Historic Harvard Opera Company Stages Lakmé by Léo Delibes

Cambridge, MA – Tickets are now on sale for Lowell House Opera’s production of Lakmé by Léo Delibes. The opera will be performed with full orchestra and sung in the original French with English supertitles. Performances will take place on March 26, 28, 29 and April 2, 4, 5 at 8:30pm, on the Harvard University campus (Lowell House, 10 Holyoke Place, Cambridge, MA). A black tie reception will follow the performance on opening night. Tickets ($12-$40) may be purchased through the Harvard Box Office (Holyoke Center Arcade, 1350 Mass Ave, Cambridge - boxoffice.harvard.edu - 617.496.2222) or at the door pending availability.

About the Opera: Set in India during the British Raj, Lakmé tells the story of a devout young woman torn between worlds of love and hate, forgiveness and revenge. When British officer Gérald stumbles across a secluded Hindu shrine, his pleading vows of love awaken Lakmé's affections while provoking her zealous father’s wrath. Although Lakmé rescues Gérald from an assassination attempt, his inconstancy forces her into a tragic celestial bargain: To ensure his safety, must she pay with her own life? Lakmé's stunning Romantic score is filled with vocal acrobatics and lush orchestrations, most notably in the soprano showpiece aria “The Bell Song” and the universally recognizable “Flower Duet.” The opera has not been staged in the Boston area since 1914.

About the Artists: Lakmé features more than 40 professional and student singers. Sharing the title role are superstar undergraduate soprano Liv Redpath (also seen with LHO as Titania in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream) and veteran performer Robin Farnsley (also played the role of Lakmé with Arizona Opera). Tenors Garry McLinn (Grammy nominee, Volpone with Wolf Trap Opera) and Joshua Collier (founder, Opera Brittenica) sing the role of Gérald.

Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya and Stage Director Roxanna Myhrum are prolific in the local and regional performing arts, with directorships in multiple organizations and ensembles. This is their sixth operatic collaboration in the Boston area, and their third consecutive production with Lowell House Opera. 

Lowell House Opera, in residence at Harvard University since 1938, is the oldest continually performing opera company in New England. This unique organization draws together a combination of professional, student, and community artists to produce a fully staged opera each spring in the remarkable setting of Harvard’s historic Lowell House. To learn more about LHO, please visit LowellHouseOpera.com.