Customer Reviews

Delibes: Lakmé / Bonynge, Opéra de Monte-Carlo

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Imagine the bell song being sung by the only dramatic coloratura soprano on record. AWESOME! Listen to Lily Pons' version of the bell song, great as it was, then listen to Sutherland's, you won't believe your ears! And on top of all that wonderful coloratura, Sutherland had at the time of this recording, one of the most gorgeous, sensuous voices around. Without question the best recording of this opera! I never realize how wonderful Lakme's music is until I bought this recording!

This is a very beautiful interpretation of such a great but terribly underrated opera. Delibes creates a very exotic and enchanting work in Lakme. Listen to the strange overture and the opening chorus. The cast is excellent. Gabriel Bacquier seems to, in every one of his recordings, put in a performance of a lifetime. His Nikalantha is incomparable. He sings great and the characterization is a perfect match to his commanding presence. Alain Vainzo's Gerard is also beautifully and distinctively lyrical, and he's not a loser like Pinkerton. Monica Sinclair is another perfectly cast Miss Benson, she is so convincing and sings with such dignity. Sutherland is obviously the star of the set. Her technique is amazing. In the bell song she sounds like a bell and she sings beautifully throughout. The Flower duet is also beautifully rendered here. I am kind of sick of the opera politics too as a previous reviewer stated. For the great service Joan Sutherland has given to the world of music, she sure seems to get a lot of petty and unwarranted criticism. She doesn't scream loud enough, she doesn't sound young enough, the burning pyre in Norma isn't hot enough, she sounds to happy, she doesnt pronounce the silent "s"'s properly, her porridge is too hot, her wine isn't Corbel, she didn't use Western Union, etc. C'mon, give her a break. Some singers are great where others are not, and vice versa. We as critics should be mindful of that

Sutherland's famed diction is much better in French than Italian. She is breath-taking as Lakme. What a vocal wonder! The bell song is "Inhuman", it's so awesome. Spectacular high E's shot out the diva's mouth like cannonballs, ravishing trills on high B. No one can trill like Sutherland, and she's the only soprano in history who could trill on a high D-flat. Too bad Decca chose not to re-release another of Sutherland'sincredible role "Esclamonde". Sutherland is the only Dramatic Coloratura Soprano of our time who can sing Esclamonde. A role written for a Brunhilde size voice with the agility of a Lakme. Decca, if you're listening, you must re-release Esclamonde!!!

As a lover of Dame Joan and her wonderful coloratura style of singing, Lakme is the perfect opera for her. It tests her skills and she performs well beyond expectation. The most prized soprano of the past century, she really knew how to put on a display of musical fireworks, and envigorate the listener. Like the other reviewers here (I'm surprised I'm only the third person to comment on this recording by the way), I agree that her Bell song here is mind boggling, and her high D just knocks you out of your seat. The rest of the opera is great too, with the well known "Viens, Mallika" duet and other great scores in there as well. The entire cast does a great job, and Bonynge conducts well. I'm a little disappointed that this recording doesn't include quite as much as of the opera as the recording with Dessay does, but it's still quite complete. This recording I still prefer over the other just because it has Dame Joan on it, and when she was in her prime, she was unstoppable. She's definitely in her prime here, and you can't go wrong... a fantastic CD for any opera lover.

I'm sick of operatic politics, this is a great recording, and if you want to hear one of the most amazing sets around, buy it, sutherland in her prime has no equals in my opinion, certainly not callas

This is a great opera, and not just because of the cast. Delibes may not be Wagner,Puccini, or Verdi, but he sure is a great composer. Maybe he should have composed Madama Butterfly. Lakme is an underrated opera, but the music is so exotic and enchanting. Listen to the strange overture, the beautiful opening chorus, and even the tambourines in the famous bell song. Of the cast, I too, as a previous viewer said, am sick of the opera politics. For such wonderful service to music and such a beautiful voice Mrs. Sutherland seems to get a lot of unwarranted criticisms. "Sutherland sings too beautifully, she doesn't scream loud enough, she doesn't pronounce her silent "s" properly, she doesn't sound young enough, the fire isn't hot enough when she jumps into the pyre at the end of Norma,she's too happy, her teeth are too white, her porridge is too cold, her wine isn't Corbel, she didn't use western union. Who cares,She has a beautiful entrance and sings the bell song exsquisitely, not to mention her vivid characterization. Alan Vainzo is especially lyrical and not such a loser as Pinkerton. Gabriel Bacquier, in all of his recordings, seems to perform with a set mind to make a recording of a lifetime. His Nikalantha, as all of his characters are convincing and have very distinctive characterization. Buy this set and weep later about musical technicalities.

sutherland is diva, and you must not understand the act of bel canto, which sutherland is the mistress of bel canto..I know, I've studies voice

LAKME is a hidden jewel of an opera. It is not often performed, and with the exception of a well known aria and duet, the opera itself is relatively unknown. Fortunately there are some excellent recordings of the work and this set is certainly one of them. Joan Sutherland is Lakme, the daughter of a rebellious Brahmin. She falls in love with the enemy, Gerald who happens to be a British soldier. The opera tells the classic story of two ill fated lovers, but it also deals with the clash of two cultures and the tragedy of imperialism and shows what can happen when cultural differences are not understood.

Highlights of the opera are the famous Jasmine duet, Lakme's Bell Song which is often a showpiece for coloratura sopranos, and the duet between Gerald and Lakme near the conclusion of Act I. The music of Delibes flows and conductor Richard Bonynge handles it well. Though a highlights version of this recording is available, the complete recording has nuances that make the better known portions of the opera fuller.

This recording dates back to 1967 when Sutherland's voice was in top form. This recording, like so many Sutherland recordings, demonstrates her love of music and her dedication to quality performances.

There is much to praise in this recording, even though it isn't completely flawless. The real drawback is the poorly sung French by Sutherland, which is very evident when she is singing with native French singers. However, by no means is that drawback huge or glaring. Sutherland is much better in French than in Italian, and her English is incomprehensible. Later her diction would improve greatly.

This recording is very lovely. Firstly, the orchestra is just wonderfully balanced with the voices. That is so nice. In some recordings the voices are recorded too closely, or the orchestra is too loud; the balance in this recording is wonderful. One thing also to recommend this recording is Bonynge's conducting. Some don't take him seriously, but I have never understood that. He does a wonderful job trying to stay true to the style of whatever type of music he is conducting. He NEVER makes Bellini sound like Verdi, or Verdi like Puccini, or Puccini like Wagner. This little nuance is often overlooked by many critics. This opera sounds "very French" and so it should.

The singing is wonderful, even though I think at times Sutherland's glorious voice is a bit much for the character. Most people comment on the great "Bell song" and how fabulously it is sung. Well, it is sung fabulously. There is more to the role of Lakme than just that show piece, which is the only show piece in the entire opera. The tenderness of the closing aria is more telling than this famous show stopper. Sutherland comes off in spades. The duet with Gerald is so wonderfully sung with both singers blending so well it is breathtaking. Now, Sutherland does monkey with the score and raise musical lines higher than they are written to disguise the weakness in her lower range, which is at times a real drawback to giving us fully developed characters. Composers usually wrote these lines lower because of the dramatic impact they were seeking. Changing them reduces the impact.

The rest of the cast is fabulous as well. The reason I spend so real time discussing them is the fact that few people will be buying this recording based on their contributions. However, don't take that to mean their contributions are not of the finest quality, they are. Most of us bought this recording because it was a Joan Sutherland recording.

A word about this recording and my most favorite of all, the Lakme recorded with Mady Mesple. I like the Mesple recording far better. Her singing is just as lovely as Sutherland (the voice is smaller, though) and she adds real touches to the vocal lines because she is French and understands the nuances of the language. Sutherland simply doesn't capture those special nuances. Partly that is because her diction is poor, but partly it is because she is not a native speaker of the language (though in real life, she speaks it fabulously, living in Switzerland). These little nuances are very obvious in the tenor's singing (and all cast members who are French).

Lakme also has some spoken dialogue in it by the main character when Hadji helps her take Gerald's wounded body away. The Mesple recording captures this. It isn't long, but its effectiveness is much enhansed by someone with a good French accent.

This recording is wonderful, and I recommend it to anyone. Be assured that the opera is not the greatest in the world, even though it is super lovely, well orchestrated, has tons of melodies, and well, is very pleasing all around. It is truly a joy to listen to.

Yes, this is an absolutely sensational recording of Lakme. And for all records, Sutherland sings the bell song with three lovely high E flats, not D's. There is no better Lakme than this one. I agree with the 20 or more people who agree with "andre" that this is a sensational recording.