Flower Duet from Opera Lakme 灵犀2006-09-10 17:56:04

Delibes is very famous for the exotic opera Lakme. This is not his only opera, however. Throughout his life, Delibes created many operas that pleased his French audience. Read this article for an overview of these operatic works.

Delibes was born in France in 1836. He studied at the Paris Conservatory of Music, where he began to develop his florid style and orchestral sense. Upon graduation, he achieved fame as a master of the ballet. His ballets Coppelia and Sylvia are favorites today. The composer soon wrote works in the genres of opera and operetta. His works in opera dealt mainly with the Opera Comique. The first operetta of the composer was Deus sous de charbon, which is still performed today, on occasion. He wrote Le Roi l%u2019a dit (The King Said So), Jean di Nivelle, and Lakme while Second Chorus Master at the Paris Opera House in the mid-1800%u2019s. Of these works, Lakme is still famous, mainly because it is a prized coloratura role to have in the repertoire. His final work was Kassya, which was orchestrated by a fellow composer, Massanet, after Delibes%u2019 death. Delibes died in 1891 in his native country of France, respected and missed by his contemporaries.

Delibes wrote a great deal of religious music after the period that he associated with opera. He also wrote some art songs, including the famous Les Filles of Cadiz (The Girls of Cadiz). His songs are still performed today, most by high sopranos. Again, his pieces are imbued with an elusive, melodic quality that hooks the listener.

Delibes was given the position of professor on Composing and Composition at the Paris Conservatory in 1881. Soon after, he became a member of the Institut de France.

Delibes is remembered as having a charming touch in melody and orchestration, and a flair for text painting and highlighting the voice. While his operas do not contain the power of Wagner or the elusive brilliance of Mozart, they contain pieces that capture the mind. The popularity of certain select opera pieces proves that Delibes was certainly a competent and ingenious master of his art.