The high-pressure lamp has a fill including a metal halide of two groups, which the first group is a first rare earth halide of dysprosium, thulium and optionally holmium, and a second group of rare earth halide, namely cerium, neodymium, praseodymium, lanthanum; and an alkali metal halide, such as sodium halide and/or cesium halide, preferably iodide or bromide of sodium and/or cesium. The lamp has a high proportion of light radiation in the red range of the color spectrum to provide substantially improved color rendering indices, particularly in the Ra.sub.8 region, thereby providing better color balance, without loss of lifetime.