Lakmé promo Videoteca
Datos

principal

Lakmé

Léo Delibes
listado

Opera
2h 30m
French
FULL HD
Spanish , English
Production

Reducing oriental cultures to simplistic exotic decoration –or «fictional essences », in post -colonial terminology– is one of the characteristic traits of 19th century exoticism. Lakmé – as with L’africaine beforehand or Madama Butterfly afterwards, each one with its particular success and sensibility - developed a tremendously delicate archetype of a romantic relationship,   generally with a tragic finale, between a Western colonizer and a beautiful and sacrificial Easterner. Beyond this debate, the approach permitted European composers to tint their scores with an evocative fragrance. Such is the case of Lakmé, where the «Flower Duet», over time, has become a crossover of universal proportions in the same way that the «Bell Song » aria of the protagonist became, from the moment the opera premiered, an insignia of all esteemed lírico–ligera sopranos. 

Fortunately, Lakmé   is much more than these two moments. Not in vain, Delibes can be considered, along with Tchaikovsky, as the leading composer of ballet in the 19th century. His splendid score shows us just how much remains to discover of French opera. 
 

 

 

Opera in three acts

 

Music by Léo Delibes (1836-1891)

Libretto by Edmond Gondinet y Philippe Gille, basado en la novela Rarahu ou le Mariage (1880) de Pierre Loti

Premiered in the Teatro de la Opéra-Comique de París April 14th, 1883

Premiered in the Teatro Real on November 13th, 1898

Opera in concert version

 

Artistic team


Conductor I  Leo Hussain

Chorus master I Andrés Máspero

Principal Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real

 

Cast


Lakmé I Sabine Devieilhe

Gérald I  Xabier Anduaga

Nilakantha I Stéphane Degout

Frédéric I David Menéndez

Mallika I Héloïse Mas

Hadji I Gerardo López

Miss Ellen I Inés Ballesteros

Miss Rose I Cristina Toledo

Mistress Bentson I Enkelejda Shkosa

Kouravar I Isaac Galán

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