Michel Plasson, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Natalie Dessay - Léo Delibes: Lakmé (2022)
WEB FLAC | Tracks ~ 542 Mb | Total time: 2 h 22 min | Cover
Classical | Label: Erato | # 9029627909 | Recorded: 1997
WEB FLAC | Tracks ~ 542 Mb | Total time: 2 h 22 min | Cover
Classical | Label: Erato | # 9029627909 | Recorded: 1997
For all its exotically tinged, trademark Orientalism, so fashionable in late-19th-century France, Delibe's opera Lakmé is at heart a simple story of tragically misplaced love. This marvelous and sensitively wrought interpretation renders the intensity of that love story with a surprising emotional credibility. Conductor Michel Plasson allows the music's arching melodies to breathe and unfold leisurely, like a lovingly cultivated floral display; he even discovers hidden nuances within the formulaic fluff that pads Delibe's score. And his vision is shared by the outstanding principals here. As the titular Hindu princess, Natalie Dessay gives a jewel-like performance, full of stunningly shaped phrases and tapered notes that sound like spun silk (and one that can favorably compare with Joan Sutherland's account on London).