Opéra imaginaire

Single highlights of operas like Rossini's Cinderella, Mozart's Magic Flute and others, Bizet's Pearl Fishers is a masterwork, performed by worldwide famous singers, in artistic cartoons version. If you already enjoy opera, you will love it, if not; you will probably develop the taste for this magnificent art form.

Like Fantasia (1940) or Allegro Non Troppo (1977), L'Opéra Imaginaire (1993) is an assembly of animated short films based on classic music greats. Directed by some of the best European animators and artists, L'Opéra Imaginaire takes us through dance, theater, music and painting masterpieces. It uses several animation techniques, like stop-motion clay animation or CG characters.

There are 12 shorts, held together by a 3D character host, guiding us through a 3D opera house.

01) VESTI LA GIUBBA, directed by Ken Lidster, music from PAGLIACCI by Ruggiero Leoncavallo (1858-1919).

02) LA DONNA È MOBILE, directed by Monique Renault, music from RIGOLETTO by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901).

03) CARMEN, directed by Christophe Vallaux and Pascal Roulin, music from CARMEN by Georges Bizet(1838-1875).

04) VOI CHE SAPETE, directed by Pascal Roulin, music from THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).

05) MADAME BUTTERFLY, directed by Jonathan Hills, music from MADAME BUTTERFLY by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924).

06) PEARLFISHERS, directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, music from LES PÊCHEURS DE PERLES by Georges Bizet(1838-1875).

07) DU ALSO BIST MEIN BRAÜTIGAN?, directed by Raimund Krumme, music from THE MAGIC FLUTE by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).

08) CINDERELA, directed by Stephen Palmer, music from LA CENERENTOLA by Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868).

09) LE VEAU D'OR, directed by Hilary Audus, music from FAUST by Charles Gounod (1818-1893).

10) NOI SIAMO ZINGARELLE, directed by Guionne Leroy, music from LA TRAVIATA by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901).

11) LAKMÉ, directed by Pascal Roulin, music from LAKME by Léo Delibes (1836-1891).

12) E LUCEVAN LE STELLE, directed by José Abel, music from TOSCA by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924).

My copy of this film, a 1993 VCD, dedicates L'Opéra Imaginaire to the memory of Portuguese animator José Abel, the director of the 12th piece, deceased 1993.

Great singing but other than that... The film as a whole, in my opinion, is ruined by sloppy and unimaginative use of computer animation in some of the shorts and especially in the narrator sequences. Perhaps in 1993 it was an interesting experiment in CGI, but today we are interested in the end result, which, alas, is far from being impressive. Some of the fragments made in more traditional animation techniques are not bad, but "not bad" is hardly enough, and very few of the shorts pretend to be more than that. Number 11 (Lakmé), directed by Pascal Roulin and done in clay animation, is one of the more interesting pieces.

"Opéra imaginaire", very much like "Fantasia" and "Allegro Non Troppo", gives life to many of the most famous pieces of classic music through different styles of animation. The animation it's so beautiful as the music itself, but the best thing is that, unlike "Fantasia", the stories of the shorts are quite faithful to their original counterparts.

The styles of the shorts are quite different from each other, but all of them work very well, reaching a unique and poetic quality that not many movies have. There are things that only could be made in animation, and this movie is the greatest example of this: I never saw such beauty, such dream-like imagery in a live-action film. I loved all the shorts that make part of this animated anthology.

"Opéra imaginaire" is one of the most beautiful and mesmerizing films ever made.

A tribute to 400 years of glorious opera, in the shape of animation segments set to famous arias. A variety of animation techniques is used, including (very daring for that time !) computer-generated images. Given the intervening technical advances, it is entirely possible that nowadays even a moderately gifted fourteen-year-old could conjure up more sophisticated effects, but this does not mean that one should disdain or disregard these earlier efforts. Even anno 2018 the Flower Song from Delibes' Lakmé looks splendid, in its sinuous, exotic, hypnotic adaptation by Pascal Roulin. This is truly an invitation to travel to the lands of imagination.

Every viewer will pick his or her favorites. Me, I'm very fond of the Lakmé segment, just as I'm very fond of the Faust segment by Hilary Audus. This little segment, by the way, is remarkable for its concision. While "The golden calf" is sung, the whole story is compressed into a few minutes : Faust is tempted by Mefistofeles ; Faust leads Marguerite astray ; Marguerite falls into deepest disgrace but is forgiven by God, who restores her to her former innocence ; her seducer is banished to the deepest flames.

The music, performed by famous singers, is glorious, of course. Watch this little gem and show it to your children, too, lest they grow up ignorant of their rich heritage - or lest they be swallowed whole by the economic juggernaut called Disney.