Plácido Domingo sings Bizet

LA FLEUR QUE TU M’AVAIS JETÉE (FLOWER SONG) Don José La fleur que tu m’avais jetée dans ma prison m’était restée, flétrie et sèche, cette fleur gardait toujours sa douce odeur; et pendant des heures entières, sur mes yeux, fermant mes paupières, de cette odeur je m’enivrais et dans la nuit je te voyais! Je me prenais à te maudire, à te détester, à me dire: pourquoi faut-il que le destin l’ait mise là sur mon chemin! Puis je m’accusais de blasphème, et je ne sentais en moi-même, je ne sentais qu’un seul désir, un seul désir, un seul espoir: te revoir, ô Carmen, oui, te revoir! Car tu n’avais eu qu’à paraître, qu’à jeter un regard sur moi, pour t’emparer de tout mon être, ô ma Carmen! Et j’étais une chose à toi! Carmen, je t’aime! Don José In prison I kept lovingly The flower you had thrown at me. Though it had faded and turned dry, It still smelled sweet as time went by; And I would put that special flower On my closed eyes, hour after hour. Drunk with that fragrance, I felt light, And there I saw you in the night! At times I would begin to hate you, To curse you and to execrate you, To say: why did it have to be That fate brought her so close to me! Then I thought that faith had defied me, And I only felt deep inside me, I only felt but one desire, But one desire, one hope, one yen, To see you, Carmen, yes, see you again! For all you needed was to be there, To throw a fleeting glance my way, To have full mastery of me there, Oh, Carmen, dear! And all you did with me was play! Carmen, I love you!

The Opera Carmen, by Bizet, is probably one of the most famous operas and has been inspiring filmmakers, theater's directors and visual artists till today. This performance by Placido Domingo is one of the most intense. The movie "Carmen" by Carlos Saura, 1983, gathered Paco de Lucia, Antonio Gades and a great cast. One of the must-sees of my list.