The “Flower Duet” is a famous duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano from Leo Delibes’ opera Lakmé, first performed in Paris in 1883. The duet takes place in Act 1 of the three-act opera, between characters Lakmé, the daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika, as they go to gather flowers by a river.
One hardly has to love opera to hear and feel the inherent beauty in this short piece.
Delibes: Lakmé – Duo des fleurs (Flower Duet) – Sabine Devieilhe & Marianne Crebassa
4:37 – Warner Classics
Soprano Sabine Devieilhe’s signature operatic role, Lakmé, forms the starting point for her enticing album Mirages. A collection of opera and song in French, its theme is the exotic allure of faraway – and imagined – places and people. Devieilhe is joined by mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa, pianist Alexandre Tharaud and the period-instrument orchestra Les Siècles under its founder, François-Xavier Roth.
First part, again, with lyrics…
The Flower Duet (from “Lakmé)[Lyric Video] – YouTube
2:29