Christiane Eda-Pierre - LAKMÉ, Bell Song, Paris 1967

THE SONGBIRD: Martinique-born coloratura soprano Christiane Eda-Pierre (1932 - 2020) was 26 years old when she made her operatic debut in 1958 in Nice, France as Leila in Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers." The following summer in 1959 she appeared for the first time at the Aix-en-Provence Festival as Papagena, becoming a regular artist there across seven seasons. Eda-Pierre was engaged at leading opera houses and festivals around the world (Lisbon, London, Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Genève, Brussels, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Milan, Moscow) in the core lyric-coloratura repertoire.
She was a natural for the romantic, exotic role of Lakmé, and sang it regularly in the first phase of her career, including this 1967 performance in Paris, with Jésus Etcheverry conducting. (Devoted fans might want to compare this performance with another posted on CZcams from 1971 in Wexford -- they are quite different which leads me to believe was a spontaneous singer who collaborated with her conductors in the moment).