Les oiseaux dans la charmille (CB) - Jacques Offenbach - Bert Van Thienen

One of the most difficult coloratura arias in the entire operatic repertoire, "Les oiseaux dans la charmille" comes from Offenbach's 'Les contes d'Hoffmann'. The piece is also known as 'The Doll Song' since the character who performs it, Olympia, is a mechanical doll. In the opera, Hoffman recounts how he was charmed by the automaton, co-created by Spalanzani and Copplius. Though anyone could plainly see that Olympia was a machine, Copplius sold Hoffman a pair of magical glasses that tricked him into thinking Olympia was a real woman.

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