Delibes: Lakmé

Laurent Pelly transforms Delibes's opera into an exploration of colonialism and cultural appropriation...Raphaël Pichon, conducting Pygmalion on original instruments, relishes Delibes’s lush... — BBC Music Magazine, January 2024, 5 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 4 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

Release Date: 13th Oct 2023
Catalogue No: NBD0177V
Label: Naxos

Gramophone Magazine

January 2024

DVD/Blu-ray of the Month
BBC Music Magazine

January 2024

Opera Choice

Delibes: Lakmé

Sabine Devieilhe (Lakmé), Frédéric Antoun (Gérald), Stéphane Degout (Frédéric), Ambroisine Bré (Mallika), Ensemble Pygmalion (early music ensemble)
Raphaël Pichon

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Premiered in 1883, Lakmé remains one of the most popular of all French operas. Reflecting contemporary tastes, the original source material presented a tragic liaison between a French officer and a Tahitian woman on a Pacific Island, but Delibes moved the location to British-ruled India where the two central characters are torn between passion and loyalty, and assailed by a fanatical religious leader. For this opera Delibes wrote music of indelible beauty, including the much-loved ‘Flower Duet’ and ‘Bell Song’.

Reviews

January 2024

Laurent Pelly transforms Delibes's opera into an exploration of colonialism and cultural appropriation...Raphaël Pichon, conducting Pygmalion on original instruments, relishes Delibes’s lush orchestration.

January 2024

Pichon conducts the Pygmalion ensemble and choir with dash and urgency, the period instruments adding a litheness to the textures – there is no room for false sentimentality. Pelly goes for austere intimacy.

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Delibes: Lakmé

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