Have you seen or are you planning to see Lakmé? What do you think about the production?
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An English lieutenant chances on the daughter of a Brahmin priest as she gathers flowers by the water. They should not, they must not, but they cannot help themselves. It is love at first sight. How long can their love survive when they come from such different worlds?
Experience the exotic flora, ritual dances and forbidden love in Delibes' Eastern fantasy,
The production is a masterpiece of scenic art, inspired by traditional Hindu painting. For all its gaudy detail and vibrant costumes, however, nothing in this production outdazzles the music, which includes the heavenly 'Flower duet' and one of the ultimate star turns of the coloratura repertoire, the famous 'Bell Song'.
Lakmé (24th August 2011)
ReplyDeleteAs an opera fan you are familiar with the topic of Lakmé: Forbidden love between members of different cultures and lovers with different plans for their future.
The music by Leo Délibes is sometimes Indian-inspired, but in general typical french. But why not? There are not too many possibilities to listen to french operas which are not named "Carmen".
After Emmanuel Joel-Hornak had entered the pit we heard a well played Overture followed by a well sung introduction "A l'heure accoutumée"
Nilkatana was sung by Stephen Bennett who did a good job but sometimes could be a bit more powerful.
Of course, if we talk about Lakmé we have to talk about the Flower Duet and the Bell Song Emma and Dominica Mathews sung the Duet very well, both have great voices. And the Bell Song? One of the most difficult arias in the whole repertoire? Emma Mathews made some mistakes, but in general she was really great. Most the time she was nearly as good as the best contemporary Lakmé, Natalie Dessay.
But Lakmé is more than this. We heard a great Aldo Di Toro as Gerald. His aria "Prendre le dessin d'un bijou" was very good. And one of my favorite scenes, the introduction to Act 2, got with great singing and acting nearly perfect. This is also a merit of the cast of the less important roles.
So the singing was great but what about the staging? Maybe I have to write, that I am from Europe and I am familiar with very modern productions. So I think, this production is a bit old-fashioned. I don't know weather the stereotyped beards were really necessary. And it would be better if the costumes would not be as colourful as they are in this production. India was not just colourful, it was also dirty. Sometimes it would be better if there was some motion on the stage during an aria. Sometimes it seems static and the singers try some stereotyped gestures and that's it. It seems they needed some support from the director to make their acting better because you saw their potential. And maybe a modern productions with new views on the topic and the opera would be more interesting even if it is harder to understand for beginners.
All in all I have attended a performance with marvelous singing and old-fashioned staging. But it was a great experience to see an opera in this fascinating environment and a very impressive evenig.
Toni Scharle
q.e.d.Pudel@gmx.de
Loved the first two acts, however downside to that the ending seemed flat in comparison. Maybe just me, don't get the point of Lakme healing her lover after he gets stabbed, only to kill herself.
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ReplyDeleteThe music by Leo Délibes is sometimes Indian-inspired, but in general typical french. But why not? There are not too many possibilities to listen to french operas which are not named "Carmen".
ReplyDelete