Editing Léo Delibes (section)

===Later years===

In 1881 Delibes succeeded [[Napoléon Henri Reber]] as professor of composition at the Conservatoire, despite his own admission that he knew nothing of [[fugue]] and [[counterpoint]].<ref name=grove/> He took his duties with great seriousness. The music critic Charles Darcours recalled Delibes' concern for his students and his anxiety for them to succeed in France's most prestigious musical award, the [[Prix de Rome]].<ref name=f/> In 1882 Delibes composed incidental music for a revival of [[Victor Hugo]]'s play ''[[Le Roi s'amuse]]'' at the [[Comédie-Française]], consisting of a suite of pastiche medieval dances for orchestra ("Six airs de danse dans le style ancien") and a song with mandolin accompaniment ("Quand Bourbon vit Marseille").<ref>Curzon, pp. 175–176</ref>

Delibes' opera ''[[Lakmé]]'' was premiered at the Opéra-Comique on 14 April 1883. [[Léon Carvalho]], the manager, was not known for extravagance in his productions, but for this opera he surprised his audiences by the lavish staging.<ref>"'Lakme' in Paris", ''The Era'', 21 April 1881, p. 7</ref> Macdonald writes:

{{blockquote|Its success was lasting; the oriental colour, the superb part for the title role, a well-constructed libretto and the real charm of the music, all contributed to a work on which, with the ballets, Delibes' fame has rested.<ref name=grove/>}}

[[File:Paris 18e - Cimetière de Montmartre - Tombe de Léo Delibes.jpg|thumb|upright|Grave in the [[Cimetière de Montmartre]]]]
''Lakmé'' was quickly taken up by opera houses across Europe, and productions followed in London (1885) and New York (1886); reviews of the American production were highly enthusiastic; those of the British production were less so, but in both cities it prospered at the box-office.<ref>"Lakmé at the Gaiety", ''The Musical World'', 13 June 1885, p. 364</ref><ref>"'Lakmé' in New York", ''The Orchestra Musical Review'', 27 March 1886, p. 620</ref>

Delibes' last years were financially comfortable and socially secure. In 1884 he was elected to the [[Institut de France]]. His last work, incomplete when he died, was another opera, ''[[Kassya (opera)|Kassya]]''. Delibes, who had been intermittently ill for some time, died at his home in Paris after a sudden collapse shortly before his 55th birthday. He was buried in the [[Cimetière de Montmartre]] in Paris.<ref name=f/>