Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: opera
Song Meaning of “Scintille, diamant – from Les contes d’Hoffmann” by Jacques Offenbach
The hauntingly beautiful song “Scintille, Diamant”, from Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, tells the tale of a diamond which sparkles in the night sky and stands witness to a love that could have been, but never quite came to be.
The song expresses the pain and aching of missing someone or something that brings us joy, but is now out of our reach. There is an unmistakable sense of longing in the lyrics: “Lorsque sous ma main sensible, tantôt elle se dresse ou tremble” (“Sometimes she rises or trembles under my sensitive hand”).
The diamond serves as a metaphor for this unfulfilled relationship, sparkling with potential but also unattainable – a reminder of what could have been, a source of both warmth and pain. The references to the moon and stars allude to the memories we keep close to ourselves that carry the light of our desired but failed connection.
The song may also be interpreted as a meditation on our own mortality: in the end, all of us will face sadness and lost opportunities, and we must find strength in those that care for us, the way Offenbach uses light and the diamond to show that the beauty of love and hope remain ever present, even in times of darkness.