The presentation of Opera imaginaire is delivered by the narrator, who introduces the program as a celebration of 400 years of opera and presents a selection of his favorite works. This presentation mentions several notable figures and characters from the operatic repertoire, including the character Lakmé, the villain Baron Scarpia, and the opera Pagliacci, and also pays tribute to the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. The narrator describes the settings as the fictional Opéra Imaginaire where the program takes place.
Segments
The film begins with "Je crois entendre encore" (from Georges Bizet's opera Les pêcheurs de perles) playing, while screenshots from each of the 12 segments appear.
"Vesti la giubba", from Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci, sung by Enrico Caruso (in 1902) in the aria's introduction and Franco Corelli (in 1960) throughout the rest of it. A stop motion animation based on the opera with a dark comedy theme and the characters rendered as circus clowns. A "happier" ending is shown with the 2D-animated ghost of Nedda reconciling with a rather obese Canio after he had "accidentally" killed her. Directed by Ken Lidster.
"La donna è mobile", from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto, sung by Nicolai Gedda. In the crimson heart of the wine in his glass, the (live-acted) Duke of Mantua embarks on a 2D fantasy in which he sees hand-drawn animated nude women based on those who come from famous paintings by French painters. Directed by Monique Renault.
"Avec la garde montante", from Bizet's opera Carmen, sung by Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois with the Opéra National de Paris, and conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos in 1970. Carmen (live-acted) lays down her tarot cards which through CGI spring to life with the images the cards each depicting one of her choices from the opera: Don José, Escamillo, or Death. Directed by Pascal Roulin and Christophe Vallaux.
"Voi che sapete", from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro, sung by Suzanne Danco. A tribute to Cherubino's cross-dressing adventures, rendered through paper cut-out style animation against CGI backgrounds. Directed by Pascal Roulin.
"Bald prangt, den Morgen zu verkünden ... Du also bist mein Bräutigam", from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, sung by Lucia Popp. A 2D-style CGI animated, geometrical version of the scene of Pamina's attempt at suicide and subsequent discovery of Tamino in the Temple of Ordeal, with all the characters' bodies rendered in geometrical shapes on an ever-shifting stage. Directed by Raimund Krumme.
"Le veau d'or", from Charles Gounod's opera Faust, sung by Nicolai Ghiaurov. A hand-drawn, sketchy rendition of the ill-fated romance between Faust and Marguerite as the booming voice of Mephistopheles, who manipulates them like puppets, sings throughout the sequence. Directed by Hilary Audus.
"Flower Duet", from Léo Delibes's opera Lakmé, sung by Mady Mesplé and Danielle Millet with the Orchestre du Théâtre national de l'Opéra Comique, and conducted by Alain Lombard. A rendition of the opera in which Lakmé's arms and hands, through CGI, turn into various flora and fauna that are found in the jungles of India, including a tree, a cobra, a deer, a bird, a leopard, a woman's arm with bracelets, a rock, a human, a boat, a clump of reeds, and others, as Gérald (live-acted) meets Lakmé (live-acted) in the temple. Directed by Pascal Roulin.
"E lucevan le stelle", from Puccini's opera Tosca, sung by Carlo Bergonzi. An eerie hand-drawn animation depicting Cavaradossi's final hours of life observed by the angel of death and Baron Scarpia's attempted advance on Tosca. Directed by José Abel[fr].
During the end credits, the film closes again with Bizet's "Je crois entendre encore", while the same screenshots from each of the 12 segments shown in the beginning reappear.
