An international affair

With a global cast, and thanks to cooperation between some of the world's top institutions, French opera Lakme, which tells a tragic tale of forbidden love, is set to debut in Beijing, Chen Nan reports.

Since its launch in 2007, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, an iconic art institution in Beijing, has produced 100 original and classic operas.

Its upcoming production will be an operatic rarity in China — Lakme, by French composer Leo Delibes, will premiere at the NCPA on Sept 12 and will be staged from Sept 14 to 16.

As a coproduction of the NCPA, the Royal Opera House Muscat, Fondazione Arena di Verona and the Los Angeles Opera, it will be the first Delibes opera that the NCPA has produced.

With a libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille, Lakme made its debut in Paris in 1883.This latest coproduction was premiered by the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman on March 28,2019.

The opera, set during the period of British rule in India during the 19th century, tell a tragic tale of love between an Indian girl named Lakme and a British soldier, named Gerald. Gerald and Lakme fall for one another, but the girl's father, a priest who is thirsty for revenge against the occupying British, doesn't approve of their relationship. After the father stabs Gerald, Lakme tries to get water from a sacred spring that will heal her lover. Meanwhile, one of Gerald's friends pays a visit to remind him of his military duty, starting the couple down a path that leads to tragedy.

"This is the 101st opera that the NCPA has produced, and gathers a global cast from countries such as France, Italy, and Austria," says Zhang Yao, vice-president of the NCPA. "Compared to other French operas that the NCPA has produced, such as operas by Georges Bizet, Jacques Offenbach and Charles Francois Gounod, Delibes' Lakme doesn't share the same recognition and popularity in China. However, arias from the opera, such as the Flower Duet and Bell Song, are not only popular in concert halls, but also have proved to be hits in commercials and films."

Zhang adds that the production also celebrates the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Oman.

"The premiere of this version of Lakme enjoyed incredible public and critical acclaim. Theater builds bridges between different cultures and traditions, and offers opportunities for interaction and dialogue among people. … Our common goal is to be open to the world, believing that music is a universal language that allows different countries with different cultures to understand and enrich each other," says Umberto Fanni, director general and artistic director of the Royal Opera House Muscat.