In "Opera Imaginaire", what is the opera (and it's composer) from the part where two hands become animals?

Question

It's about a french composer and the name of it's opera has only one word that starts with "L". In the part of the animated film "Opera Imaginaire" where we hear this piece a soldier is garding ruins in a jungle, hears something coming from inside, goes to check it out and from behind a sculpted wall a gracefull hand reaches out to him. This hand becomes a snake that curls around the man's hand, and then his hand becomes an animal and so on.

Answer 1

One of my favorite pieces of music! The composer is Leo Delibes, and the opera is called "Lakme." The specific aria you're after is called "Viens, Mallika," though it's also often called the Flower Duet.

I've included a link to Amazon's listing for the highlights of this opera if you're interested; this specific duet is also included in a compilation disc called "Aria: A Passion for Opera." Some of the other pieces from "Opera Imaginaire" are also on this disc, including "E lucevan le stelle" from "Tosca" (the one with the Angel of Death and the guy being shot).