Delibes: Lakmé

For those of us who don't live in New York or somewhere in Italy, the reservations expressed by other reviewers seem a touch finicky. We may live near enough to see a good local opera company sometimes, but what I'd give if my local company were Australia Opera! The orchestra and performers, including fine guest dancers, are excellent.Certainly the quality of the recording isn't what we've come to take for granted, but as a DVD transfer from a VHS tape made in the 70s, it's pretty darn good. Dame Joan is not at her peak, but on a bad day she could still break your heart. The tenor is a bit adolescent as her lover but he holds up very well. If we don't want to see close-ups of imperfect faces and physiques, we can close our eyes.I've never seen an opera I didn't wish someone had asked me to direct, but this staging is unobjectionable. Rejoice at the chance to see this memorable production with this blessed soprano. We will not see her like again.

First, simply to emphasize the point, the DVD version by Kultur, unlike the VHS, does have English subtitles, and, yes, they are embedded. To most non-specialist viewers the subtitles are a major plus (as Beverly Sills who introduced surtitles to America has pointed out is true of live performances); I cannot speak for those who can follow the French language of the production.Second, ignoring comparisons with other productions or other works in which Joan Sutherland appeared, focusing only on what is to be seen and heard in the performance which I have just seen on the TV screen, I can only say that, to me, it was quite a delight, visually rich with color,and, replete with garlands of wonderful melodies,for the most part, admirably sung.As have some reviewers, I found the lead tenor to be without the vocal or physical stature to allow Sutherland to be seen as the young, innocent girl of her father's description. What was required was a six foot four inch tower of vocal strength. However, the other singers were adequate to the demands made upon them, if not of the highest caliber.All in all, a fine staging of what could be a great Broadway hit, and, I should think, a production which will provide viewers with an evening of rich pleasure.A note on comparisons: By no stretch of imagination can Joan Sutherland match the performance of Lily Pons, who owned the role for decades at the Met, in concerts and on radio. However, it is equally true that Lily Pons could not match the statuesque presence and sound of Sutherland. Two styles, two appearances, two wonderful voices, neither with the acting ability that is increasingly being demanded. Better or worse need not be the judgment of a viewer with no intention other than find pleasure in a performance; each is distinctive, both can entertain, one or both, may impress mightily or disappoint. Each of us sees and hears differently, emotionally reacts differently. Take what is your cup of tea regardless of how others may react.

Delibes - Lakme / Joan Sutherland, Huguette Tourangeau, Henri Wilden, John Pringle, Richard Bonynge, Opera Australia I was going to see this opera but I wanted to get familiar with it because I only knew the "flower duet", I bought this DVD, it was the only one I found, but knowing that Lakme was being performed by Joan Sutherland I was sure it would be a good selection.All the cast sang very well, overstating! , but the acting that must convinced me was that of Clifford Grant as Nilakantha.Beautiful music with a wonderful orchestra director, the scenery and costumes are colorful and beautiful.The dancing in the second act was uneven.The sound was great.I am glad I've purchased this DVD, I enjoyed very much.

Why some of the top 100 operas and ballets have been left alone by the powers that be who produce these for DVD or Blu ray is sometimes a mystery. I have a list of these. We had to wait a long time for a visually and audibly satisfying Faust (Gounod) till this year. Wonder when they will produce a hi-def Samson et Delilah (Saint Sains) with the ballet in it, or ballets like La Boutique Fantasque (never produced for the small screen to the best of my knowledge) and/or Gaite Parisienne where one has to content oneself with a 1950s film... This applies to Lakme as well, to an extent.The video is not as grainy as one might expect, but if viewed on a 40+ inch HD TV may appear muddy. It has 'ingrained' if I may put it that way, subtitles in English. They cant be switched off... no complaints. Audio is just about as good as it can get, given the time of the recording. No complaints there either.The singing and the eye to detail - those factors make this DVD worth possessing. One is totally taken in by Joan Sutherland's voice and its clarity and absolute control - whether singing the delicate lyrical pieces that dominate most of the opera or for that matter the bel-canto portions especially in the 'Bell Aria'. The supporting cast, although overshadowed by Sutherland's reputation and singing is just about as good as it can possibly get. Absolutely everyone.The eye to detail is simply magnificent. The costumes, Indian dances and the props are as authentic as they can get (except Sutherland's own costume). The dances in the second act are fabulous. Yes, they are a slightly westernized and sanitized version of some classical Indian dances, but luckily without caricaturization of them. I hope any future versions of these don't make them look like something danced in some unrealistic exotic dance bars. The deities, the idols and the costumes are as near to the real thing and unoffensive as they can get.I have no hesitation in giving this DVD the maximum. This recording would familiarize one almost instantly with the music and approach that would be a benchmark for any future productions of this rather instantly enjoyable Opera. If the lack of hi-def bothers you, you can switch the TV off and still enjoy the sound... BUY IT.

everything ok, arrived on time in good conditionAh Joan Sutherland, absolutely top!

This opera is often dismissed as a melodious but meaningless bit of French fluff. True, it is essentially a series of musically disconnected pieces and has survived in the repertoire largely as a display vehicle for a coloratura soprano. True, it is one of the most melodious of all French operas. However, it can be seen as having a serious underlying socio-political message. Written in the late 1880s with a libretto based on a French novel of no particular literary merit, it is set in India at an undetermined time in the earlier Ninetenth Century. Some references in the text suggest that it likely revolves around two junior officers in the British Army in India (rather than British officers in the Indian Army) in or around 1857, the year of the Indian Mutiny (as the British call it) or the [First] Indian War of Independence (as it is often called by Indians).One of these officers, Gerald, when trespassing on sacred temple land, sees and falls in love with (is struck by the physical beauty of?) an Indian girl, Lakme, who is the daughter of Nilakantha, a Brahmin Hindu Priest who hates the British (as most of the Hindu priesthood undoubtedly did). This is notwithstanding the fact that he is engaged to marry Ellen, the English Governor's daughter. The other British officer is Frederick, who is constantly trying to recall Gerald to his "duty" - i.e to abandon Lakme and return to his career, his regiment and his betrothed. In Act 3, when Gerald has been stabbed by Nilakantha and is being nursed in secret by Lakme, Frederick finds them and persuades Gerald that he must renounce Lakme. Gerald agrees and Frederick makes the revealing statement "he is saved!". Frederick, Ellen and other minor English characters in the cast are really nothing more than admittedly brilliant caricatures of British colonial attitudes to India and Indians as seen through French eyes. They do not like India, despise Indians, their customs and the dominant Hindu religion. and live in a sometimes frivolous way often hidebound by English social (and sexual) conventions of the mid Nineteenth Century and later, and always racist in their basic approach to the world around them. Gerald is less of a caricature, and portrays an ambivalence that is much more typical of earlier English attitudes to India and Indians. Nevertheless, at the end, he heartlessly "does his duty" and discards Lakme, who then commits suicide. This interpretation of the opera suggests that it is defintely rather more than "mere fluff". It is not particularly pro-Indian, but is a very hostile French take on British imperialism that comes fairly close to the truth as modern historians now see it. So much for the political nessage that might be found in the libretto.Musically this is a rather mixed performance. Sutherland is magnificent vocally as Lakme and acts more than adequately. The one flaw is that while her costumes are distinctlvely and appropriately Indian, she is not made up to look Indian. Clifford Grant, the bass who sings Nilakantha, sings and acts very well indeed and looks the part in all respects - although not really in Sutherland's league he is nevertheless a worthy partner for the great diva. The tenor who sings Gerald is rather poor - not up to scratch vocally, although acting adequately. The baritone who sings Frederick portrays a caricature hidebound racist prig very satisfactorily both vocally and in his acting. The comprimario parts are generally successfully sung and acted. The orchestra is technically good. Bonynge's conducting is, as always, wonderfully sensitive both to the score and to the needs of Sutherland's voice (she was, after all, his wife in real life). None of the cast appears to be a native French speaker and the language is somewhat mangled at times, but it doesn't really matter.Staging and costumes are lavish and very well done in a proper traditional way. Opera Australia has done a marvellous job in refurbishing this live performance from 1976. Visually, it now looks much better than do many opera DVD's of much later provenance. Sound is simply Dolby 2.0, but does not sound as thin and constricted as can sometimes be the case.Even by its own appallingly low standards, Kultur provides no meaningful information. There is no leaflet all all, and the only way to get a complete cast list is to watch the opera through. A fairly terse plot synopsis is embedded in English at the start of each of the three Acts, and English subtitles are embedded, with no other options.I'd love to give this performance 5 stars, but the lead tenor makes that impossible. Nevertheless, anyone who loves French opera,anyone who loves Joan Sutherland's voice, and anyone who relishes melody and traditional staging, should buy this version of Lakme, that in some respects at least is likely never to be surpassed.

Die Inszenierung aus dem Opernhaus Sydney von 1976 ist in naturalistisch, traditionell, konventionellem Stil gehalten, also genau das, was viele Opernseher lieben. Das passt auch hervorragend zu der Story aus dem englisch-indischen Kolonialzeitmilieu. Ein bisschen pseudoreligiöses Soap-Opera feeling könnte man salopp klassifizieren. Sängerisch steht ein hervorragendes Ensemble zur Verfügung, aus dem alle Rollen überzeugend besetzt sind. Die Lakme von Joan Sutherland ist technisch brillant insbesondere im dramatischen Koloraturbereich. Wobei ich allerdings gestehen muß, daß ich ihrem Timbre nie besonders viel abgewinnen konnte. Das aber rein subjektiv angemerkt. Herausragend für mich der Nilakantha von Clifford Grant mit substanzvoll, rund volltönendem Bass. Richard Bonynge dirigiert subtil, farbstark.Eine Oper voll melodischen Farbenreichtums, die viele begeistern könnte. Sie gehört leider nicht zum Standardrepertoire an deutschen Opernhäusern. Die Einspielung ist technisch gut restauriert. Es gibt allerdings nur englische Untertitel, was aber bei der Überschaubarkeit der Story nicht so problematisch ist.Von der Musik her, eine eindeutige Empfehlung.

Experiencia extraordinaria poder disfrutar de la presencia y voz de Joan Sutherland, estupenda soprano

Il venditore dichiarava condizioni accettabili, ma in realtà sono semplicemente disastrose !Purtroppo il mio feedback negativo e stato cancellato dopo un solo giorno.Sarei curioso di sapere da chi e perché.