Editing Léo Delibes (section)

===Opera===
''Le Roi l'a dit'' is a light opera in which "elaborate vocal ensembles and witty pastiche play a major part" (Macdonald). The more serious ''Jean de Nivelle'', one of the works showing the influence of Meyerbeer and Lalo, is generally weightier in tone, with some lapses into the composer's lighter style in such pieces as the Act III couplets, "Moi! j'aime le bruit de bataille".<ref name=grove/> The chorus "Nous sommes les reines d'un jour" in the Act I finale continually switches between {{music|time|2|4}} and {{music|time|3|4}} with what Macdonald calls "a [[Mode (music)|modal]] melody of striking originality".<ref name=grove/>

[[File:Lakmé-act-1.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|''[[Lakmé]]'', Act I, 1883]]
''Lakmé'' – which ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'' ranks as Delibes' masterpiece, even above ''Coppelia'' and ''Sylvia'' – shows the influence of Bizet, with echoes of ''[[Carmen]]'' and ''[[Les pêcheurs de perles]]'' in the harmonic techniques and subtleties of orchestration.<ref name=grove/> The opera is sometimes seen as a vehicle for a star soprano,{{refn|Productions of ''Lakme'' in the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries were often mounted for stars including [[Luisa Tetrazzini]] and [[Lily Pons]].<ref>Holden, p. 212</ref><ref>"Revival of 'Lakmé'", ''The Musical Times'', July 1910, p. 445; and [https://www.nytimes.com/1942/12/18/archives/lily-pons-in-lakme-receives-many-curtain-calls-at-metropolitan-in.html "Lily Pons in 'Lakmé"], ''New York Times'', 18 December 1942</ref>|group=n}} but Macdonald writes that the two principal male characters, Nilakantha and Gérald, are strongly drawn, and the music is "melodic, picturesque and theatrically strong". Macdonald expresses reservations about the dramatic [[recitative]], which he finds tending to the conventional;<ref name=grove/> the work was originally conceived as an opéra-comique with spoken dialogue, and the recitatives were an afterthought.<ref>"Waifs", ''The Musical World'', 4 August 1883, p. 486</ref> ''Lakmé'' remains on the fringes of the operatic repertoire. It was produced at the Opéra-Comique in 1995, starring [[Natalie Dessay]],<ref>Stevens, David. [https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/22/style/IHT-picturebook-lakme.html?searchResultPosition=2 "Picture Book Lakmé], ''New York Times'', 22 February 1995</ref><ref name=as>[https://www.lesarchivesduspectacle.net/?Parametre=Lakme&pbRechercher=  "Lakmé"], Les Archives du spectacle. Retrieved 14 January 2020</ref> but has not been staged by the [[Metropolitan Opera]] since 1947,<ref>[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/frame.htm "Archives"], Metropolitan Opera House. Retrieved 14 January 2020</ref> or at the [[Royal Opera House]] since 1910.<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/work.aspx?work=1134&row=4&letter=L& "Lakme"], Royal Opera House Performance Database. Retrieved 14 January 2020</ref> [[Operabase]] and Les Archives du spectacle record details of occasional productions in Europe and elsewhere.<ref name=as/><ref>[https://www.operabase.com/en "Lakmé"], Operabase. Retrieved 14 January 2020</ref> The work was staged by the [[Seattle Opera]] in 1967 with [[Joan Sutherland]] in the title role, and in 2000 with [[Harolyn Blackwell]],<ref>[https://www.seattleopera.org/search/?q=Lakm%c3%a9 "Lakmé"], Seattle Opera. Retrieved 14 January 2020</ref> and by the [[New York City Opera]] in 1984.<ref>Crutchfield, Will. [https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/16/arts/is-it-time-once-more-for-lakme.html?searchResultPosition=4 Is it Time Once More for 'Lakme'?"], ''New York Times'' 16 September 1984</ref>

''Kassya'', complete except for the orchestration when Delibes died, was edited and orchestrated by [[Jules Massenet]], whose skilful work was praised by reviewers.<ref name=kassya/> It had its premiere two years after Delibes' death, and was respectfully received, but the general view was that it showed the composer's creative gifts in decline.<ref name=kassya>"The Drama in Paris", ''The Era'', 1 April 1893, p. 9; and Noël and Stoullig, p. 110–111</ref> It ran for twelve performances.<ref>Noël and Stoullig, p. 138</ref> Macdonald finds points to praise: the oriental inflections in the music, the vocal writing, and the "fine close to the first scene of Act 3, with snow falling on the deserted stage".<ref name=grove/>