An opera in 3 acts with 20 musical numbers (in French), the story is set in the late 19th century British Raj in India, when many Hindus could only practice their religion in secret.
The whole opera from the Sydney Opera House, with English subtitles.
Or, the following two songs,
The whole opera from the Sydney Opera House, with English subtitles.
Or, the following two songs,
The Hindus go to perform their rites in a sacred Brahmin (婆羅門) temple under a high priest. The latter’s daughter Lakmé and her servant Mallika are left behind and go down to the river to gather flowers where they sing the famous "Flower Duet", in soprano and mezzo soprano, respectively, in appreciation of the flowers.
Then, Mallika leaves Lakmé for a while. A British officer Gérald (from a picnic party) has been secretly watching and now appears. Lakmé and Gérald begin to fall in love with each other. The father returns and learns of the British officer's trespassing and vows revenge on him for his affront to Lakmé's honor.
At a bazaar, her father forces Lakmé to sing in order to lure the trespasser (Gérald) into identifying himself. This aria has long been a favorite recital piece for coloratura sopranos (花腔女高音).
* Joan Sutherland - live opera
* Natalie Dessay (Wow!)
* Maria Callas (Wow!)
When Gérald steps forward, Lakmé faints, thus giving him away. The father stabs Gérald, wounding him. Lakmé takes Gérald to a secret hideout in the forest where she nurses him back to health….. Good grief!
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In recent years, the Flower Duet has become familiar more widely because of its use in advertisements - in particular….
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