Flower Duet English Text Translation

Composer: Leo Delibes

Premiered: April 14, 1883 - Opéra Comique, Paris

Setting of Lakeme:
Delibes' Lakme takes place in late 19th century India. Due to British rule, many Indians secretly practice Hinduism.

Flower Duet English Text 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
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! calling us
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! calling us
Together!

Learn More About the Flower Duet, Lakme, and Delibes

• Delibes' Lakme History
• The Story and History of Lakme
• Lakme Synopsis

"Sous le dôme épais" from Lakmé

French Lyrics
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!

Composer: Leo Delibes

Premiered: April 14, 1883 - Opéra Comique, Paris

Setting of Lakeme:
Delibes' Lakme takes place in late 19th century India. Due to British rule, many Indians secretly practice Hinduism.

Other Popular Opera Synopses:
Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Mozart's The Magic Flute, Verdi's Rigoletto, & Puccini's Madama Butterfly

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The Story of Lakme

Lakme, ACT 1

Nilakantha, a high priest of the Brahmin temple, is outraged that he is forbidden to practice his religion by the British forces. Secretly, a group of Hindus make their way to the temple to worship and Nilakantha meets with them. Meanwhile, his daughter, Lakme, stays behind with her servant, Mallika. Lakme and Mallika venture down to the river to gather flowers and to bathe. They remove their jewels as they sing the famous "Flower Duet." The girls set their jewelry upon a nearby bench before getting into the water. Two British officers, Frederic and Gerald, are on a picnic with two British women and their governess. The small group stops by the flower garden within the temple grounds and the girls spot the lovely jewelry on the bench. The are so impressed by the jewels beauty, they request drawings be made copying the jewelry's design. Gerald agrees to make the sketches for them. The small group continues walking, while Gerald stays behind. As Gerald diligently draws his pictures, Lakme and Mallika return. Startled, Gerald hides. Mallika departs and Lakme is left alone to her thoughts. Lakme catches movement out of the corner of her eye and sees Gerald. Instinctively, Lakme cries out for help. However, when Gerald meets with her face to face, they are immediately attracted to one another. When help arrives, Lakme sends them away. She hopes to find out more about this British stranger. Alone with him once more, she realizes her folly and tells him to leave, forgetting that he ever saw her. Gerald is too captivated by her beauty to heed her warning and so he stays. When Nilakantha finds out that a British soldier has trespassed and defiled the Temple of Brahmin, he swears vengeance.

Lakme, ACT 2

As a ploy to draw out the unknown trespasser, Nilakantha forces Lakme to sing the "Bell Song" in the middle of the bustling bazaar. Lakme hopes that Gerald wised up and took her advice. As she sings the captivating aria, Gerald is entranced by her voice and draws close to her. Lakme faints at his appearance and Gerald is stabbed Nilakantha. However, Gerald is only slightly wounded. In the craziness of the scrambling villagers, Nilakantha's servant, Hadji helps Gerald and Lakme escape to a secret hiding place deep in the heart of the forest. Lakme attends to Gerald's wound, bringing him back to health.

Lakme, ACT 3

In the hut within the forest, Lakme and Gerald hear singing in the distance. Gerald is frightened, but Lakme smiles and assures him of their safety. She tells him that the singers are a group of lovers that seek out the water of a magical spring. When drank, the water grants eternal love to the couple. Lakme has fallen deeply in love with Gerald and she tells him that she will return with a glass of that water. Gerald hesitates, torn between his duty to his country or his love of her. Lakme, love struck, rushes off to the magical spring. Frederic has found Gerald's hiding place and enters the hut. Frederic reminds him of his duties and leaves. Lakme returns with the water, but when Gerald refuses to drink it, she realizes that his demeanor has changed. Rather than to live with dishonor, she tears a leaf from a poisonous datura tree and bites into it. She tells Gerald what she has just done and they drink the water together. Nilakantha finds their hut and enters as Lakme is dying. She tells her father that she and Gerald drank from the magical spring. In that instant, she dies.