First Performance of Bizet's Carmen
The first performance of Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen" took place on March 3, 1875, at the Opéra Comique in Paris. This opera, which is in four acts, is based on a novel by Prosper Mérimée and tells the story of Carmen, a free-spirited Spanish gypsy woman who becomes entangled with a soldier named Don José. Despite its rich musical composition that incorporates Spanish folk rhythms and themes, "Carmen" faced a tumultuous reception at its premiere, where it was met with hisses and boos, likely due to the perceived immorality of its protagonist. Bizet, who passed away just months later, initially saw his work as a failure, but "Carmen" eventually gained immense popularity and acclaim, becoming a staple in the operatic repertoire. The opera combines spoken dialogue typical of opéra comique, drawing audiences into its dramatic narrative. It has since been adapted into various forms, including the Broadway production "Carmen Jones" and several film versions, further cementing its cultural impact. Today, "Carmen" is recognized as one of the most beloved operas in history.
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First Performance of Bizet's Carmen
First Performance of Bizet's Carmen
The first performance of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen was held at the Opéra Comique in Paris, France, on March 3, 1875. Bizet (1838–75) was born in Bougival, France, near Paris and is known primarily for his operas. Carmen, his last and most famous work, is considered to be the crowning achievement of his career. Sadly, the opera was not a success when it premiered— it was hissed and booed—and Bizet died a broken man just a few months later.
Carmen is an opera in four acts, based on a sensational 1845 novel of the same title by the French author Prosper Mérimée. Bizet composed the music and the libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The plot centers on the adventures of Carmen, a beautiful Spanish gypsy woman who works in a cigarette factory. Jailed for fighting with another girl, Carmen seduces her keeper, the young soldier Don José, and escapes to a smugglers' lair. Bewitched, Don José deserts his company to join her, trailed by his devoted sweetheart Micaëla, who hopes forlornly that he will give up the temptress. Carmen, it is clear, prefers her own wild freedom to any man's love and will never be constant; although the cards predict her impending death, she cannot be other than she is. Having drawn José on, she tires of him and turns her attentions to the bullfighter Escamillo; José kills her.
For this story, rich in romantic local color, Bizet composed music that incorporated Spanish folk and gypsy rhythms and instrumentation, even including la habanera, a popular dance of the time that had come from Cuba. The settings and costumes were equally picturesque. The mezzo soprano Marie-Célestine-Laurence Galli-Marié sang the part of Carmen at the premiere; Margherite Chapuy was Micaëla; and Paul Lhérie and Jacques-Joseph-Andre Bouhy took the roles of Don José and Escamillo, tenor and baritone, respectively. Since Carmen was an opéra comique, or opera which contains spoken dialogue, it was premiered at the theater in Paris that specialized in such works. The ensuing hisses and catcalls (which practically stopped the performance) seem not to have been directed at any deficiency in the production but at the immorality of the heroine, a quality apparently heightened by the sensual appeal of Bizet's music. Unfaithful women and even courtesans had been the subjects of operas before, but those women had recognized, with touching pathos, the error of their ways. Carmen was unrepentant—and she was fascinating.
Gradually the opera won acceptance and then worldwide acclaim, becoming one of the most popular operas in history. It was first performed in the United States on October 23, 1879, at the Academy of Music in New York City; a few weeks later, on November 15, it received its Italian premiere at the Teatro Bellini in Naples. It was not, however, played at L'Opéra de Paris, the principal Parisian opera house, until December 21, 1907, and did not enter the repertory there until 1959.
In the United States, Oscar Hammerstein II wrote a new libretto in English for Carmen Jones, a modern version of the story performed on Broadway by an all-black cast in 1943; this was later made into a film, with Marilyn Horne and LeVern Hutcherson singing the arias for Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte. Other film versions include a flamenco Carmen (1983) starring Antonio Gades and Laura Del Sol, by the Spanish director Carlos Saura, and Bizet's Carmen (1985), filmed in and around Seville by Francesco Rosi, with Placido Domingo and Julia Migenes-Johnson.