  lakmÃ© is an opera in three acts by lÃ©o delibes to a french libretto by edmond gondinet and philippe gille. the score, written in 1881â1882, was first performed on 14 april 1883 by the opÃ©ra comique at the salle favart in paris. set in british india in the mid-19th century, lakmÃ© is based on thÃ©odore pavie's story "les babouches du brahamane" and novel  by pierre loti.charles p. d. cronin and betje black klier (1996), "thÃ©odore pavie's âles babouches du brahmaneâ and the story of delibes's lakmÃ©," opera quarterly 12 (4): 19â33. the opera includes the popular flower duet (sous le dÃ´me Ã©pais) for sopranos performed in act 1 by lakmÃ©, the daughter of a brahmin priest, and her servant mallika."lakmÃ© by leo delibes" on npr.org retrieved 15 january 2011 the opera's most famous aria is the bell song (l'air des clochettes) in act 2. like other french operas of the period, lakmÃ© captures the ambience of the orient seen through western eyes, which was periodically in vogue during the latter part of the nineteenth century and in line with other operatic works such as bizet's the pearl fishers and massenet's le roi de lahore.macdonald h., "lakmÃ©", the new grove dictionary of opera, london and new york: macmillan: 1997. the subject of the opera was suggested by gondinet as a vehicle for the american soprano marie van zandt. ==performance history== following its premiere at the opÃ©ra comique in 1883, lakmÃ© reached its 500th performance there on 23 june 1909 and 1,000th on 13 may 1931. a series of performances took place at the thÃ©Ã¢tre gaÃ®tÃ© lyrique paris in 1908, with alice verlet, david devriÃ¨s and fÃ©lix vieuille.wolff s. un demi-siÃ¨cle d'opÃ©ra-comique. andrÃ© bonne, paris, 1953. ==roles==  {|class="wikitable" border="1" !|role !|voice type !|premiere cast,14 april 1883(conductor: jules danbÃ©) |- |lakmÃ©, a priestess, daughter of nilakantha |coloratura soprano |marie van zandt |- |gÃ©rald, a british army officer |tenor |jean-alexandre talazac |- |nilakantha, a brahmin priest |bass |cobalet |- |frÃ©dÃ©ric, officer friend of gÃ©rald |baritone |barrÃ© |- |mallika, slave of lakmÃ© |mezzo-soprano |elisa frandin |- |hadji, slave of nilakantha |tenor |chenneviÃ¨re |- |miss ellen, fian
1883_operas French-language_operas Operas Operas_based_on_novels Operas_by_LA(c)o_Delibes Operas_set_in_India OpA(c)ra-Comique_world_premieres