Characters| Carmen | The beautiful gipsy girl who works in the cigarette factory |
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| Micaela | Don José's girlfriend |
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| Frasquita | Carmen's friend |
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| Mercedes | Carmen's friend |
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| Don Jose' | A young military soldier |
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| Escamillo | Torero, in love with Carmen |
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| Dancairo | A smuggler, one of Carmen's friends |
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| Remendado | A smuggler, one of Carmen's friends |
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| Zuniga | Captain of the guards |
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| Morales | Brigadiere |
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Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
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Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
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Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
Carmen 2006
Carmen: the scandalous opéra
On March 3rd 1875, Carmen was staged at the Opéra-Comique in Paris: an opera which broke the tradition of this genre of opera and which had to be presented to an audience which was very much unprepared. It brought a subject to the stage which was declared to be immoral, and its music to the same extent went against the mainstream. The cold reaction of the spectators was a great disappointment for the composer, Georges Bizet, who in the past had been appreciated and praised by the most illustrious French musicians. The failure of this opera was fatal for him, in the way that it contributed to his death, which took place 3 months after the première of Carmen.
The subject was taken from a short story by Prosper Mérimée and adapted for the stage by the librettists Halévy and Meilhac. It was an opera classified in the comique genre, which means that spoken and music recitatives are alternated through the opera.
Bizet worked hard and enthusiastically on this composition from 1872, despite the fact that his operas entitled L'Arlésienne and Djamileh, were both disappointing failures. He wrote the music for the first act between that year and the summer of the following year.
Already in that period the lack of comprehension that Bizet was going to encounter with the Opéra-Comique as a result of Carmen, began to be apparent. He therefore decided to accept the proposal to write the music for Don Rodrigue, to be staged in the same theatre. Unfortunately on October 28th, 1873 a fire destroyed the building and the opera wasn't able to be staged. After all this effort which received no appreciation, the composer wrote a concert overture, Patrie, which was successful.
Naturally, this series of events delayed the composing of Carmen which still remained incomplete. The rehearsals had already been organized, but had to be postponed from December 1873 to August 1874, with the première scheduled for October. In the meantime, the musician suffered an angina attack which convinced him to retreat to his country home in Bougival on the Seine. There, in the summer of 1874, he completed the draft of his most famous opera and took another two months to orchestrate it. Consequently, the first performance was delayed once again.
One of the factors which contributed to the delay was the difficulty to find a singer who was willing to wear the clothes of the sensual Carmen. Finally, in December 1874, Célestine Galli Marié accepted the role. A further obstacle was the hostility of De Leuven, co-director of the Opéra who worked with Du Locle. While the latter was connected to Bizet, even in terms of friendship, and tried to favour his work, his colleague found the choice of the subject to be appalling and absolutely didn't approve of staging it at the Opéra-Comique, which was noted for its Bourgeois respectability.
The rehearsals lasted nearly 5 months. These months proved to be extremely demanding as a result of a series of obstacles which Bizet experienced and had to confront. The chorus complained about the vocal and stage difficulties caused by Bizet himself; Du Locle and the librettists attempted to convince the author to modify some of the scenes or to completely cut out certain parts. They also tried to limit the realism in the performance of the singers, as they were afraid that the public would have been shocked. Bizet wasn't influenced by the pressure put on him to censor his work and only carried out modifications to Carmen according to his own judgement.
The day of the première arrived and destiny prevailed that Bizet be called Knight of the Legion of Honour. That evening Carmen was staged with a disastrous outcome. Even though he slowly accumulated a higher number of spectators in the repeat performances, the opera didn't obtain the recognition which the author expected. He could never have imagined that the opera, in the Autumn of 1875 in Vienna, would have become a world-wide success. For this edition Ernest Giraud, who had always been a friend of Bizet's, composed the music for the recitatives which had been spoken in the original version: Carmen became a grand-opéra and one which is much applauded today.
As a result of the growth in enthusiasm for an opera which only a few years previous had been ignored because of its immoral restraint, in 1883 Bizet's masterpiece came back to the theatre where it had premièred. At that stage the path had already been smoothened for its re-evaluation. Carmen had conquered the success that Bizet had been denied, and today it is applauded in the major theatres all over the world.
Setting: Spain in the middle of the XIX Century
ACT ONE
A square in Seville
Background - cigarette factory and barracks
A young girl, Micaela, makes her way through the crowded square and approaches the guards, wishing to speak to her fiancé, Don José. Sergeant Morales asks her if she would like to wait, but she politely refuses: she will come back at the next changing of the guard which, judging by the sound of the military march, should be soon. The new squad files in with Don José, who confesses to Captain Zuniga that he is captivated by his sweet Micaela and is not at all interested in the lively girls who work at the cigarette factory. A bell announces the end of the shift at the factory, and the girls come out where they are met by a group of young men. Among them is Carmen, the beautiful gypsy girl who catches sight of Don José and boldly goes up to him singing. Noticing his indifference, she challenges him by dancing a vortical "Habanera" and throwing a red rose in his direction. In the meantime, Micaela comes in to give Don José news of his mother, who lives far away. When Micaela leaves Seville, promising to return soon, he pulls the rose out of his jacket and is about to throw it away when he is interrupted by the sound of a quarrel from the factory. Carmen is involved in yet another brawl and has injured a girl with a knife. Don José is given the task of restoring order and is forced to arrest Carmen. The gypsy girl, however, skilfully ensnares him with her flirting and manages to escape.
ACT TWO
Lillas Pastia's Inn
Though Lillas Pastià's Inn is a refuge for smugglers, it is also patronized by officers, soldiers and gypsies. Carmen, along with her friends Mercedes and Frasquita, sings and dances among a group of dragoons. Her most fervent admirer is Captain Zuniga. The ''torero'' Escamillo, winner of the Granada bullfight, also arrives at the Inn and is immediately attracted to Carmen. Just as the Innkeeper is about to close, two smugglers, Duncairo and Remendado enter. They often turn to Carmen for help with their trade, but this time she refuses. She is awaiting Don José, who was arrested for having let her escape and is about to be freed. In fact, as soon as he is liberated, he hurries to the Inn, where Carmen dances for him while playing the castanets. A bugle sounding the recall interrupts the dancing. Don José prepares to do his duty and return to the barracks, but Carmen stands in his way and tries to detain him. When Zuniga comes to the Inn looking for Carmen, Don José is overcome by jealousy and assaults the captain. The smugglers intervene and threaten Zuniga with their pistols. Don José has no choice but to follow Carmen and her friends.
ACT THREE
The Smugglers' Camp
The smugglers' camp is situated strategically among wild precipices. Don José and Carmen are alone but their conversation is not of love. Carmen is already thinking of other suitors and her indifference accentuates Don José's jealousy. She consults the cards to read her own fortune and sees death, but she defies her fate. Micaela appears, trembling with fear, looking for Don José. She calls his name, but he does not answer. Suddenly a shot is heard, the girl runs away and Escamillo appears. He has just narrowly escaped being killed by José. The two rivals draw their knives and prepare to fight. José is about to strike the torero when Carmen intervenes and restrains him. While José furiously threatens Carmen, Remendado notices Micaela, who has come to tell José that his mother is dying and wishes to see her son for the last time. Despite José's initial reluctance, they all convince him to go and in the end he leaves with Micaela.
ACT FOUR
The square in front of the Arena in Seville
The day of the bullfight the crowd is waiting in the square of Seville in front of the Arena, cheering the procession of ''toreodores'', ''alquazie'', ''picadores'', ''banderilleros'' and the ''espada'' Escamillo, who appears arm in arm with Carmen. Her friends Mercedes and Frasquita plead with her to run away, as Don José is spying on her. Carmen knows this, but nevertheless defies the danger. José appears, humbles himself before Carmen and begs her to start a new life with him. Escamillo's victory interrupts the bitter discussion. Carmen jubilantly rushes towards the torero. When José stops her, she brutally, cynically and openly declares her love for the torero. José, blinded by his mad passion, assaults her and stabs her in the heart. Carmen falls down dead. The crowd is a witness to and is shocked by the tragic scene. Don José falls on Carmen's body, cries out to her in desperation and lets himself be arrested.