Carmen
Georges Bizet sat at his desk in Paris during the winter of 1873, staring at a blank page. He had just received a commission from the Opéra-Comique to write a full-length opera. The librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy were already waiting for him with a story they hoped would succeed. They chose Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen, published in 1845, as their source material. Bizet felt an immediate connection to the project. He told his friend Edmund Galabert that he had found his true path in this work. The composer began writing music in January 1873, though rehearsals did not start until October of that year. Delays plagued the early stages due to disagreements between theatre directors Camille du Locle and Adolphe de Leuven. De Leuven opposed the risqué nature of the story and feared audiences would be frightened away. He wanted Carmen's character softened and her death overshadowed by triumphal processions. Bizet persisted despite these objections and completed over 1,200 pages of music by summer 1874. He spent part of that summer at Bougival, an artists' colony outside Paris, where he finished the draft. During rehearsals beginning in October, he made constant changes to accommodate singers and orchestra demands. The vocal score published in March 1875 differed significantly from the conducting score used at the premiere.
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. The audience included famous composers like Massenet, Offenbach, and Gounod. Halévy recorded his impressions: the first act received applause, but the second act grew cold after the Toreador Song. By the third act, only Micaëla's aria earned cheers while the final act felt glacial to everyone present. Critics reacted with outrage rather than celebration. Ernest Newman later described how the sentimentalist audience was shocked by the drastic realism of the action and the low moral standing of most characters. One critic called Galli-Marié's interpretation the very incarnation of vice. Conservative reviewers complained about Wagnerism and the subordination of voice to orchestral noise. Bizet retorted that bourgeois audiences had not understood a wretched word of his work. The opera shared the theatre with Verdi's much more popular Requiem during its initial run. Houses remained half-empty even when management gave away large numbers of tickets. On the 3rd of June 1875, after thirty-three performances, Bizet died suddenly of heart disease at age thirty-six. That night's performance was cancelled due to his death. His wedding anniversary coincided with this tragic event. Du Locle revived the opera in November 1875 with the original cast for twelve additional performances. Tchaikovsky attended one of these later shows and wrote to Nadezhda von Meck calling Carmen a masterpiece expressing the efforts of an entire musical epoch.
Vienna Court Opera staged Carmen on the 23rd of October 1875, just months before Bizet's death. Franz von Jauner directed this production 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. The Viennese public embraced the work enthusiastically despite deviations from Bizet's original format. Wagner and Brahms both praised the opera. Brahms reportedly saw it twenty times and said he would have gone to the ends of the earth to embrace Bizet. Brussels followed with a run at La Monnaie starting in February 1876. Minnie Hauk began her long association with the title role in London on the 17th of June 1878. The American premiere occurred on the 23rd of October 1878 at New York Academy of Music. By 1906, Enrico Caruso sang José at the Metropolitan Opera House in San Francisco during a tour. Two hours after his performance, violent shocks of the 1906 earthquake forced him and fellow performers to escape from the Palace Hotel. The Met performed Carmen almost one thousand times by early 2011. In Germany, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck saw the opera twenty-seven different occasions. Friedrich Nietzsche claimed he became a better man when Bizet spoke to him. Paris did not revive Carmen until April 1883 under new management. Adèle Isaac starred in an under-rehearsed production that removed controversial aspects initially. Critics condemned this version as a travesty before public acclaim forced its revision. Galli-Marié returned to the role later that year, restoring the score and libretto to their 1875 forms.
Bizet never visited Spain yet sought authentic ethnic material for his music. Carmen's Habanera is based on Sebastián Yradier's song El arreglito from 1809 to 1865. When Bizet learned its recent origin, he added a note crediting Yradier in the vocal score. He used genuine folksongs like Coupe-moi brûle-moi while other parts utilized rhythms associated with flamenco music. Dean insists this remains a French rather than Spanish opera despite foreign bodies contributing unique atmosphere. The prelude combines three recurrent themes: bullfighter entry from act four, Toreador Song refrain from act two, and fate motif representing both Carmen and destiny. This motif plays on clarinet bassoon cornet and cellos over tremolo strings concluding with abrupt crescendo. José's Flower Song ends pianissimo on sustained high B-flat after flowing continuous melody. Newman describes the quintet following Escamillo's entrance as incomparable verve and musical wit. Micaëla's aria features deep feeling preceded and concluded by horn calls. The middle part of act three occupies itself with Escamillo and José now acknowledged as rivals for Carmen's favour. Their contrasting attitudes appear through music where Escamillo remains invincibly polite and ironic while José becomes sullen and aggressive. As José kills Carmen, chorus sings Toreador Song refrain off-stage while fate motif sounds fortissimo together with brief reference to card scene music.
Early wax cylinder recordings captured excerpts of Carmen during the 1890s. A nearly complete performance in German appeared in 1908 featuring Emmy Destinn in the title role. Complete Opéra-Comique recording followed in French during 1911. Since then many leading opera houses and artists recorded the work in studio and live performances. Video recordings became available from mid-1990s including David McVicar's Glyndebourne production of 2002. Royal Opera productions of 2007 and 2010 each designed by Francesca Zambello expanded visual interpretations. Fritz Oeser published an edition in 1964 attempting to fill gaps left by earlier versions. Dean considers this unsatisfactory because it reintroduces material removed during first rehearsals while ignoring late changes made immediately before premiere. Susan McClary argues Oeser inadvertently preserves as definitive an early draft rather than final intentions. New editions prepared by Robert Didion and Richard Langham-Smith emerged in early twenty-first century published by Schott and Peters respectively. Each departs significantly from Bizet's vocal score of March 1875 which he personally corrected proofs before publication. Lesley Wright notes Bizet has not received critical edition of principal works unlike compatriots Rameau and Debussy. She suggests another scholar might refine details of vibrant score that fascinated public and performers for more than a century.
Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate wrote Carmen Fantasy for violin in 1883 described as ingenious and technically difficult. Ferruccio Busoni created Piano Sonatina No. Six Fantasia da camera super Carmen based on themes from Carmen in 1920. Vladimir Horowitz played his Variations on a Theme from Carmen throughout his career starting in 1926. Rodion Shchedrin adapted parts of Carmen music into ballet called Carmen Suite written for wife Maya Plisetskaya in 1967. Peter Brook produced La Tragédie de Carmen in 1983 collaborating with writer Jean-Claude Carrière and composer Marius Constant. This ninety-minute version focused on four main characters eliminating choruses while major arias reworked for chamber orchestra. Film adaptations began earliest days of cinema including Raoul Walsh's 1915 version with Theda Bara and Cecil B. DeMille's same year production. Charles Vidor directed The Loves of Carmen in 1948 starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. Otto Preminger released Carmen Jones in 1954 featuring all-black cast transposed to 1940s North Carolina extending to Chicago. Wild Wild Rose appeared in 1960 Hong Kong adapting plot to Wanchai nightclub setting including renditions by Grace Chang. Carlos Saura made flamenco-based dance film in 1983 with two levels storytelling. Jean-Luc Godard contributed another adaptation in 1984. Francesco Rosi filmed faithful version in 1984 with Julia Migenes and Plácido Domingo. Katarina Witt starred in Carmen on Ice during 1990 inspired by gold medal winning performance at 1988 Winter Olympics. Robert Townsend created Carmen: A Hip Hopera in 2001 starring Beyoncé Knowles as African-American version. Dada Masilo interpreted modern ballet in South Africa in 2010. Joseph Gaï Ramaka directed Karmen Geï in 2001 while Mark Dornford-May produced U-Carmen eKhayelitsha achieving Golden Bear award Berlinale that year.
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Common questions
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.
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.