La Sirene

Georges Bizet’s La Sirène is a charming secular song for solo high voice, sung in French. It belongs to the tradition of 19th-century French Lieder. The text paints a picture of a siren living in an underwater kingdom of coral and pearls, who is nevertheless drawn to the human world by the love for a boy picking flowers on the shore. Once a seductress who gave love without feeling it, the siren is now smitten herself. The song explores her newfound, poignant emotion as she watches her beloved pass by, unaware of her tears and her enchantment. It is a delicate and expressive portrayal of unrequited love and transformation.