delibes"

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. Retrieved 15 January 2011 The name ''Lakmé'' is the French rendition of Sanskrit

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

, the name of the Hindu Goddess of Wealth. The opera's most famous

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

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 Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, '' Carmen'', which has become o ...

's '' Les pêcheurs de perles'' and

Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) ...

's ''

Le roi de Lahore ''Le roi de Lahore'' ("The king of Lahore") is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet. It was first performed at the Palais Garnier in Paris on 27 April 1877 in costumes designed by Eugène Lacoste and se ...

'', a fanatical priest, mysterious

Hindu rituals Samskara (IAST: , sometimes spelled ''samskara'') are sacraments in Hinduism and other Indian religions, described in ancient Sanskrit texts, as well as a concept in the karma theory of Indian philosophies. The word literally means "putting t ...

, and "the novelty of exotically colonial English people".

Performance history

Following its premiere at the

Opéra Comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

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 Alice Verlet (1873–1934) was a Belgian-born operatic coloratura soprano active primarily in France. She sang principal roles at the operas in Lyon, Nice, and Monte Carlo; at His Majesty's Theater in London; at La Monnaie in Brussels; and at t ...

David Devriès David Devriès (born 14 February 1882 in Bagnères-de-Luchon, France; died 17 July 1936 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) was a French operatic lyric tenor noted for his light, heady tone, and polished phrasing. He represents a light style of French ...

and

Félix Vieuille Félix Vieuille (15 October 1872, Saujon – 28 February 1953, Saujon) was a French operatic bass who sang for more than four decades with the Opéra-Comique in Paris during the first half of the twentieth century. He created roles in numerous ...

.Wolff, Stéphane. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique.'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953.

Roles

Jean-Alexandre Talazac in Delibes' Lakmé

Synopsis

:Place: India :Time: Late nineteenth century, during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

Act 1

The Hindus go to perform their rites in a sacred Brahmin temple under the high priest, Nilakantha. Nilakantha's daughter Lakmé, and her servant Mallika, are left behind and go down to the river to gather flowers where they sing together the

. As they approach the water at the river bank, Lakmé removes her jewellery and places it on a bench. Two British officers, Frederic and Gérald (Delibes uses Frenchified versions of the then common English names Frederick and Gerald), arrive nearby on a picnic with two British girls and their governess. The British girls see the jewellery and, impressed with it, request sketches of it; Gérald volunteers to stay and make sketches of the jewellery. He spots 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 also intrigued by him and so she sends away those who had responded to her call for help when they come to her aid. Lakmé and Gérald begin to fall in love with each other. Nilakantha returns and learns of the British officer's trespassing, vowing revenge on him for what he assumes to be an affront to Lakmé's honour.

Act 2

At a busy bazaar, Nilakantha forces Lakmé to sing (the 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 lovingly nurses him back to health.

Act 3

While Lakmé fetches sacred water that will confirm the vows of the lovers, Fréderic, Gérald's fellow British officer, appears before Gérald and reminds him of his military duty to his regiment. Gérald sadly accepts that his colleague is correct. After Lakmé returns, she senses the change in Gérald and realises that she has lost him. She dies with honour, rather than live with dishonour, killing herself by eating the poisonous

datura ''Datura'' is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family Solanaceae. They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets (not to be conf ...

leaf.

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. 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. The act 2 aria "Où va la jeune Hindoue?" (the Bell Song) has long been a favourite recital piece for coloratura

s. (Recordings of it in Italian, as "", also exist.) In recent years, the Flower Duet in act 1 has become familiar more widely because of its use in advertisements, in particular a British Airways commercial, as well as in films. The duet sung by Lakme and Mallika was adapted for the theme "Aria on air" for the British Airways "face" advertisements of the 1980s by music composers

Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis ( el, Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek-American composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shorthan ...

and Malcolm McLaren.

Musical numbers

* Prelude

Act 1

* No. 1 Introduction: "À l'heure accoutumée" (At the usual time) (Nilakantha) * Prayer: "Blanche Dourga" (White Durga) (Lakmé, Nilakantha) * No. 1b – Scene: "Lakmé, c'est toi qui nous protège!" (Lakmé, it is you who protect us!) (Nilakantha, Lakmé) * No. 2 – Duet (

): "Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs ... Dôme épais, le jasmin" (Come Mallika, the

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...

s in bloom ... The jasmine forms a dense dome) (Lakmé, Mallika) * Scene: "Miss Rose, Miss Ellen" (Gérald) * No. 3 – Quintet & couplets: "Quand une femme est si jolie" (When a woman is so pretty) (Gérald) * Recitative: "Nous commettons un sacrilège" (We are committing sacrilege) (Gérald) * No. 4 – Air: "Prendre le dessin d'un bijou" (Make a drawing of a jewel) (Gérald) * No. 4b – Scene: "Non! Je ne veux pas toucher" (No! I do not want to touch) (Gérald, Lakmé) * No. 5 – Recitative & Strophes: "Les fleurs me paraissent plus belles" (The flowers appear more beautiful to me) (Lakmé) * No. 5b – Recitative: "Ah! Mallika! Mallika!" (Lakmé) * No. 6 – Duet: "D'où viens-tu? Que veux-tu?" (Where are you from? What do you want?) (Lakmé, Gérald) * No. 6b – Scene: "Viens! Là! Là!" (Come! There! There!) (Nilakantha, Lakmé)

Act 2

* Entr'acte * No. 7 – Chorus & March: "Allons, avant que midi sonne" (Come before noon sounds) * No. 7b – Recitative: "Enfin! Nous aurons du silence!" (Finally! We will have 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 * Recitative: "Voyez donc ce vieillard" (So see that old man) * No. 9 – Scène & Stances: "Ah! Ce vieillard encore!"" (Ah! That old man again!) (Nilankantha, Lakmé) * No. 9b – Recitative: "Ah! C'est de ta douleur" (Ah! It's your pain) (Lakmé, Nilankantha) * No. 10 – Scène & Légende de la fille du Paria (Air des Clochettes/The Bell Song):
"Ah!... Par les dieux inspires... Où va la jeune Hindoue" (Ah... Inspired by the gods... Where is the Hindu girl going) (Lakmé, Nilankantha) * No. 11 – Scène: "La rage me dévore" (Rage consumes me) (Nilankantha, Lakmé) * No. 12 – Scène & Choeur: "Au milieu des chants d'allegresse" (Amid chants of cheerfulness) (Nilankantha, Lakmé) * No. 12b – Recitative: "Le maître ne pense qu'à sa vengeance" (The master thinks only of his revenge) * No. 13 – Duet: "Lakmé! Lakmé! C'est toi!" (Lakmé! Lakmé! It's you!) (Lakmé, Gérald) * No. 14 – Finale: "O Dourga, toi qui renais" (O Durga, you who are reborn) (Gérald)

Act 3

* Entr'acte * No. 15 – Berceuse: "Sous le ciel tout étoilé" (Beneath the star-filled sky) (Lakmé) * No. 15b – Recitative: "Quel vague souvenir alourdit ma pensée?" (What vague memory weighs down my thought?) (Gérald, Lakmé) * No. 16 – Cantilène: "Lakmé! Lakmé! Ah! Viens dans la forêt profonde" (Lakmé! Lakmé! Ah! Come into the deep forest) (Gérald) * No. 17 – Scène & Choeur: "Là, je pourrai t'entendre (There I will be able to hear you) (Lakmé, Gérald) * No. 18 – Scène: "Vivant!" (Alive!) (Gérald) * No. 19 – Duet: "Ils allaient deux à deux" (They went two by two) (Lakmé, Gérald) * No. 20 – Finale: "C'est lui! C'est lui!" (It's him! It's him!) (Nilankantha, Lakmé, Gérald)

Recordings

* 1940:

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she s ...

(Lakmé), Armand Tokatyan (Gérald),

Ezio Pinza Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 ...

(Nilakantha), Ira Petina (Mallika), New York

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

Chorus and Orchestra,

Wilfrid Pelletier Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier (sometimes spelled Wilfred), (20 June 1896 – 9 April 1982) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving ...

(conductor) (The Golden Age; live) * 1952:

Mado Robin Madeleine Marie Robin (; 29 December 191810 December 1960), generally known as Mado Robin, was a French coloratura soprano. A soprano acuto sfogato, she was noted for her extremely high register. Early life Robin was born in Yzeures-sur-Creus ...

(Lakmé),

Libero de Luca Libero De Luca (13 March 1913 – 1998) was a Swiss tenor of Italian descent particularly associated with the French repertory. Life and career De Luca was born in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, and studied voice at the Zurich Conservatory with Alfr ...

(Gérald), Jacques Jansen (Frédéric),

Jean Borthayre Jean Borthayre (25 May 1901, Musculdy – 25 April 1984, Montmorency) was a French operatic baritone, particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories. Career Mainly self-taught, Borthayre began his career singing as a soloist ...

(Nilakantha), Agnés Disney (Mallika), Chœurs et Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique, Georges Sébastian (conductor) (Decca) * 1967: Joan Sutherland (Lakmé),

Alain Vanzo Alain Vanzo (April 2, 1928 – January 27, 2002) was a French opera singer and composer, one of few French tenors of international standing in the postwar era. He, along with such singers as Henri Legay and the Canadian Léopold Simoneau, repres ...

(Gérald),

Gabriel Bacquier Gabriel Bacquier (; 17 May 1924 – 13 May 2020) was a French operatic baritone. One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertoires, he was considered a fine singing actor equ ...

(Nilakantha), Jane Berbié (Mallika), Chœurs et Orchestre National de l'

Opéra de Monte-Carlo The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des ba ...

, Richard Bonynge (conductor) (Decca) * 1970:

Mady Mesplé Mady Mesplé (7 March 1931 – 30 May 2020) was a French opera singer, considered the leading coloratura soprano of her generation in France, and sometimes heralded as the successor to Mado Robin, with ''Lakmé'' by Delibes becoming her signatur ...

(Lakmé),

Charles Burles Charles Burles (21 June 1936 – 22 August 2021Décès de Charles Burles
) was a French ly ...

(Gérald),

Roger Soyer Roger Soyer (born 1 September 1939) is a French operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory and with Mozart. Soyer was born in Thiais, and first studied privately with G. Daum, before entering the Conservatoire de Pa ...

(Nilakantha), Danielle Millet (Mallika), Chœurs et Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique,

Alain Lombard Alain Lombard (born 4 October 1940, Paris) is a French conductor. Career Lombard attended the Conservatoire de Paris, where his studied violin with Line Talleul and conducting with Gaston Poulet. He subsequently secured an appointment at the Op� ...

(conductor) (EMI) * 1998:

Natalie Dessay Natalie Dessay (; born 19 April 1965) is a French singer, known for her former career as an operatic soprano. She gained wide recognition after her portrayal of Olympia in ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' in 1992, and then performing at leading stages, ...

(Lakmé),

Gregory Kunde Gregory Kunde (February 24, 1954, Kankakee, Illinois) is an American operatic tenor particularly associated with the French and Italian repertoires. Career Kunde studied choral conducting and voice at Illinois State University before making his ...

(Gérald),

José van Dam Joseph, Baron Van Damme (born 27 August 1940 in Brussels), known as José van Dam, is a Belgian bass-baritone. At the age of 17, he entered the Brussels Royal Conservatory and studied with Frederic Anspach. A year later, he graduated with diplo ...

(Nilakantha), Delphine Haidan (Mallika), Chœur et Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse,

Michel Plasson Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933, Paris, France) is a French conductor. Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. ...

(conductor) (EMI) * 2012:

Emma Matthews Emma Matthews (née Lysons; born 1970) is an English-born Australian lyric coloratura soprano, noted for operatic roles, but also popular on the concert stage. A Principal Artist with Opera Australia, Matthews has received more Helpmann Awards ...

(Lakmé), Aldo di Toro (Gérald), Stephen Bennett (Nilakantha), Opera Australia Chorus and Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Emmanuel Joel-Hornak (conductor) (Opera Australia OPOZ56021BD (Blu-ray), OPOZ56020DVD (DVD), OPOZ56022CD)

In film

* In the 1935 film '' I Dream Too Much'', Lily Pons sings an excerpt from the Bell Song. * In the 1947 film ''

It Happened in Brooklyn ''It Happened in Brooklyn'' is a 1947 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical romantic comedy film directed by Richard Whorf and starring Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford and Jimmy Durante, and featuring Gloria Grahame and Marcy McGuire. ''It ...

'',

Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano. Ronald Berganbr>Obituary '' London Guardian'', February 19, 2010. From the age of twelve, Grayson trai ...

performs the Bell Song in an operatic stage sequence. * In the 1983 film '' The Hunger'', the character portrayed by Catherine Deneuve plays the

on the piano, then the music shifts into an actual opera recording. * In Carlito's Way (1993), "Dôme épais le jasmin" plays while Carlito watches Gail teach a dance class, protecting himself from the rain with the lid of trash can. * In the 2016 biographical film ''

Florence Foster Jenkins Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. ...

'', Lily Pons (portrayed by

Aida Garifullina Aida Emilevna Garifullina (russian: Аида Эмилевна Гарифуллина, tt-Cyrl, Аида Эмил кызы Гарифуллина, translit=Aida Emil kyzy Garifullina; born 30 September 1987) is a Russian lyric soprano of Tatar d ...

) sings the Bell Song. * In the 2020 film '' Worth''

References

External links

*
Libretto
operone.de (in French)
Lakmé in films
Essay by Donald Fagen of Steely Dan about the use of music from the opera {{DEFAULTSORT:Lakme Operas by Léo Delibes French-language operas 1883 operas Operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Operas set in India Operas based on novels