OPERADELAWARE 2015 Festival
Lakmé
May 8 | 7:30 pm, the baby grand
May 16 | 2:00 pm, the baby grand
Why do opera lovers say Lakmé sounds so fresh at each new performance?
Is it the achingly beautiful Flower Duet — one of the most haunting in all opera? Or the spectacular Bell Song — the career-maker for countless coloraturas?
Is it the innocent daughter of a Brahmin priest? Is it her love for a British Officer whose ignorance causes her to shame her people? Is it the Brahmin’s hatred of his conquerors that propels the lovers into the poignant embrace of death-by-poisoned flowers?
Close your eyes. And let Leo Delibes’ masterpiece give you all the answers you need.
Performers
Soloists
Lakmé | Sharon Cheng
Gerald | Ryan Macpherson
Nilakantha | Peter Tomaszewski
Ellen | Sharin Apostolou
Miss Benson | Melissa Kornacki
Pianist | James Harp
The OperaDelaware Chorus
Conductor | Anthony Barrese
Preparer | Jeffrey Miller
Learn More
Lakmé Overture
(Performed by The Australian Opera Chorus.)
Flower Duet
This is a famous duet for sopranos, first performed in Paris in 1883. The duet takes place in act 1, between characters Lakmé, the daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika, as they go to gather flowers by a river.
(Performed by Anna Netrebko & Elina Garanca.)
The Bell Song
In the village town square, Lakmé tells the legend of a pariah's daughter who saved the son of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu.
(Performed by Julia Novikova.)