Requesting advice for best label for Delibes' Lakme
S.Doud
Sorry for the intrusion opera folk,
I don't know opera so please excuse my ignorance.
Last year, I heard an angelic female duet in "Yanni at the Acropolis"
on the tube and learned recently that it was the "Bell Song" from
the opera Lakme by Leo Delibes after hearing it again on Nat'l Pub. Radio.
I browsed Media Play and Best Buy and found:
- the opera with soprano Joan Sutherland
or
- 2 RCA compilation CD's containing just the Bell Song from Lakme.
Is Joan Sutherland's performance of Lakme worth owning (like I said, I'm
ignorant of opera)
or should I look to the RCA CD(s) or even Yanni's version?
I also note (via web search) there is a compilaion CD called
"The movies go to the opera" which contains the Bell Song
as well as other famous opera music.
Anyone heard it and recommend it?
Is there a "best" version I can purchase?
Regards,
Stephen Doud
janeh...@*no-spam*hotmail.com
"S.Doud" <dou...@ibm.net> wrote:
>Is Joan Sutherland's performance of Lakme worth owning (like I said, I'm
>ignorant of opera)
>or should I look to the RCA CD(s) or even Yanni's version?
(snip)
I don't know about "best" but my favorite is the Sutherland version.
I'm not acquainted with the RCA or Yanni's version, but I think there
is one with Mady Mesple out on EMI (don't know if it's still in print,
tho'). If you can, listen to as many versions you can before making
your decision. If you have access to a library with a good CD
collection, that can help too.
As will find out if you continue reading the posts here, music is
subjective and we all have our different tastes in music, singers,
etc. As in painting, two people can see or hear a singer in entirely
different ways which is why you will read a post by somebody who
thinks a certain singer is lousy and yet another will find that same
singer divine! As the saying goes, chacun a son gout!
-- to reply by e-mail, remove the obvious
Commspkmn
<<Is Joan Sutherland's performance of Lakme worth owning (like I said, I'm
ignorant of opera)>>
I think so. In addition to Sutherland, the recording features the Gerald of
the superb Corsican tenor Alain Vanzo, a great and underrated French stylist.
JDavis6627
>Last year, I heard an angelic female duet in "Yanni at the Acropolis"
>on the tube and learned recently that it was the "Bell Song" from
>the opera Lakme by Leo Delibes after hearing it again on Nat'l Pub. Radio.
If it was a duet, I don't think you heard the Bell Song. It's more probably
the Soprano/Mezzo duet from Act 1. Yes, the Sutherland recording is just fine
and, probably, sonically, the best recorded to date. I suggest you get the
complete opera, rather than the Bell Song excerpt - as I said, I don't think it
was the Bell Song you heard.
Jon Davis
"Living well is the best revenge"
Oscar Wilde
Ee Kuan Low
Hi
First of all, I'm quite sure the Bell Song from Lakme is _NOT_ a female
duet. There is a female duet from Lakme and it's called the Flower
Song.
Secondly (if we are refering to the Bell Song) - With Sutherland's
recordings (as with most other singers), you have to be wary of the
year. Just make sure it's during her peak and not her decline - some of
her most constricted high notes can be heard late in her career.
If you like light sopranos with a small voice (which is quite good
for the Bell Song), Lily Pons is great with the Bell Song. There are
other recordings, of course - most of them by the light sopranos of
aeons ago. Coincidentally, Maria Callas recorded the Bell Song too -
not exceptionally beautiful for most people's ears but the theatrics,
style, coloratura and elegance makes Lakme come alive.
Good luck.
Ee Kuan :-)
janeh...@*no-spam*hotmail.com
Ee Kuan Low <eeku...@it.usq.edu.au> wrote:
>Secondly (if we are refering to the Bell Song) - With Sutherland's
>recordings (as with most other singers), you have to be wary of the
>year. Just make sure it's during her peak and not her decline - some of
>her most constricted high notes can be heard late in her career.
oh don't worry, honey, she's in great vocal shape for this Lakme!
Hellgf
To reiterate, the soprano-mezzo duet is called "Viens Mallika" and is quite
lovely.
I have heard Sutherland and Horne sing this duet is recital in Southern
California centuries ago (absolutely thrilling!!!!!!!) and have seen the opera
starring Roberta Peters in Pittsburgh (also centuries ago).
But the recording I own, and of which I'm very fond is a 3 LP set on Seraphim
(EMI now) of a production from the French Opera-Comique conducted by Alain
Lombard and featuring Mady Mesple as Lakme, Roger Soyer as her father,
Nilikantha, Daniele Millet as her slave, Mallika, and Charles Burles as Gerald,
the British officer with whom she falls in love.
If this recording is available on CD, I recommend it. But the Sutherland will
be, I am sure, very satisfying for you.
As was said higher up in this thread, performances are a matter of personal
taste. As someone who claims to know nothing about opera, it really doesn't
matter where you start, as long as you like what you hear.
I recommend a recording of the full opera, since The Bell Song and "Viens
Mallika" are not the only lovely sections. You might also decide you like
other parts.