Delibes Lakmé

Whenever you find a picture of Nathalie Dessay, you wonder who was the idiot who took this picture. In real life she is a true beauty of the South of France and so is her voice and her character! I saw her for the first time at the Saint Denis Cathedral in Paris many years ago and since then I have never heard a more beautiful voice. You think I am exaggerating but I can assure you that I am old enough to voice such an opinion (and more than a 1000 highly selected classical music CDs and vinyls backing up this opinion). Whenever you hear critics about her, you will get the usual mindless sour chitchat... Don't listen to that. Just listen to her angel voice and be subjugated! If you need to make a choice about the last music you want to hear before leaving this valley of tears...Lakmé with Nathalie Dessay would be my choice! Just buy this CD, put it on your player, expel all the nuisance out of your room (wife, kids whatever....) and start the voyage of your dreams...! My dream is that I will be able to listen to hear once again in a concert hall! Convinced now???? So what are you waiting for???

I love this recording! Is just perfect! A great gift. Kudos!!

Natalie Dessay's crystal clear coloratura is what brings this set to absolute life. One only needs to hear the beginning of the "Air des clochettes" to know that his has to be one of the greatest artists of our time. The subtlety and clarity in her voice is astonishing. Having heard the Sutherland version, I can say with utmost confidence that this set...kicks the Sutherland one in the pants (and I'm a big Sutherland fan). The rest of the cast is just as impressive. Gregory Kunde soars to the rafters as Gerald, and Jose van Dam makes a dark and imposing Nilakantha. The only problem that I could have with this set is the libretto. It was just a little sloppy. Reading the English side, there were several grammatical errors (verb tense and so forth). It was as if the translator hadn't taken English in a few years. On one page they printed the French on both sides, that didn't help me very much! These are minor problems, and the incredible singing easily overcomes them.

I bought this album for the two soprano arias and it did not disappoint. Nathalie Dessay does a superb job and I can't stop listening to her!

Natalie Dessay is wonderful!!!

I first heard Natalie Dessay sing Lakme from a classical radio station that would give listeners the whole story of an opera during an hour program. They featured this recording for the first half of the opera and I realized I needed to add it to my collection. I was not disappointed.

Les voix féminines (Natalie Dessay, Patricia Petibon) sont enchanteresses. Natalie Dessay dans l'air des clochettes, conjugue une extrême virtuosité avec un sens musical parfait. Les incroyables nuances qu'elle crée dans l'aigu, son phrasé poursuivi jusque dans les notes les plus hautes me comblent de bonheur. Les voix masculines sont également très belles mais évitent moins l'écueil d'un style un peu suranné. C'est le seul (et tout petit) bémol que l'on pourrait apporter à l'appréciation de cet enregistrement où Michel Plasson se sent chez lui. L'opéra français, il le connaît et le dirige à merveille.

It's a wonderful recording and performance by an orchestra and cast and I didn't know much about, and which is now 20 years old. For those reasons I was a little unsure about buying it, but I'm glad I did. It's worthy of being part of anyone's permanent collection.

驚きました。こんな美しいOperaがこの世に存在するとは！ Flower duet（有名らしいです）も悪くないですが、Où va la jeune Hindoue（鐘の歌）の方が遥かに素晴らしい。 Natalie Dessay (1965～ ）は若き日のEdita Gruberová（1946～ ）やDiana Damrau（1971～ ）に負けない超高音の美声の持ち主。 本CDは1998ですので33歳。歌唱力の頂点。ジャケットの写真より美人です。

A beautiful production, cleanly digitised to CD. A stunning performance both vocally and musically, her voice soars through the house with spectacular ease. Nuff said.

On ne présente plus cet opéra de DELIBES. Un régal ! L'interprétation de NATALI DESSAY ne gâche rien !

Opera bellissima, ascolto perfetto

The c(larity of the recording and quality of the singing is outstanding.