Offenbach was born in Cologne, Germany and was the son of Isaac Juda Eberst, a cantor, bookbinder, music teacher and composer. His father was living at a time when the Napoleonic edict required that Jews had to take inheritable family names. An itinerant violinist, he adopted the name Offenbach since he was already known to his audiences as a native of Offenbach am Main called "der Offenbacher". His son received the name "Jakob Offenbach" at birth, though he changed it to Jacques when he settled in France.
Offenbach moved to Paris in 1833 to study the cello. He found employment playing cello in the orchestra of the Opéra Comique, and wrote many pieces for the instrument. In 1844, he converted to Catholicism and married Herminie de Alcain. He returned to Germany with his wife and daughter in 1848 to avoid revolutionary violence in France, but returned a year later to become the musician most closely associated with the reign of Louis Napoleon (III). In 1850 he became conductor of the Theatre Français, but in 1855 rented his own theatre, the Bouffes Parisiens on the Rue de Monsigny, and began a successful career devoted largely to operetta and opéras comiques until his death.
His most popular works are still performed regularly today. His best-known operettas in the English-speaking world are Orpheus in the Underworld, La vie parisienne, La belle Hélène, La Périchole, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein. Gaîté Parisienne is an often heard ballet score which is a pastiche of Offenbach melodies arranged and garishly orchestrated by Manuel Rosenthal in 1938.
Offenbach's final opera, The Tales of Hoffmann, was more serious than his other works, perhaps reflecting the eternal wish of the clown to be taken seriously. It was still unfinished at his death in 1880, but was completed by his friend Ernest Guiraud and premiered in 1881.
Offenbach is buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France.
Belle Nuit O Nuit D'amour
Jacques Offenbach Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Emporte nos tendresses,
Loin de cet heureux séjour
Le temps fuit sans retour.
Zphyrs embrassés,
Versez-nous vos caresses,
Zphyrs embrassés,
Vos baisers! vos baisers! Ah!
Belle nuit, nuit d′amour,
Souris à nos ivresses,
Nuit plus douce que le jour,
Belle nuit d'amour!
Ah! Souris à nos ivresses!
Nuit d′amour, nuit d'amour!
Ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah!
The lyrics of Jacques Offenbach's Belle Nuit O Nuit D'amour are centered around the theme of love and the fleeting nature of time. The opening lines "Le temps fuit et sans retour, Emporte nos tendresses, Loin de cet heureux séjour" roughly translate to "Time flees and does not return, taking our tenderness away from this happy place". The lyrics lament the fact that time passes quickly and we cannot hold onto the moments of tenderness and love that we experience in life. The repeated line "Le temps fuit sans retour" emphasizes the idea that once a moment has passed, it can never be recaptured or relived.
The rest of the lyrics are a plea to the zephyrs, or gentle winds, to bring us their caresses and kisses. The phrase "Zphyrs embrassés, Versez-nous vos caresses, Zphyrs embrassés, Donnez-nous vos baisers!" translates to "Embraced zephyrs, pour on us your caresses, Embraced zephyrs, give us your kisses!" The lyrics convey a sense of longing and desire for the embrace and kiss of a loved one.
Overall, the lyrics of Belle Nuit O Nuit D'amour evoke the bittersweet nature of love and the inevitability of time passing. The song is a beautiful portrayal of the power of love to make us feel truly alive, even as we come to terms with the fact that those moments are fleeting and will eventually slip away.
Line by Line Meaning
Le temps fuit et sans retour
Time passes by and never returns
Emporte nos tendresses,
It takes our tender moments away with it
Loin de cet heureux séjour
Far away from this happy place
Le temps fuit sans retour.
Time doesn't come back once it passes by
Zephyrs embrassés,
The gentle winds embracing us
Versez-nous vos caresses,
Shower us with your tenderness
Zephyrs embrassés,
The gentle winds embracing us
Donnez-nous vos baisers!
Give us your sweet kisses!
Vos baisers! vos baisers! Ah!
Your kisses! Your kisses! Ah!
Belle nuit, nuit d’amour,
Beautiful night, night of love
Souris à nos ivresses,
Smile at our drunkenness
Nuit plus douce que le jour,
Night sweeter than the day
Belle nuit d'amour!
Beautiful night of love!
Ah! Souris à nos ivresses!
Ah! Smile at our drunkenness!
Nuit d’amour, nuit d'amour!
Night of love, night of love!
Ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah!
Ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah!
Writer(s): Jacques Offenbach
Contributed by Matthew R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@matheusbloch7183
Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour
Souris à nos ivresses
Nuit plus douce que le jour
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Le temps fuit et sans retour
Emporte nos tendresses
Loin de cet heureux séjour
Le temps fuit sans retour
Zéphyrs embrasés
Versez-nous vos caresses
Zéphyrs embrasés
Donnez-nous vos baisers!
Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour
Souris à nos ivresses
Nuit plus douce que le jour
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Ô souris à nos ivresses!
Nuit d'amour, ô nuit d'amour!
Zéphyrs embrasés
Versez-nous vos caresses
Zéphyrs embrasés
Donnez-nous vos baisers!
Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour
Souris à nos ivresses
Nuit plus douce que le jour
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Ô souris à nos ivresses!
Nuit d'amour, ô nuit d'amour!
Ah! Ah!
This is the lyrics.
@matheusbloch7183
Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour
Souris à nos ivresses
Nuit plus douce que le jour
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Le temps fuit et sans retour
Emporte nos tendresses
Loin de cet heureux séjour
Le temps fuit sans retour
Zéphyrs embrasés
Versez-nous vos caresses
Zéphyrs embrasés
Donnez-nous vos baisers!
Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour
Souris à nos ivresses
Nuit plus douce que le jour
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Ô souris à nos ivresses!
Nuit d'amour, ô nuit d'amour!
Zéphyrs embrasés
Versez-nous vos caresses
Zéphyrs embrasés
Donnez-nous vos baisers!
Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour
Souris à nos ivresses
Nuit plus douce que le jour
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Ô souris à nos ivresses!
Nuit d'amour, ô nuit d'amour!
Ah! Ah!
This is the lyrics.
@barthongerald7183
Merci
@marsyl12
Thank you❤
@yves-reneguilland9708
hello ! Merci d ' avoir pris la peine de nous présenter les paroles ici . . . . C'est très gentil de votre part . Merci.
@bulkvanderhuge9006
@@yves-reneguilland9708 The first law of YouTube: There always has to be at least one contrarian in a comment thread.
@ktuynh
Merci ❤salut du Vietnam
@arniekevinvalera8166
Whoever is paired with Marianne Crebassa, she vocally mirrors, without overpowering the soprano. Thank you for this, truly a joy to hear.
@keeengkoy9588
So true, her flower duet with Sabine Devieilhe is so beautiful, their voices blends and slides so smoothly with each other.
@elsaesteves
@@keeengkoy9588 M. Crebassa and S. Devieilhe is pure magic, pure magic 💗 in Delibes Lakmé, Flower Duet 🌹
@dennisdougherty7538
Very nice indeed but...when 2 vocalists or 2 instrumentalists perform in unison, they should agree on who should be slightly dominant. In this case the voices contest each other (not intentionally) but by equal individuality of musical character. Possibly, it is the fault of the engineers. It would be obvious to any musician/engineer that they should have used a double ribbon microphone on Ms. Crebassa or a condenser with a softer vacuum tube.