I am wine!
I am beer!
We are the friends of man,
we chase away sadness and woe...
They say truth came out of a well.
The Muse, if you don't mind,
will come out of a barrel.
This is where he spends his nights,
my good friend Hoffmann,
the poet and musician
who never drinks water.
You know, I have always protected him
as does every good fairy.
What a muse! A madwoman who abandons heaven,
to break for ever this terrible spell that drives him mad.
Be gone, Siren, obsession of his nights.
In vain you pursue him,
I will break his chains!
I swear...
Be I muse or fairy, I shall save his heart
from the mocking demon
that revels in his pain.
Be gone, siren, obsession of his nights...
She is on stage. The audience is cheering.
She lends her voice to divine Mozart.
That false fire and passionate flame
that once set Hoffmann's senses ablaze.
In this fateful hour, he must choose my love or hers.
Either he belongs to her,
or to me,
forever!
Assuming the guise of faithful Nicklausse,
I shall change from muse into student.
Kegs and bottles, aid me in my work!
Your rapture brings oblivion!
Councillor Lindorf, damn it!
I'm Councillor Lindorf.
Do not be afraid...
Just follow me.
Isn't your mistress
- the bewitching Stella? - Yes.
Who comes from Milan?
With a trail of admirers?
I'll wager this message is for one of them?
- Yes. - I'll buy it.
- Good. - Ten thalers!
- No. - Twenty! Thirty!
Let's speak his language!
Forty.
- Yes! - Here! Give it to me and go to the devil!
Yes! Yes.
Let's see. "For Hoffmann."
Just as I thought.
O women,
these are the masters of your hearts.
The happy victors
of your souls.
A poet! A drunkard!
Well, let us continue.
"I love you. If I have hurt you,"
"if you love me too,"
"my darling, forgive me."
"This key opens my dressing room."
"Remember!"
Yes, how enviable we become,
when, broken by love,
we take our hopes and longings to the tavern.
That would suit you well!
Not on my life!
I may be pathetic in the role of the languishing lover.
But I have a devilish spirit!
My eyes flash like lightning.
My whole being has something diabolical,
tingling the nerves like an electric current.
By way of the nerves I reach the heart. I triumph by fear...
Yes, dear prima donna, with such absolute beauty,
you should spurn a poet.
The devil take me if I don't unlock
your scented boudoir! You love my rival
and not me. What do I care?
The least I can say is this: I may be old but I'm lively!
Two hours to wait. If I recall,
this is where Hoffmann and his wild band
come to drink and converse.
I shall keep watch until they arrive.
Look lively! Bring jugs, tankards and lamps!
The toasts come after the flowers! Quickly!
A warm welcome for this celestial star!
Look lively, lads!
Fill up glasses and tankards till morning!
Wine! Wine!
Luther is a good man, lalala!
Tomorrow we shall strike him dead, lalala!
- Wine! Wine! - Here, gentlemen!
He keeps a good cellar, lalala!
We'll raid it tomorrow, lalala!
His wife's the daughter of Eve, lalala!
Tomorrow we'll abduct her, lalala
Well... Stella?
By God, my friends, what a beautiful creature!
She performs Mozart's masterpiece
with a voice that's steady and true!
She's a gift of Nature
and a triumph of Art.
My first toast is to her!
I drink to Stella!
Cheers!
To Stella!
Why isn't Hoffmann here
to celebrate this new star with us?
Luther, you barrel of a man, what have you done with Hoffmann?
Your wine has poisoned him! You've killed him!
- Give us back Hoffmann! - To hell with him!
Bring him here or your last hour has come!
Gentlemen, here he comes, along with Niklausse.
Hurrah! Here he is!
(Let's keep an eye on him!)
- Good day, my friends. - Good day...
A stool, a glass, and a pipe!
I beg your pardon, your lordship,
but I drink, smoke and sit like you!
- Share and share alike! - That's fair! Make room for both!
"Notte e giorno mal dormir..."
Silence, damn it!
Yes, Master.
Why so irritable?
It's not like you. What thorny path have you trodden?
Alas, on grass that perished in the icy north wind.
And over there, on a sleeping drunkard.
It's true, that rascal made me thirsty!
Something to drink
and, like him, we'll sleep in the gutter.
- Without a pillow? - A stone! - No curtain? - The sky!
- No blanket? - The rain!
Are you having a nightmare?
No, but this evening, at the theatre
- Well? - I thought I saw again...
Forget it! Why open old wounds?
Life is short! We must cheer it up as we go.
Drinking, singing and laughing aimlessly!
Even if tomorrow we weep!
You sing first. Don't wait to be asked!
We'll provide the chorus.
- Very well! - Something merry. - The Rat Song!
No! I'm bored with it.
We need the Legend of Kleinzach.
Well. Kleinzach it is!
Once upon a time, at the Court of Eisenach...
there was a little runt called Kleinzach!
On his head he wore a calpac, and his legs went
click, clack!
That was Kleinzach.
He had hump for a stomach.
His feet hung out as if from a sack.
His nose was black with snuff and his head went
crick, crack.
That was Kleinzach!
As for the face...
As for the face...
Ah! That charming face!
I see her, as beautiful as the day,
running after her
like a madman, I left my parents' house,
and fled through valleys and woods!
The dark braids of her hair
cast warm shadows over her dainty neck.
Her eyes of deepest azure
darted about her with a gaze both clear and pure.
And as our carriage smoothly bore away
our hearts and our love,
she raised her sweet, beautiful voice
towards the listening heavens,
in a song of triumph...
...whose everlasting echo
rings out in my heart.
What an imagination! Who the devil are you talking about?
Kleinzach?
Kleinzach?
- I'm talking about her! - Who?
No one! Nothing!
My mind was wandering!
Nothing.
Kleinzach is a much better idea,
misshapen as he is!
When he'd drunk too much gin or arrack,
you should have seen his coat-tails flap
like reeds in a lake, and the monster went
flick, flack!
That was Kleinzach!
Ugh, this beer is awful!
Warm up the punch! Let's get drunk!
May the maddest of us roll under the table!
Luther is a good man, lalala!
Tomorrow, we'll strike him dead, lalala!
Now there's a good idea!
There's nothing like a sense of practicality.
A plague on love-lorn hearts!
I'll wager Hoffmann's in love!
In love? The devil take me if that ever happens!
A rash remark!
One shouldn't swear on anything.
I beg your pardon? Talk of the devil,
and you see his horns!
Pardon me! An innocent gift from a loving wife.
And how did your devilship get in here, dear bird of misfortune?
Through the door, like your drunkenship,
dear flowering hemlock!
Like that rare marvel Anselmus,
do you come to put me into a bottle,
dear author of my woes?
You take me for an imbecile...
Cheap wine comes in jugs,
dear fountain of witticisms!
If that's the case, that's surely what you drink, dear jug!
I pay for what I drink,
dear orator of gambling dens!
With the money you steal from me, dear vulture?
If we can consider that a bohemian has anything to steal!
To your wife, dear servant of Lucifer!
She'll die of it, dear fugitive from hell!
A mere exchange of compliments.
Thus, in the shady woods,
two shepherds took turns
singing for their lady loves...
I tell you, misfortune awaits me.
Each time I meet him some trouble besets me!
All my ill-luck comes from him!
If I gamble he makes me lose!
You must be a bad player.
- If I drink, I choke. - You don't know how to drink!
If I love...
So Monsieur loves sometimes?
- What if I do? - No need to blush.
Our friend Wilhelm here
dotes on Leonor, and finds her divine.
Hermann loves Gretchen,
and I ruin myself on Fausta's account.
Yes, Leonor, your virtuoso!
Yes, Gretchen, the heartless doll, cold as ice.
And your Fausta, poor fool, the courtesan with a face of bronze.
Is you mistress such a treasure that you so despise ours?
My mistress?
Yes, Stella! Three women in one.
Three souls in one!
Artiste, young girl, and courtesan!
My mistress? No! Three mistresses.
A trio of enchantresses...
who shared my life between them.
Do you wish to hear the story of these mad loves?
Yes! Yes!
What's this about three mistresses?
Smoke on! Before you finish your pipe and light it again,
you will come to understand.
In this drama that consumes my heart,
you deserve first prize for common sense!
- The curtain's going up. - Let it!
That's the least of our worries!
Before the opera ends, I too have time to listen.
Let's listen! How good it is to drink
while listening to a wild tale,
and watch the pale clouds
rising from a pipe into the air.
I'll begin.
Silence!
In an hour, I hope, they'll be dead drunk.
The name of the first was Olympia.
There! Sleep tight.
Obedient, modest and beautiful.
She'll bring in the 500 ducats
that Elias' bankruptcy cost me.
That leaves Coppélius,
who may try to cheat me out of money
by claiming paternity rights.
Accursed man!
Luckily, he is far away.
Good day!
- Pleased to meet you. - Am I too early?
- What, a student... - Unworthy of his teacher.
You are far too modest!
Abandon poetry and music, and become a professor
in the physics faculty!
You'll discover my daughter and her angelic smile.
Physics is everything, dear fellow.
And Olympia is priceless!
What has physics to do with his daughter?
Hey, Cochenille!
Light the place up!
- And the champagne? - Wait, come with me.
Excuse me, dear boy, I'll be right back.
With courage and confidence, I'll become a fountain of knowledge.
I must move with the times.
To deserve the one I love,
I shall find in myself
the makings of a scientist.
There she is. If only I dared...
It's her.
She's sleeping...
She's sleeping...
How beautiful she is!
Ah, to live as one, sharing hopes and memories!
Sharing happiness and suffering,
embracing a common future.
Let my flame fill you with light!
Let your soul blossom in love's glow...
I knew I'd find you here!
Why? Because fair Olympia is here?
Go on, admire her.
She is an angel! Yes, I adore her!
Wait until you know her better.
It's easy to know the one you love.
After a single glance through a window?
One glance was enough
to transport me to heaven!
What passion!
Does she know you love her?
- No. - Write to her. - I dare not. - Poor lamb!
- Speak to her. - That's just as bad!
Then sing your way out of the situation.
Monsieur Spalanzani doesn't like music.
Yes, I know. Only physics counts.
Well, I am not afraid.
Let me fathom the mystery of this young heart.
I'll sing for you.
- Are you mad? - No! - Then be still!
I have the right to sing anywhere.
A guitar? Good.
No, I tell you!
Look at her behind her fan,
how she turns, lowers and raises her head,
opens her enamel eyes,
and says, in a silly manner,
"Yes, stop where you are! I'm the beautiful Olympia!"
I've seen wooden clocks,
from which a little copper bird emerges,
crows three times,
flaps its wings, and seems alive.
Cock-a-doodle-doo, that bird reminds me of Olympia...
I am Coppélius.
Let's tread carefully...
Someone is there. What is the gentleman looking at?
Our Olympia! Very good.
(Their Olympia?)
Young man! Monsieur!
He's not listening.
Monsieur!
- Monsieur! - Pardon?
My name is Coppélius.
A friend of Mr Spalanzani.
Look at these barometers, hygrometers and thermometers?
Bargain prices, but for cash. You won't be disappointed.
These glasses make things appear as black as jet
or as white as ermine.
They dim or illuminate,
brighten or make dull every object.
I have eyes, real eyes, living, sparkling eyes.
Wondrous eyes that peer deep into a soul.
They can even lend a soul to someone
who has none.
I have eyes, real eyes, living, sparkling eyes.
I have eyes, beautiful eyes!
Do you want to see if a woman's heart is pure or despicable?
Or would you rather
see it all white when it is black?
Take them, and you'll see what you want.
Take my living eyes, my sparkling eyes
that see into the soul. Take my eyes!
- Is it true? - See for yourself.
Let me see!
Three ducats.
Good heavens! Almighty God!
What grace shines from her brow!
- Three ducats! - Dear angel, is it really you?
Why rob me of this image
of happiness and love?
- Ah, it's you. - Dear teacher!
- We had agreed... - Not in writing.
- But... - Be realistic!
It will soon be raining money, and I want my share.
Aren't I Olympia's father?
- Pardon me, she has my eyes. - Not so loud!
His eyes! Lucky for him I don't know his secret.
But I'm working on it!... Yes!
Would you like another 500 ducats?
I certainly do.
If you sign over to me
her eyes, and the rest of her,
I'll place your money with Elias the Jew.
- Elias? - A reliable establishment.
What can they be negotiating?
All right, it's a deal!
Fair's fair!
Dear friend.
Go and collect your payment!
By the way, I have an idea.
Why not marry Olympia off?
Hasn't that young madcap asked for her hand?
Dear friend!
Physics, dear boy!
It's an obsession!
Monsieur... the guests
have all arrived!
Never did any host
entertain more lavishly!
His house shines with good taste.
Nothing is lacking.
Now, Monsieur Spalanzani...
introduce us to your daughter!
They say she's ravishing,
sweet and utterly flawless.
We will take refreshments later, after she has performed.
Gentlemen, in a moment you will be satisfied.
At last we'll see this wonder,
this unparalleled wonder.
Silence! Here she comes.
Ladies and gentlemen,
my daughter Olympia!
Charming!
Pretty eyes! A lovely figure!
Beautifully dressed! She's got everything!
She is truly beautiful.
- She is adorable! - Charming! Incomparable!
You are a great success!
Ladies and gentlemen, flattered by your applause,
and eager for more...
obedient to your every whim, my daughter will now...
Continue her performance.
Sing you a grand aria, employing her rare talent, accompanied on
the harpsichord, the guitar,
or the harp, as you prefer!
The harp!
The harp!
Very good! Cochenille, go and fetch
my daughter's harp!
Oh, what joy, I shall hear her!
Oh wild passion!
Control your emotions, my child!
Yes! Yes!
- Here she is! - Attention, gentlemen!
Attention!
The birds in the arbour,
the sun in the sky...
Everything speaks to the young girl
of love...
Everything speaks of love...
That's her sweet song...
...Olympia's song!
That's her sweet song...
Olympia's song!
Everything that sings,
and sighs in turn,
sets her trembling heart afire...
with love!
Everything trembles with love...
That's her pretty little song...
Olympia's song!
That's Olympia's song.
Ah, my friend! What a voice!
What scales!
Gentlemen, escort the ladies!
Supper awaits us!
Supper! How nice!
- Unless you prefer to dance first? - No, supper first,
- then we shall dance! - As you wish.
- Dare I? - She's a little tired, wait for the ball.
Yes! Yes!
You see. In the meantime, would you be so kind
as to keep Olympia company?
- What luck! - We'll see what he sings to her!
- Won't she have dinner? - No!
Poetic soul!
I beg your pardon?
Nothing.
Physics, dear Sir, physics!
Supper... awaits.
Supper awaits!
Never did any host
entertain more lavishly!
At last they're gone!
Now I can breathe.
Alone! Just the two of us!
I have so much to tell you!
Olympia, let me admire you.
Let me drown in your lovely gaze!
Yes! Yes!
Is this some dream caused by a fever?
I thought I saw a sigh escape your lips.
Yes! Yes!
Sweet confession, token of our love! You are mine!
Our hearts are forever one.
Do you understand the eternal joy of silent hearts?
Sharing one single soul, and with a single stroke of wings
soaring heavenwards.
Let my passion bathe you in light!
Let your soul blossom in love's glow!
Are you running away from me? Won't you answer?
Have I upset you? I shall follow you!
Don't get overexcited! Do you want us to get drunk without you?
Nicklausse, she loves me!
I am loved! Almighty God!
You should hear what they say about your beauty!
What can they say?
That she is dead...
Good God!
...or was never alive.
Do you hear that joyful sound?
Go and open the ball with Olympia.
You'll see whether she is alive!
Poor fools who laugh at her!
Love beckons me to her knees.
Close your eyes to light!
- In the dust see heaven! - Vain dust, heaven is here!
- The conquering love which fills you - The conquering fire which fills me,
- will not beget another heart. - begets another heart.
- It can sleep, a hearth without a fire, - I feel the quivering flames
- from which no soul may spring! - from which a soul will spring.
Thief! Rogue! What a swindle!
Elias is bankrupt!
I'll find the right moment to take my revenge.
I've been robbed!
Me!
I'll kill someone.
Here is the ritornello!
The waltz is calling.
Take the gentleman's hand, my child!
Yes! Yes!
She dances in time,
it is wonderful, remarkable!
Make room, here she comes,
cleaving the air like lightning!
Olympia!
Stop them!
Who can stop them?
She'll break his neck!
A thousand curses!
- Crash and bang! - Stop!
There!
That's enough, young lady!
Stop dancing the waltz!
That's enough, young lady!
Cochenille, take her away!
O-o-off you go!
Yes!
What can one say?
She's a delightful girl!
She's got everything! She's quite perfect!
She is quite beautiful!
Is he dead?
No, just his glasses are broken.
He's coming round.
Poor young man!
- What? - The man with the glasses!
Mercy! Olympia!
Heaven and Earth! She's broken!
Broken?
Yes, shattered! Villain! Thief! Pirate!
A machine...
What a bombshell! He loved a machine...
The turtledove has fled.
O memory too sweet,
image too cruel!
Alas! At my feet I hear him, I see him!
The turtledove has fled,
flown far from you.
But she remains true
and keeps her promise to you!
My beloved, my voice calls you,
yes, my heart is yours...
Freshly-blossomed flower,
I beg you to answer me.
You know if he still loves me,
if he remains true to me!
My beloved, my voice implores you,
let your heart come to me...
My poor child,
my dear daughter,
you promised never to sing again.
My mother came back to life within me!
My heart
felt her presence as I sang.
That is what hurts me so,
your dear mother bequeathed you her voice!
It's no use regretting it.
I hear her in you.
No more, I beg of you!
Your Antonia will sing no more.
What dread! Just now
I saw those red streaks on her face!
My God! Am I to lose the child I love?
Hoffmann filled her heart with these follies!
That's why I fled all the way to Munich!
- Franz, let no one in! - Indeed?
- Where are you going? - To open the door, as you said.
I said, let no one in!
- Understood? - Good Lord,
I'm not deaf!
The Devil take you!
Yes, the key's in the lock.
- Idiot! Old goat! - I agree!
Good grief!
What is it? Always so irritable!
Strange! Moody! Demanding!
So difficult to please!
And for that pay...
Day and night I slave away.
At the slightest sign I keep silent.
I might as well be singing...
But no, if I were to sing,
he'd have to swallow his scorn.
Sometimes I sing by myself,
but singing isn't such a good idea.
But it's not my voice...
that lets me down.
No, it's my technique...
One can't be good at everything.
I'm a terrible singer.
But I dance quite well,
if I may say so.
Dancing shows me at my best.
Indeed, it's my greatest asset!
But dancing isn't easy!
Such close contact with the ladies...
...wouldn't displease me!
No, it's my technique...
Franz! This is the place!
On your feet, my friend!
Eh? Who's that?
- Monsieur Hoffmann! - In person!
And how is Antonia?
He's out, sir.
Even deafer than last year?
I'm honoured!
I'm doing well, thank heavens.
Quickly! Let me see Antonia!
Of course! Monsieur Crespel will be thrilled!
I'll finally find out
why she fled from me without a word.
Apparently her father doesn't like you any more!
Are you sure the heavenly object
of this new infatuation
is better than the last one?
Which other?
The ungrateful soul has already forgotten the beautiful machine!
Don't remind me of that!
Antonia has nothing in common with that doll!
- Nothing? - Nothing!
Fine, fine.
She is alive, she has a soul...
- She is an angel. - No!
She is an artiste.
That's why her soul is as strange
as those of all these instruments.
See how the sound-box
vibrates beneath the quivering bow.
Listen to the heavenly sound
of this unconscious soul.
Listen as the air echoes
to the bright and penetrating sound
of this plaintive string.
What inspired music!
It soothes your tears.
It mingles its suffering
with the anguish of your passion.
That is love triumphant,
oh poet, give your heart...
Music will reign over your despairing heart.
Your pain will be driven away by soothing love.
Yes, your pain will be soothed.
It is love,
love triumphant...
Poet, offer up your heart...
In this room everything speaks of her.
Incorrigible!
The harpsichord still trembles from her touch,
the room is filled with the beauty of her voice.
For her I wrote
this tender song of joy.
"It's a song of love that flies away, sad or gay..."
- Hoffmann! - Antonia!
I was certain you still loved me!
My heart told me that I was missed...
My soul is filled with happiness, tomorrow you will be my wife!
What a happy couple,
the future is ours...
My soul is filled with happiness, tomorrow I will be your wife!
What a happy couple,
the future is ours...
Let us be true to love!
May its eternal knot
protect our hearts, victorious over time itself!
Let us be true to love!
My soul is filled with happiness...
And yet, my dear fiancée,
may I share a thought
which has been troubling me?
I'm a little jealous of your music.
You love it too much.
What a strange idea!
Do I love you for its sake or it for yours?
Surely you won't stop me singing,
- as my father has done? - What do you mean?
My father has imposed upon me
the virtue of silence.
Would you like to hear me?
How strange! Could it be...
Come here, as you used to do,
come here and listen,
and see whether I have lost my voice...
How your eyes sparkle, how your hands tremble!
Here, this sweet love song
that we used to sing together...
"it is a song of love that flies away, sad or gay..."
"...sad or gay, in turn..."
The young rose greets the spring.
Alas! How long will it live?
- What's wrong? - Nothing!
Oh Lord, it's my father!
- Come! - No!
I must solve this mystery.
Nothing!
I thought Hoffmann was here.
I hope he's in hell!
Thank you!
- Monsieur! - What is it? - Doctor Miracle.
That good-for-nothing!
Close the door, quickly!
Yes, Monsieur... the doctor...
Him, a doctor? Not on my soul!
A gravedigger, a murderer!
He'll kill my daughter as he did my wife.
I can hear his bottles chinking.
Get rid of him!
Hell!
Well, here I am! In person!
Good Monsieur Crespel,
lam so fond of him.
- Where is he? - Damn it!
I was looking for our Antonia!
What news of this illness inherited from her mother?
Is her state still worsening? The dear sweet girl!
We shall cure her. Bring me to her.
To murder her? One step more and I'll throw you out of the window!
Please be calm!
I do not wish to displease you.
What are you doing, traitor?
To ward off danger,
one must recognise it.
I'm filled with dread!
I'm filled with dread!
Let me consult her.
Yield with good grace
to my invincible power! Come!
With fear and horror...
my whole being is frozen!
A strange terror
holds me here! I'm afraid!
Approach me without fear...
Well then, speak! And be brief!
- Please sit down. - I am sitting down.
How old are you, please?
- Me? - I'm speaking to your child.
How old? Answer, I need to know.
Twenty!
The springtime of life!
Show me your hand!
<i>Her hand'?</i>
Hush! Let me count.
Am I the plaything of a dream?
Is it a ghost?
Her pulse is irregular and fast.
Not a good sign. Sing!
No, don't!
- Don't make her sing! - Sing!
Her face brightens and her eyes sparkle,
as she clutches her beating heart!
What is he saying?
It would be such a pity
to offer such a lovely prey to death.
Be quiet!
If you accept my help,
if you want to save her life,
I have put aside some bottles...
- Be quiet! - Which must be...
God save me from your advice, wretched murderer!
Every morning she must take...
I hear you. Just a moment!
I hope you'll be pleased with these bottles.
Out of my house, Satan...
Beware a father's wrath and pain...
Never to sing again?
Never to sing again?
How can I ask such a sacrifice from her?
What did my father say?
Don't ask me anything. You'll find out later.
A new road has opened up for us,
my dear Antonia! To follow me,
banish these dreams of a future
filled with success and fame,
which you confided to me.
But what of you?
Love beckons to us both.
All that is not you
means nothing to me.
Then take my hand!
Dear Antonia, how can I ever acknowledge
what you mean to me?
Your father might come back.
I must leave you...
Until tomorrow.
How easily he has become my father's accomplice.
Come now, tears are vain!
I promised
I would sing no more.
You'll sing no more?
What a sacrifice you impose on your youth!
Have you considered it well?
Grace, beauty, talent, your sacred gift,
all these blessings heaven bestows upon you,
must you bury them in domestic oblivion?
Have you not heard, in a proud dream,
like a forest swaying in the wind,
the gentle stir of the crowd,
murmuring your name, and following you with their gaze?
That is the ardent joy and endless bliss
you would abandon
in the flower of your youth,
for the shackles of bourgeois joys
and squabbling brats to rob you of your beauty!
What is this voice troubling my spirit?
Is it hell speaking,
or is it God warning me?
No! No!
That is not the way to happiness, accursed voice!
My love will defend me from my pride!
Fame is not worth the modest bliss
my beloved's home promises me.
What is this love of yours?
Hoffmann sacrifices you to his brutishness.
He loves you only for your beauty,
He'll be unfaithful,
just like all the others.
Do not tempt me any longer! Begone, demon!
I won't listen to you!
I have sworn to be his. My beloved awaits me.
I am no longer my own, and that I cannot change!
Did he not, just a short while ago...
...swear eternal love to me?
Who will save me from this demon, from myself?
My mother! Oh, mother of mine!
I love her...
Your mother? Do you dare invoke her?
Is it not she who speaks through me.
Ungrateful child, reminding you of her fame that you wish to abandon?
Listen!
Antonia!
Heavens!
Listen!
Good God! My mother...
Dear child, I call you as before.
It's your mother, listen to my voice!
It's my mother. Her spirit calls out to me!
It is her voice, the wisest counsellor,
bequeathing you a talent the world has lost.
She seems to live again, rejoicing in the applause of a distant audience!
- It's my mother! - Sing along with her!
Dear child, I call you as before...
No! Enough! I shall not sing again!
What passion is burning and consuming me!
I give in to this overwhelming rapture!
What is this flame that blinds my eyes?
- One more moment to live... - Sing! Sing!
...and my soul soars toward heaven!
My child! My daughter! Antonia!
My father!
Listen!
It's my mother,
my mother calling me.
And Hoffmann has come back.
"It's a song of love..."
No! Just one word! My daughter, speak to me!
Abominable death! Mercy!
Keep away! My daughter!
Hoffmann! You wretch! You've killed her!
Blood, to redden her cheeks!
A weapon! A knife!
Quick! Call for help! A doctor!
Here I am!
Dead!
Oh God! My child!
MY daughter!
Antonia!
Beautiful night, night of love,
smile upon our bliss.
Night sweeter than day,
wonderful night of love!
Time flies,
and carries off our loves for ever.
Far away from this happy place,
time flies without return.
Balmy breezes,
give us your caresses,
balmy breezes,
shower <i>us</i> with your kisses!
There's nothing here to please me.
Must pleasure sigh
at the feet of beauty? No!
With a smile on your lips, listen to it sing!
Friends, tender, romantic love? A fallacy!
Love in noise and wine? Divine!
Let burning desire set your heart on fire!
Let a fever of pleasure consume your soul!
Love's fire lasts but a day!
To hell with those who weep for two pretty eyes!
We prefer the rapture of merry song!
Let's spend an hour in heaven!
I see we're enjoying ourselves.
Congratulations, Madame!
But I wept three days long for you.
- Indeed! - Runt! - That'll do! - Be calm!
We have a foreign poet among us.
Hoffmann!
- Monsieur! - Monsieur!
Please smile,
and join us at the gaming tables!
To the tables!
I'll be damned!
To the tables, gentlemen!
Just a word! I have two horses saddled.
At the first sign of foolishness,
I'll whisk Hoffmann away!
What foolishness could ever arise
under these conditions?
Can one love a courtesan?
- But this Schlemil... - I am not Schlemil!
Beware, for the devil is cunning!
That may be, but if he makes me love her,
then I'll let myself be damned.
Let's go!
Go ahead! In the heat of the battle,
Giulietta's eyes are a sure weapon.
Schlemil was forced to yield.
As an officer and a devil,
I swear you'll do the same.
I wish for Giulietta to bewitch you...
...bewitch you this very day.
Sparkle, oh diamond,
mirror that catches the lark!
Sparkle, oh diamond,
fascinate her, lure her.
Lark and lady alike
both fly to this irresistible bait,
one with wings and one with the heart.
One loses her life,
the other surrenders her soul...
Lure her,
oh diamond!
Dear angel!
What do you require of your servant?
Good! You guessed it.
You are well-versed in the art of seduction.
You already gave me Schlemil's shadow.
Today, to vary my pleasures,
I ask you to bring me Hoffmann's reflection.
- His reflection? - Yes. His reflection.
Do you doubt the power of your eyes?
Who knows? Your Hoffmann may dream of better things.
A little while ago, I was listening.
He resists you...
I'll make him into my plaything!
There he is!
- You're leaving me? - I've lost everything.
What? You too?
Oh, you mock me...
No pity, no mercy. Go! Leave!
Your tears gave you away.
I love you. Even at the cost of my life...
Unfortunate man, don't you understand
the next hour or moment may prove fatal to you?
My love will lose you forever, if you stay.
Schlemil may kill you in my arms this very night.
Do not refuse me,
my entire life is yours. Go!
Tomorrow, I promise you,
I will follow.
Oh God! What is this passion
with which you set my heart aflame?
Your voice fills me
like a heavenly chorus.
My whole being is consumed
by a softly burning fire.
Your eyes pour forth
their flames into mine,
like shining stars,
and, my beloved one,
I feel your fragrant breath
on my lips and eyes.
But today, give me courage,
and leave me a part of you.
- What do you mean? - Listen,
and do not laugh.
What I want from you is the faithful likeness
of your features,
your gaze,
your face,
this reflection you see leaning over mine.
How absurd!
No, for it can be detached from the glass
and hidden away in my heart.
- In your heart? - In my heart, I beg you!
- Hoffmann, grant my wish! - Is that what you want?
Be it wise or foolish. I insist!
- When I am without you... - Ecstasy, unrequited bliss!
- ...I want as a remembrance... - Strange, sweet terror!
...your reflection, your soul, your life.
My love, give it to me!
It is forever yours!
My heart awaits it from you!
Tears today, but tomorrow the heavens!
Schlemil!
Together, as I thought!
Come, gentlemen. It seems we have been abandoned
in favour of Hoffmann.
- Monsieur! - Silence!
He has my key! I love you!
Let's kill him.
Patience.
How pale you are!
Me?
- Look for yourself! - Heavens!
- What is it? - My reflection!
I've lost my reflection!
- My reflection! - For Madame!
See his astonishment!
Let us leave this place, where you lose your soul!
No! I love her!
Let me go!
Alas! My heart has strayed yet again,
my senses have fallen prey to guile.
Cursed be the love that consumes me!
My spirit finds no rest.
Poor Hoffmann, once again
love consumes you in vain.
Your beloved beauty
has sold us her tender kiss.
Hoffmann, I love you,
but I don't have the heart to refuse
this diamond that shines like dawn
and costs me just a kiss.
Alas, his heart is aflame once more!
I despise her, alas, yet adore her.
Alas!
Listen, gentlemen...
The gondolas are coming.
It's time for the barcarolles
and for our farewells.
- Are you coming? - Not yet.
I see. But I'll be watching you.
What are you waiting for?
For you to give me a key I swore to obtain.
You'll only get this key with my life.
Then I'll take both.
We shall see.
You have no sword. Take mine.
Nobody's there!
- What will you do with him? - I'll leave him to you.
That was the story of my loves,
which will remain in my heart forever.
What a triumph!
They're cheering our prima donna!
He's no longer to be feared. The Diva is mine!
- Stella! - What does Stella have to do with it?
Don't you see? Three dramas in one:
Olympia,
Antonia,
and Giulietta...
One and the same woman:
Stella!
Stella!
A toast to the honourable lady!
One word more, and, by my soul,
I'll shatter you like this!
Me, your mentor? Thank you.
Oh, I'm mad! Give us the divine dizziness
of the spirits of alcohol, beer and wine.
Give us drunkenness and folly!
Oblivion where we forget.
Warm up the punch!
Let's get drunk!
May the maddest of us roll under the table!
Luther is a good man, lalala!
Tomorrow we shall strike him dead, lalala!
His cellar belongs to a good soul, lalala!
Tomorrow we'll plunder it...
Enough!
My life is in ruins...
Stella! Stella!
If I recall... I've seen you before...
I don't quite remember... How time flies...
I'm sorry, I wish I could remember...
Not a word about the letter!
Are you Olympia?
Broken...
Antonia?
Dead...
Giulietta?
Damned...
With your permission, Madame!
Pardon me! "Kleinzach" is not quite complete.
My dear Lindorf, for you, the last verse!
To win Phryne's heart of stone
he confused love and money.
To gain her attention,
he broke into his purse...
Frick-frack!
That's Kleinzach!
Fill glasses and mugs till morning comes...
From the embers of your heart,
rekindle your genius once more!
Smile serenely
on your grief.
The muse will ease
your blessed suffering...
Love makes us great,
tears make us even greater...
Yes... Tears make you even greater...
From the embers of your heart,
rekindle your genius once more!
Smile serenely
on your grief.
The muse will ease
your blessed suffering...
Love makes us great,
tears make us even greater...
No comments:
Post a Comment