Leo Delibes

Léo Delibes

Coppélia

Léo Clement Philibert Delibes was

born at St. Germain-du-Val in the

Department of Sarthe, France in

1836. He died in Paris in 1891 aged

nearly fifty-five. He studied at the

Paris Conservatory and at once

appeared before the public as a

composer of successful operettas,

operas and ballets. Of the ballets,

Coppelia, and to a lesser

extent, Sylvia, are favorite

specimens. His appointment to the

Opera as accompanist (1863) and

second chorus-master (1865) turned

his interest towards ballet. But opera

drew him back and he wrote three

works for the Opera-Comique -- Le Roi l'a dit (1873), Jean de Nivelle (1880) and the famous

Lakme (1883). Succumbing

to (or exploiting) the current vogue

for "the mysterious East," an opera comique tradition refreshed by

the Romantic poets' fascination,

Delibes set his tale on the English

Lieutenant and the Indian girl Lakme

with a wealth of delightful

mock-Oriental melody. It is chiefly for

the charming coloring of the scoring

that Lakme and the ballets

retain an appeal which led

Tchaikovsky to rate Delibes above

Brahms. In melody, harmony, and

orchestration Delibes had that

graceful, light-handed touch which is

always welcomed by musicians and

non-musicians

alike.

Like Chabrier, but in a lesser degree,

Delibes has influenced many

composers of a very different

temperament from his

own.

Sources:
Oxford Companion of Music, 10th Edition
Oxford Concise Dictionary of Opera