Léo Delibes beautiful 1883 opera, Lakmé was chosen for a new ROHM production in collaboration with eight top companies from around the world. From West to East, they are, LA Opera, Teatro Dell’opera di Roma, Fondazione Arena di Verona, Cairo Opera House, Astana Opera, Teatro Carlo Felice di Genoa, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, (China) and Opera Australia. With a stellar cast, this exciting world premiere is directed by David Livermore, the outstanding artistic director who made a strong contribution to ROHM’s production of The Opera. The orchestra and chorus of Teatro Carla Felice di Genoa are conducted by Jordi Bernàcer. The Royal Opera House Muscat is proud to present the world premiere of this wonderful new production, which reflects the global depth of ROHM’s vision for the season.
In the era of the British Raj in India, the lovely Hindu Priestess, Lakmé and a British Officer fall in love, with tragic consequences. The Brilliant Romanian soprano, Elena Moscu stars as Lakmé, while the rapidly rising Russian star, tenor Sergey Romanovsky sings Gerald, the British Officer. Delicate orchestration, melodic richness and warm expressiveness characterise the music, while Oriental colour comes with incantations, dances and a stunning market scene. The music features two of the most beautiful arias in the world repertoire – the intricately ornamented Bell Song, a favourite of coloratura sopranos, and the enchanting Flower Duet, which is sung by Lakmé and her maid, Mallika when they go down to the river to gather flowers.
The compelling beauty of the music and the sumptuous oriental atmosphere of this opera have inspired the Royal Opera House Muscat to create a unique perfume evocative of Lakmé to mark its world premiere in a very special way. The Royal Opera House Muscat worked closely with the world-famous haute perfumer, Roja Dove in creating this bespoke fragrance, called Lakmé. Among the many fabulous ingredients in this unique fragrance, some of the key scents are those that are redolent of the “Flower Duet”, floral ingredients that favour scents of rose, iris, magnolia, and lily of the valley with its bell-shaped flowers of symbolising “The Bell Song”, while the subtle aromatics of oud, sandalwood and amyris from India place the perfume in the setting of the opera.
This rich and soft luxury perfume with a sweet, fruity and warm scent will be available to pre-order online on ROHM’s website, www.rohmuscat.org.om, two weeks ahead of its anticipated launch at the Premiere of Lakmé on the 28th of March. It will be sold exclusively at the Royal Opera House Muscat during the three performances of Lakmé, after which it will go on sale at the RPHM Gift Shop in the Opera Galleria.
Lakmé will be performed on Thursday 28th, and Friday 29th and Saturday 30th March at 7:30 pm. An informative pre-performance talk that will enhance patrons’ experience of the opera will be held in the Maidan Hall on the second floor of the ROHM building one hour before each performance. Admission to the talk is restricted to ticket holders. For further information and booking consult the ROHM website: rohmuscat.org.om
