Musical exoticism flourished in 19th-century opera, influenced by a growing interest in different cultures within colonial empires and the discovery of eastern music at the 1878 and 1889 Expositions Universelles in France.
Composer's Artistic Vision
French composers used the coloratura soprano voice to transport listeners to far-distant places, suggesting less tangible, dreamlike worlds.
Album & Artwork
The album title "Mirages" reflects the program's theme of composers' fascination with the coloratura soprano voice to evoke distant, exotic, or dreamlike worlds.
Performer Biography
Sabine Devieilhe, the soprano on this album, has cherished the role of Lakmé since first performing it on stage in 2012.
Compositional Technique
The coloratura soprano voice is often used to make female characters from alluringly exotic places seem remote, delivering an other-worldly song.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The album explores two trends in exoticism: one where musicians sought greater authenticity, and another where composers increasingly favored the undefined otherness of fairy tales and mysterious foreign princesses.
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