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Lakmé is an opera of many nuances, in the plot itself as well as in the music. The sentiments though are never very strong and since the story isn't strong either, the opera relies very much on it's sweet music. This means that if this delicate score is put in the wrong hands it can turn out banal, pathetic and boring. Fortunately, the hands of Micheal Plasson turns out to be perfect for this opera. He's cautious but very thoughtfull, leaving no details unnoticed. And with 'his' Toulouse opera-company behind him, the orchestral playing reaches nothing but first class - sounding both like flowers and bells, when so called for. The detailed recorded sound also brings forth especially the strings in a lovely way.
The singers? Well, they're all in class with their conductor. Dessay sings Lakmé with a very pure voice, really making you believe that she is as innocent as here role demands. When the sensualism begins, she also uses some sliding between the notes, which makes her contribution very 'french' indeed. Kunde couldn't have done his Gerald better. He uses a seamless legato in much of the romatic music, which together with his habit to 'hang' on his notes rhytmically, makes his singing in these parts exceptionally beautiful, effortlessly milking out the most of every single note. His "Fantasie aux divine mensonges" is priceless. Van Dam as Lakmé's father Nilakantha is as always in impressive voice, his sometimes abrupt way of handling tones being perfect in this role. Haidan's Mallika is just as much darker in voice and more serious in action than Dessay's Lakmé, which is just way it's supposed to be. And her voice itself is very beautiful. The rest of the cast is very good as well, their voices well separated from one another both by nature and in the recording, which makes the action easy to follow and each caracter gets heard.
The Sutherland/Vanzo version for London/Decca may not be generally as good as this one, but it none the less has Vanzo in the role of Gerald, and he is always a pleasure to hear. But this Dessay/Kunde, I think, is the over all better recording, actually The Best Lakmé-recording of all, nothing short of world class.