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Entr'acte and Barcarolle¹ from Act II Scene 1 of The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach (1881). French words by Jules Barbier. English words by Edward Agate. This Barcarolle must be one of the most evocative pieces in the musical repertoire. 

Jacques' Opera Fantastique, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, (The Tales of Hoffmann) is his one venture into grand opera. It is set in Nuremberg, in a tavern next to the Opera House. Here the curtain is about to rise on Mozart's Don Giovanni. Hoffmann intercepted his friends to tell them the story of his three loves: Olympia , Giulietta, and Antonia. We are left with the impression that the story (and music) is enjoyed as much as that of the great Mozart next door. 

Act II is about to start. The curtain rises on a scene in Venice. All is set for Nicklaus to meet his second love Giulietta: A moonlit palace, St Marks, the Grand Canal, gondolas, flowers . . . Sshhh! Are those mandolins we hear? Relax! Hope you like our little offering of this wonderful duet and chorus. Please feel free to grab a score and sing (or hum) along with us . . . Or, just dream and let it drift over you. (French experts - please correct us if we haven't got the language right)

Entr'acte and Barcarolle

Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour,
Lovely night, O night of love,
Souris à nos ivres ses!
Upon thy bosom lying!
Nuit plus douce que le jour,
Moon and stars in heaven above
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Sweet rapture o'er us shed!

Le temps fuit et sans retour
Time will pass and joy will fade,
Emporte nos tendresses;
For love is ne'er undying;
Loin decet heureux séjour
Life is but of sorrow made,
Le temps fuit sans retour
The day that love is dead.

Zèphirs embrasés,
O gently wafting breeze,
Ver sez nous vos caresses,
Fan our cheeks with your kisses,
Zèphirs embrasés,
O gently wafting breeze,
Donnez nous vos baisers,
Fan our cheeks with a kiss.

Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour,
Lovely night, O night of love,
Souris à nos ivres ses!
Upon thy bosom lying!
Nuit plus douce que le jour,
Moon and stars in heaven above
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Sweet rapture o'er us shed!

This music has inspired many over the years. Feel free to be inspired - with a picture of the scene, or poem, or short story . . .

Intriguingly delightful isn't it? Feel you would like to hear it again . . .?

Footnote 1: Entr'acte simply means music between acts. Barcarolle in my dictionary is defined as a boat song. Of course you would expect there to be more to it than that. Well, Venetian gondoliers are called barcaruoli, so here we have a clue. It is also stated to be in compound duple or compound quadruple time. Ours is in 6/8 (duple) so we're on course. Offenbach's Tale is set in Venice and if you listen carefully you may detect the sound of mandolins. So all aboard the gondola for Jacques' boat song on a balmy Summer evening in Venice! For further information see our MusicSmiles Bibliography.  Return to story.

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