Carmen

French composer Georges Bizet would never know the great success he had with his opera Carmen. After the opera's premiere in Paris on March 3, 1875, it appeared that the work was a flop. Upon Bizet’s death just three months later, the work had only been performed 30 times. Carmen opens in Seville, Spain, in a crowded street where soldiers are awaiting a change in guard. Carmen, an attractive cigarette girl, emerges from a factory and begins to sing provocatively. As the men ask her to choose a lover, she throws a flower to Don Jose, the only man who ignores Carmen and who is eventually annoyed by her singing. A month passes, and Jose returns to the streets and meets Carmen again. This time, he falls in love with her. After smugglers approach Carmen about acquiring rare contraband, she convinces Jose to be a deserter and join her and her smuggling friends. While with the smugglers, Carmen grows bored of Jose and tells him to go back to his mother. Hurt by this, Jose runs into Escamillo, a bullfighter, who declares his love for Carmen. Ready to fight for his love, Jose is called away after learning that his mother has fallen very ill. Months later, at a bullfight, Escamillo enters with Carmen, who is obviously now in love with him. Suddenly, Jose confronts Carmen while she is alone outside the arena. He begs her to take him back, but to no avail. Just as the crowds chant for Escamillo inside, Jose stabs Carmen, the woman he loves. In 1883, the opera was revived in Paris and abroad. Since then, the opera has been one of the most performed in the world. Today, “Toreador’s Song” from its second act is now among the best known of all operatic arias. 



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