Lakmé
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| Title: | Lakmé |
Poster for the premiere |
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| Shape: | Opera in three acts |
| Original language: | French |
| Music: | Léo Delibes |
| Libretto : | Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille |
| Premiere: | April 14, 1883 |
| Place of premiere: | Opéra-Comique , Paris |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ¼ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | India, late 19th century |
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Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes based on a libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille based on the 1880 novel Rarahu ou Le Mariage de Loti by Pierre Loti .
action
first act
Lakmé is the daughter of the Brahmin priest Nilakantha and lives secluded from the world in an Indian grove near a temple. One day, while she was taking a bath in the nearby stream with her servant Mallika, Gérald and Frédéric, two English officers, invade the holy place. When Lakmé returns, Gérald cannot hide quickly enough and is discovered by her. A conversation develops between the two and they gradually fall in love. But then Lakmé hears her father returning home and urges Gérald to flee - and rightly so, because when the father notices the broken fence, he swears to kill the one who desecrated the holy garden.
Second act
Nilakantha performs Lakmé as a temple singer in the market square. He hopes that by this ruse the wicked will give himself away at the sight of his daughter. The plan works when Gérald becomes aware of Lakmé through the singing. After the crowd is lost, Nilakantha and the Brahmins catch Gérald and wound him. The Englishman is taken to a secret hideout in the forest by Lakmé's slave Hadji.
Third act
Gérald is looked after by Lakmé in the hut in the forest. When she goes to a neighboring spring to draw holy water, Gérald is tracked down by his comrade Frédéric, who reminds him of his engagement and his duty as a soldier. Lakmé returns, feeling the change that has been going on in her lover, and eats a poisonous flower. She hands Gérald the bowl with the holy spring water to let him drink from it. When Nilakantha discovers the two of them and wants to kill Gérald, the dying Lakmé holds him back with the words that both of them have drunk from the holy water, whereby Gérald is removed from vengeance. After her death, Nilakantha praises the fate that made his daughter enter paradise.
layout
Lakmé is a typical romantic number opera with inserted ballet. Délibes tries to set special accents here by using Indian-like melodies. The title role is rich in high coloratura and requires a soprano with a strong stage presence. The aria “Où va la jeune [H] indoue” - known as the “bell aria” or Bell song - is considered a showpiece for light coloratura sopranos and requires a three-line e in the ossia version of the aria, which is often not performed. The floral duet "Viens, Mallika! ... Sous le dôme épais" between Lakmé and her servant Mallika is one of the most popular duets in classical music today.
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : flute piccolo , flute , two oboes (2nd also English horn ), two clarinets , two bassoons
- Brass : four horns , two pistons , three trombones , tuba or ophicleide
- Timpani , percussion : triangle , bass drum , cymbals , bell
- harp
- Strings
- Stage music: two piccolo flutes, flute, oboe, clarinet, two horns, percussion (triangle, cymbal, tambourine , drum)
Work history
Emergence
The Dutch-American singer Marie van Zandt impressed the composer so much during a performance of Jules Massenet's opera Manon that he processed this exotic subject for her. Marie van Zandt also sang the title role in the world premiere, and since then many mainly French sopranos have performed the opera.
reception
Lakmé is relatively rarely on the repertoire of opera houses in Germany, but in France and the English-speaking countries opera is part of the standard repertoire. In 2016 it was staged again at the Landestheater Coburg in a production by the French director François de Carpentries with equipment by the set designer Andreas Becker.
The “flower duet” Lakmés and Mallikas also achieved extraordinary fame outside of those who were interested in classical music in the narrower sense. As a result, it has been in numerous film soundtracks used, in Five Corners , Meet the Parents , desire , True Romance , Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life , Song of the Mermaids , The L Word - When Women women love , Bronson , Piranha 3D ; the duet can also be heard in the series Nip / Tuck - Beauty Has Its Price (second season, ninth episode: Rose & Raven Rosenberg ). It was also used in television advertising and pop music . It forms one of the sound layers of the song Black Black Heart by David Usher . It was also used in the song Dear Mallika by LL Cool J from The Rapsody .
Discography (selection)
- 1940: Lily Pons (Lak.), Armand Tokatyan (Ger.), Ceorge Cehanovsky (Fre.), Ezio Pinza (Nil.), Ira Petina (Mal.), New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Wilfred Pelletier (Dir. ). (The Golden Age; live)
- 1952: Mado Robin (Lak.), Libero de Luca (Ger.), Jacques Jansen (Fre.), Jean Borthayre (Nil.), Agnés Disney (Mal.), Chœrs et Orchester du Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique , Georges Sébastian (cond.). (Decca)
- 1967: Joan Sutherland (Lak.), Alain Vanzo (Ger.), Claude Calès (Fre.), Gabriel Bacquier (Nil.), Jane Barbié (Mal.), Chœrs et Orchester National de l'Opéra de Monte Carlo, Richard Bonynge (cond.). (Decca)
- 1971: Mady Mesplé (Lak.), Charles Burles (Ger.), Jean-Christophe Benoit (Fre.), Roger Soyer (Nil.), Danielle Millet (Mal.), Chœrs et Orchester du Théâtre National de l'Opéra- Comique, Alain Lombard (cond.). (EMI)
- 1998: Natalie Dessay (Lak.), Gregory Kunde (Ger.), José van Dam (Nil.), Chœur et Orchester du Capitole de Toulouse , Michel Plasson (Dir.). (EMI)
Web links
- Lakmé : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (French) as full text in Operone
- The plot and libretto by Lakmé in German on Opera-Guide's target page cannot be reached at the moment due to a change of URL
Individual evidence
- ^ Theo Hirsbrunner : Lakmé. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Volume 1: Works. Abbatini - Donizetti. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-492-02411-4 , p. 703.