"Carmen" - opera and legend

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The most famous opera written by the French composer Georges Bizet is Carmen. Her story was not easy, and this wonderful work did not immediately resonate with the public and critics. After all, Carmen is an opera where one of the then fundamental principles of plot construction in the opera house was violated. For the first time, not aristocrats were brought to the stage, but ordinary people with their sins, passions, vivid feelings.

The premiere of the performance took place on the stage of the "Opera Comique" in Paris on March 3, 1875. The reaction that followed was bitter disappointment for its creator. Georges Bizet, author of the opera Carmen, was considered one of the most talented composers of his time. He created his opera at the height of his career. The libretto was written by L. Halevi and A. Melyak based on the short story by P. Mérimée. The audience who got to the premiere performance, opinions were divided. The first performer of the role of the gypsy Carmen was the singer Celestine Galli-Mathieu. She managed to perfectly convey the courage of the heroine. Some were delighted, others were outraged. The newspapers called the opera ugly, scandalous and vulgar.

Nevertheless, "Carmen" is an opera whose genius was appreciated much later, and it is trulyfell in love. Our classical composer P. I. Tchaikovsky, he called it a masterpiece. One of the most memorable melodies with which the opera is filled is the heroine's aria “Love has wings like a bird”, the composer created it based on the habanera melody and the seductive description of a gypsy in P. Merimee's short story. In addition to this aria, the March of the Toreador, Suite No. 2, became truly popular.

Due to its atypicality for that time, the opera turned into a popular performance. Carmen describes the lives of ordinary people, and at the same time, the opera is not devoid of romanticism. If you describe the brief content of the opera "Carmen", then you can state it in a few phrases. The plot is based on the third chapter of the short story of the same name by P. Merimee, and it is about love. The play is set in Spain, so the composer filled the opera with classic Spanish melodies: flamenco, paso doble, habanera.

The main character of both the novel and the opera is the gypsy Carmen. The opera presents her as uninhibited, free, not recognizing laws. A gypsy is able to change the fate of everyone who is next to her. She attracts the attention of men, enjoys their love, but does not consider their feelings. According to the plot, a beautiful gypsy woman works at a cigarette factory. Because of the fight, she ends up at the police station. Her bodyguard was Sergeant José. She was able to make him fall in love with her and convince him to let her go. For the sake of a gypsy, Jose lost everything: positions, respect in society. He became a simple soldier. Carmen collaborated with smugglers, flirted with the bullfighter Escamillo. Jose is tired of her. He tried to return his beloved, but she abruptly announced to him that it was all over. Then Jose killed his beloved Carmen so that no one would get her.

F. Bizet was very upset by the failure of the premiere performance of Carmen. The opera, later recognized as a masterpiece, took a lot of strength from the composer. Shortly after the premiere, 3 months later, the composer died at the age of 37. On the verge of death, J. Bizet said: “Jose killed Carmen, and Carmen killed me!”.

Nevertheless, the story of a free life, unbridled passions and an accidental death due to jealousy has been drawing audiences to theaters for many years. To this day, "Carmen" is successfully performed on the most famous opera stages in the world.