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Lakme is an opera in three acts by Leo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Set in Britsh India in the mid 19th century, Lakme is based on the 1880 novel Rarahu ou Le Mariage de Loti by Pierre Loti. Delibes wrote the score during 1881-82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opera Comique in Paris. The opera includes the famous and popular Flower Duet (Sous le dome epais) for sopranos performed in the first act by the lead character Lakme, the daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika. Another famous aria from the opera is the Bell Song (L'Air des clochettes) in Act 2.
Like other French operas of the period, Lakme captures the ambiance of the Orient that was in vogue during the latter part of the nineteenth century in line with other operatic works such as Bizet's The Pearl Fishers and Massenet's Le roi de Lahore.The subject of the opera was suggested by Gondinet as a vehicle for the American soprano Marie van Zandt.