User Reviews

I think Lakme is an under-appreciated opera- the only well known segments are the flower song and the Bell Song. The whole production looks lavish, with splendid costumes and well-designed sets. The score is just marvellous, and makes one wonder why the opera isn't performed as much as operas as Tosca and La Boheme. The singing is quite good, I liked Joan Sutherland overall as Lakme, but despite her wonderous coloratura ability, she was very flat in the Bell Song, and a bit wooly in the flower duet. The opera tells the complicated story of forbidden love, and is a joy to watch being unfolded. The other members of the cast did a splendid job though the singer of Gerard seemed a bit feeble, and Richard Bonynge conducts with panache. All in all, very very good, only let down by some flat singing. 9/10 Bethany Cox

It is a real treat to see this rarely performed opera by Delibes: particularly since it is in a vintage Australian production from 1976, starring Joan Sutherland. It is probably one of the earliest live, as opposed to mimed, recordings of opera ever made. The film was restored in 1991 and, in the version I saw, the sound quality is good for its age although the picture is a bit fuzzy and it is filmed in squarevision.

Like most people, I only know the so-called flower duet from this opera. It made me suspect that the rest of the opera may be rubbish, but I was quite mistaken. It is full of delicate, sinewy French melodies delivered with an oriental accent. Although the story bears a superficial resemblance to Norma, one of La Stupenda's greatest roles, it makes a strange showcase for the bel canto talents of Joan Sutherland whose stage persona is anything but delicate. Most disappointing is the flower duet where Dame Joan's whooping delivery quite overwhelms Huguette Tourangeau's dainty mezzo voice. More successful is the Bell Song which lets Dame Joan display her impressive coloratura and confident high notes. Henry Wilden plays, Gerard, the English officer who woos the Brahmin maiden Lakmé. He struggles with the role but he does have one exquisite love duet with Sutherland.

The production is absolutely traditional, set in the garden of a temple, an Indian bazaar and a forest glade. I wholly approve of this since, the first time that you see an opera, it is useful to see it as the composer intended. Even as I was watching it, however, I was struck by how suitable this tale of colonial oppression and religious intolerance would be for updating. I know it has become a bit of a cliché to set operas such as Cosí Fan Tutte in a Bangkok lap-dancing club but Lakmé is one opera that could successfully be set in modern-day Bangkok, or Tehran, or Baghdad.

Lakme as an opera is very rarely performed and definetely can't rival the success Carmen has as the most popular French opera in the world(Carmen is also among the most popular opera in the world overall). This composer's ballets are more known. Sets and costumes do look lovely and evoke India during British rule. Joan Sutherland I knew as Donna Anna and Norma and as Lakme she does bring out her joy and later utter sadness. The best part of her night was the emotional final scene(the final scene of Lakme will definetely remind others of Madama Butterfly). The rest of the cast does a great job. Overall,truly great production of this rarely performed opera.9/10.

This opera is beautifully staged and sung, and not a run of the mill production. The Indian settings are lovely and tranquil, and the second act is quite colorful and exotic, as is the costuming. Since Lakme is so seldom seen on stage these days--a scattering of performances throughout the USA at best--and only a few of its arias are well known, it is great to have this one on VHS, which I believe is singular. I particularly wanted to use it for an opera study group I lead. The one great detriment, and Kultur must be faulted for this, is that the video does not have English sub-titles. Understanding of the opera would have benefited enormously if they had been super-imposed, and this is the basic problem with the video. It is difficult to read a libretto and watch at the same time. All in all, not a rating of A no matter how gorgeous a voice Dame Sutherland has.