Flower Duet

"The Flower Duet" (Sous le dôme épais) is a famous duet from Léo Delibes’ opera Lakmé.

Text

Sous le dôme épais 
Où le blanc jasmin
À la rose s’assemble
Sur la rive en fleurs,
Riant au matin
Viens, descendons ensemble. 

Doucement glissons de son flot charmant
Suivons le courant fuyant
Dans l’onde frémissante
D’une main nonchalante
Viens, gagnons le bord,
Où la source dort et
L’oiseau, l’oiseau chante.

Sous le dôme épais 
Où le blanc jasmin,
Ah! descendons
Ensemble!

Sous le dôme épais 
Où le blanc jasmin
À la rose s’assemble
Sur la rive en fleurs 
Riant au matin
Viens, descendons ensemble.

Doucement glissons de son flot charmant,
Suivons le courant fuyant
Dans l’onde frémissante
D’une main nonchalante
Viens, gagnons le bord
Où la source dort et
L’oiseau, l’oiseau chante.

Sous le dôme épais 
Où le blanc jasmin,
Ah! descendons
Ensemble!

Translation

Under the thick dome where the white jasmine
With the roses entwined together
On the river bank covered with flowers laughing in the morning

Gently floating on its charming risings
On the river’s current
On the shining waves
One hand reaches
Reaches for the bank
Where the spring sleeps and
The bird, the bird sings.

Under the thick dome where the white jasmine
Ah! We descend
Together!

Under the thick dome where white jasmine
With the roses entwined together
On the river bank covered with flowers laughing in the morning

Let us descend together
Gently floating on its charming risings,
On the river’s current
On the shining waves,
One hand reaches,
Reaches for the bank,
Where the spring sleeps,
And the bird, the bird sings.

Under the thick dome where the white jasmine
Ah! We descend
Together!

Trivia

• It is best known for its use in British Airways TV commercials and TV shows and movies including:
  • The L Word
  • Superman Returns
  • Smallville
  • I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
  • The Hunger
  • The American President
  • Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
  • Meet the Parents
  • True Romance
  • Jane Austen's Mafia!
  • Carlito's Way
  • Eight Days a Week
  • Five Corners
  • Someone to Watch Over Me
  • Private Parts
  • The Oh in Ohio
  • Nip/Tuck
• The music is also in the game Saint's Row, as well as being sampled on the David Usher song "Black, Black Heart".
• Greek composer Yanni also used this song as the basis of the composition Aria.
• Cello-based rock band Rasputina covered the song as a basis for their song "Mr. Romberg" on the bonus disk of Frustration Plantation.
• The Rapsody & LL Cool J interpolated the song on their version, "Dear Mallika".
• In 1998 Jonathan Peters released a dance remix of the duet that became popular in the "circuit party" scene
• In 2007, the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps played the duet in their production "On Air", for which they earned 4th place at the DCI World Championships.

External links

• The Flower Duet interpretation by Elīna Garanča and Anna Netrebko in the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Germany (03.08.2007)
• Léo Delibes at IMDb