Beyond Coppélia and Lakmé: Bru Zane to release premiere recording of Delibes’s Jean de Nivelle

Léo Delibes in 1875

If you say the name of composer Léo Delibes, then people will immediately think of his ballet, Coppélia, and opera, Lakmé, as well as perhaps ballets La Source and Sylvia. But beyond, Lakmé, we tend not to think of him as an operatic composer. That is, hopefully, about to change as Bru Zane (the recorded label of the Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française) is about to release the world premiere recording of Delibes’ opera-comique Jean de Nivelle. Jean de Nivelle was something like Delibes’ 24th opera (of a total of 26), just preceding Lakmé.

As a boy, Delibes had a fine singing voice and he sang in the premiere of Meyerbeer’s Le prophète at the Paris Opéra in 1849. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire including with Adolphe Adam for composition. His first stage work was a one-act comic piece Deux sous de charbon in 1856, then for the next 14 years he produced about one opera per year, many for Offenbach’s Bouffes-Parisiens. In addition to composing he had various careers but in 1862/3 he became chorus master at the Paris Opera. This led to the commission for ballets.

His last comic piece came in 1869 and the following year his score for Coppélia brought him to wider notice. He resigned from the staff of the Opera and devoted himself to composition. Over the next decade he produced mélodies (including Les filles de Cadiz); a work for the Opéra-Comique, Le Roi l’a dit which had limited success; and the grand mythological ballet, Sylvia.

His opera Jean de Nivelle premiered at the Opéra-Comique in 1880. Reviewers found the piece too episodic but praised the composer for “the rare and precise quality” of his melodies and “the delicate style in his writing” for the public. The piece ran for more than a hundred performances and was revived in 1908. Though described as an opera comique, in many respects it is close to the grand opera tradition typified by Meyerbeer. After the premiere, Delibes created sung recitatives to replace the spoken dialogue, mindful of the work’s international potential (between 1881 and 1882, it was performed at La Monnaie in Brussels, Saint Petersburg, Copenhagen, Budapest, Vienna, and Stockholm).

The opera’s plot is based on a 15th century French nobleman, Jean de Nivelle, who became a byword for failing to fulfill filial duties and treachery as he failed to join his father in assisting King Louis XI of France in his conflict with Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy; de Nivelle instead allied himself with Burgundy and was disinherited as a “dog”.  

Lakmé followed in 1883, also at the Opéra-Comique before being taken up internationally. However, Delibes had been intermittently ill for some time and died in 1891, with an incomplete opera, Kassya still on his desk (it was completed and orchestrated by Massenet in 1893) .

Conducted by György Vashegyi with the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Bru Zane’s recording of Jean de Nivelle features Cyrille Dubois in the title role with Mélissa Petit as Arlette. The version being performed is that with sung recitatives.

Delibes’ Jean de Nivelle is released on Bru Zane on 23 October 2026.