Lakmé by Delibes

19th Century India provides the setting for this intriguing opera. The Brahmins are full of anger and resentment towards the British colonialists who are destroying their shrines, and trying to change their way of life. The British civilians appear seemingly oblivious, stiff upper lip and all that.  A forbidden love develops between Gerald, a young army officer, and Lakmé, the innocent young daughter of a strict Brahmin priest.

Kevin John (Director) and Lewis Gaston (Musical Director) took on the challenge of performing this challenging piece in this beautiful Georgian church, with its fine acoustic, but of course still a church, not a theatre. They pulled it off, and I found the new venue rather an exciting one.

There was neither the opportunity, nor in fact the need, for elaborate scenery.  The beautiful setting of the church, with its metalwork, filigree screen, made for a perfectly adequate, romantic set for the Brahmin priest’s garden, when draped through with flowers. Later it easily became a busy market place when hung with baskets and colourful cloths. I imagine lighting was fairly tricky in this church setting, but I still found it effective.

Delightfully colourful saris, worn by the chorus, provided visual delight, the folds of silk glinting in the lights. Lakmé was attired perfectly for the part, in stunning red, then in cool dark blue.

Two pianos accompanied the performance, all was conducted ably by Musical Director Lewis Gaston. From time to time it was hard to hear some of the singing, as the piano music was a trifle too loud.

One was immediately transported to the colourful sights and sounds of India the minute the action began. The cultural clash of manners and customs was made abundantly clear by the resentful and angry Brahmin priest Nilakantha, protesting furiously about the hated English invaders, and their attitude to the local religious groups, and desecration of their shrines. Simon Wilson gave a fine performance in this nuanced role, the fierce priest, the strict father, yet also a kindly father, exceedingly fond of his young daughter.

Lakmé, this beautiful, innocent young girl, listens on. You sense her awakening to the world around her, how old will she be, 16, 18 maybe? Not only, of course, is she awakening to the world around her the way her father sees it, but  also her emotions are awakening to the beauty of nature, the flowers and birds that surround her in her father’s garden, and inevitably to the possibility of love in the future.  Now, to find a soprano who can display this quite gradual and complex ‘awakening’ in her face and body language must be quite a tall order, but to find someone who can do all that with such a fine voice, able to sing this complex part exquisitely – how rare can that be? In Hannah Dobra, Guildford Opera found that rare gem. We the audience felt privileged to be witness to this, as I heard non-stop in the interval, and in my walk to the car park! A superb performance. Hannah’s rendering with Thalie Knights (Malika, her maid) of the famous Flower Duet, such a haunting melody, was perfection. Congratulations, ladies, this will stay in my memory for many years to come.

Tom Morss, performed well as the young English officer, who appears on the scene to complete Lakmé’s awakening. A forbidden love ensues. This fragile and sensitive creature, at the same time a dutiful and respectful daughter, is forced by her father to sing endlessly in the market square until her admirer appears, so he can be identified, trapped and then stabbed. And so we have the famous Bell Song.  This song must surely be one of the most difficult to sing, testing the full range of a soprano’s voice. Hannah Dobra managed to sing it exquisitely, it resounded round the church, but I was also fascinated to watch her face, her expressions, her horror, which she so well expressed, at being forced in this way to betray the man she loved, and thus cause his death. This lady has a special talent.

So we were treated to both fine, sensuous music, and music full of tension and anger. The chorus were in fine voice indeed, the other principals all provided great performances, well acted as well as sung.

Congratulations to Kevin John (Director) and Lewis Gaston (Musical Director) for this excellent rendition of this intriguing opera. Thank you, Guildford Opera Company, for giving us the chance to enjoy this fine, yet seldom performed opera here in our town.

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