Delibes - Lakmé / Mesplé, Burles, Soyer, Millet, Benoît, Opéra-Comique, Lombard

When I first acquired this recording on vinyl I knew Mady Mesplé only from her brief but memorable performance as Sophie in the Prêtre recording of Werther. Her voice is unmistakable, unique in tone, coloration and technique. Mesplé was so closely associated with the rôle that any other recording is judged by this one, and on the whole this recording does succeed. Compared to Sutherland, Mesplé is a paragon of diction, and in an opera like Lakmé, that is definitely a virtue. While Mesplé's voice may not have the lushness offered by Sutherland, her sound is authentically French, and I believe is superior to her predecessor in the role, Mado Robin. Danielle Millet's Mallika is a good counterpart to Mesplé's Lakmé, and their Flower Duet is justly famous. Roger Soyer is excellent as Nilakantha. The only down side here is Charles Burles as Gérard. His vocal production is rather too nasal for my taste, even for a French lyric tenor, and it seems more suited to operetta roles. If only the vastly underrated Alain Vanzo had done this recording it would truly be a perfect recording. Alain Lombard creates the proper "oriental" atmosphere from the Opéra-Comique forces.

An ideal cast with Mesple, Soyer, Benoit. Lombard in excellent form. It is a beautiful opera which needs strong singers, and it has it here. i love it.

Everything I expected and true to the reviews I read prior to purchase.

The year before this recording first came out, superstar Joan Sutherland had issued her own recording of Lakmé featuring the great French tenor Alain Vanzo, and sales of that set had not abated by the time this one came out in 1971.Hence, this recording may, in many ways, exemplify the old adage, "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."The entire cast is in each individual role may not be the strongest on records, but the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.True that there are numerous tape splices, particularly in those passages featuring tenor Charles Burles (Gerald). The sound is a somewhat shallow perspective on both voices and orchestra. So, this recording was not issued in USA on EMI's top-rank label (Angel) but rather on its budget affiliate, Seraphim, since at that time, only Roger Soyer (Nilakantha) was well known in the U.S.Yet those of us who bought the set were utterly charmed by Mesplé's intelligent, thoughtful, alternately vulnerable and independent Lakmé and Burles's sensitively shaded, quintessentially French-sounding Gerald. From the very first entry of Lakme in `Blanche Dourga, pale Siva', Mesple sends goose-bumps to listeners with her ethereal coloratura, high notes that are so surreal that really belonged not to this world but to the Indian gods. If Sutherland's Lakme was the best on earth, Mesple's simply belongs to the other world. Millet and Mesple's `Dôme épais le jasmine à la rose s'assemble', aka `Flower Duet', is a quintessential demonstration of how the duet should be tackled - the nuances, the enunciations, the intonations, the inflections, the musicality. The famous duet between Lakme and Gerald `C'est le dieu de la jeunesse' witnesses another exemplary rendition that could not be found any more, alas.This Lakmé, after almost 45 years, is still the supreme performance.

This recording has always been a favorite of mine, as is the opera itself.Though it may not be the most profound piece of music you'll ever experience, this recording with Mady Mesple does exactly what it sets out to do: it casts a spell of enchantment, gracefulness, and very French charm. Mesple is THE Lakme of her generation, a real storyteller (not just a twittery voice) and with effortless vocal technique to deliver an effortless, effervescent performance. Highly recommended!

It's Lakme for god's sake.

Al principio dudaba entre esta grabación y la grabación para DECCA con Sutherland-Vanzo. Me decidí por la francesa Mesplé y no me ha decepcionado. Su voz es preciosa, su dominio de la técnica único y la capacidad de transmitir sentimientos, aún cuando se trata de una obra belcantista con los correspondientes trinos y colotaturas. Toma de sonido sensacional. Excepcional grabación!!

Produit d’occasion de mauvaise qualité