When was the opera Carmen first performed?
The first night of Carmen arrived on the 3rd of March 1875 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. Conductor Adolphe Deloffre led a cast including Célestine Galli-Marié as Carmen and Paul Lhérie as Don José.
Questions about Carmen
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who composed the music for the opera Carmen?
Georges Bizet wrote the full-length opera Carmen after receiving a commission from the Opéra-Comique during the winter of 1873. He completed over 1,200 pages of music by summer 1874 while spending part of that summer at Bougival.
What source material did the librettists use for Carmen?
Librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy chose Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen published in 1845 as their source material. They hoped this story would succeed despite disagreements between theatre directors Camille du Locle and Adolphe de Leuven regarding its risqué nature.
How many performances were given before Georges Bizet died?
Houses remained half-empty even when management gave away large numbers of tickets until the 3rd of June 1875 when thirty-three performances had been staged. That night's performance was cancelled due to his sudden death from heart disease at age thirty-six.
When did Vienna Court Opera stage Carmen with recitatives instead of spoken dialogue?
Vienna Court Opera staged Carmen on the 23rd of October 1875 using Ernest Guiraud's recitatives instead of spoken dialogue. This hybrid version became the norm for productions outside France for most of the next century.