Alexandre Cesar Leopold Bizet (1838-1875) is a French composer, his work dates back to the Romantic period, he wrote pieces for piano, romances, works for orchestras and opera. Won world fame thanks to his very famous opera"Carmen"
Childhood
On October 25, 1838, a son was born into the family of a Parisian, a singing teacher, who was given the name Alexandre Cesar Leopold Bizet. During his baptism he was named Georges, and under this name he gained further fame.
The family where the boy was born was musical. In addition to the fact that my father taught singing at school, my mother was also involved in music; she played the piano professionally. Georges' maternal uncle was also a singing teacher.
Little Georges loved to play music with his parents. But at the same time, he, a child, so wanted to run around on the street and play with the children. However, his parents decided differently; they did not welcome street entertainment, so at the age of four, Georges was already well versed in notes and played the piano.
Conservatory
The boy was not yet ten years old when he was admitted to the Paris Conservatory. His parents decided to send him there to study, since his musical talent was clearly noticeable. The childhood of Georges Bizet, which practically never began, is over.
In the mornings, Georges’ mother would certainly take her to the conservatory. After school, she waited for him, and then every day the same scenario was repeated: they fed him at home, locked him in a room where he had to practice playing the piano. And the boy played the instrument until he fell asleep with it from fatigue.
Young Georges tried to resist his mother; he liked literature so much that he wanted to study it constantly and read a lot of books. But as soon as his mother caught him with another book in his hands, she monotonously repeated: “It’s not for nothing that you grew up in musical family, you will become a musician, not a writer. And outstanding!”
Georges did not experience any difficulties in his studies; he grasped everything literally on the fly. During his studies, he proved himself to be a brilliant student in the piano class with teacher A. F. Marmontel, in the composition class with teachers C. Gounod, P. Zimmerman, J. F. F. Halévy.
Bizet studied at the Conservatory for nine years and successfully graduated in 1857. During his years of study, the young man began to try himself as a composer, he created many musical works, among them there is one symphony, which Georges wrote at the age of seventeen, which is still successfully performed by musicians all over the world.
In his last year of study, Georges participated in a competition in which he had to write a one-act operetta; he composed a cantata for a legendary ancient plot and received a prize. Bizet also received several awards during his studies for playing the piano and organ.
On the last graduation year Georges wrote the operetta Doctor Miracle. And upon graduation from the Paris Conservatory, he received his most valuable award, the Prix de Rome, for the cantata Clovis and Clotilde. She gave Bizet great opportunities - to live in Italy for four years and receive a state scholarship.
Italy
In 1857, after graduating from the conservatory, Bizet went to Italy, where he lived until 1860. He studied local life, traveled, admired the beauty of nature and fine arts, and also devoted a lot of time to his education.
For a long time, Georges could not decide on his future path in life; he could not find his own theme in music. Over time, Bizet decided to connect his future work with the theater. He was very interested in opera premieres and musical Parisian theaters. To some extent it was mercantile, because then in the theater musical world the easiest thing to achieve was success.
Georges later considered the years spent in Italy to be the most carefree in his life. He composed little by little, during which time he wrote several pieces for orchestras (they later became part of the symphonic suite “Memories of Rome”) and the symphony-cantata “Vasco da Gama”.
But the time for receiving an Italian state scholarship had come to an end; Georges had to return to Paris.
Return to Paris
Upon arrival in hometown things didn't start out very well for Bizet better times, achieving recognition in Paris was not easy. He met with Antoine Choudan, who owned the most famous Parisian publishing house. Antoine looked at Georges in surprise: was this really the same young genius who received the prestigious Rome Prize? It was risky to get involved with a novice composer, but Shudan saw that young man he really needs money and is ready to take on any job. Antoine invited Bizet to transcribe operas by famous composers for piano.
For days on end, Georges had to work with other people's musical works, he also gave private lessons and wrote light music to order. He was paid money regularly, but there was always not enough of it. Soon his mother died, and the composer, on top of all his other problems, had nervous overstrain, and began to experience a sharp loss of strength.
He could make an excellent living as a pianist, as his friends advised him, but Georges was not looking for an easy life path, yet he completely immersed himself in composing music.
Creative path
He was still attracted Musical Theatre, but everything that Bizet wrote did not find approval. Nobody appreciated the comic opera Don Procopio. But Georges continued to live in poverty, work and wait.
In 1863, he composed the opera “The Pearl Fishers”, its premiere took place, the work was staged eighteen times, but then removed from the repertoire. Sleepless nights working on other people's scores, music lessons that had become unloved, and poverty returned again. Working for little money, which was only enough to keep from starving, took up all of Bizet’s time; there was no time to engage in creativity. The only thing that saved Georges was walking around evening Paris and visiting the theater, in this he found an outlet, it would seem, from hopeless situation.
The next opera, The Beauty of Perth, was staged in 1867, but was also not successful. In 1868, Bizet began to experience a creative crisis, and health problems arose. Georges was saved from a prolonged depression by his marriage in 1869, but a year later he enlisted in the National Guard to participate in the Franco-Prussian War, which left its mark on family life, both on health and on the composer’s work.
Since 1870, Bizet returned to writing, and his musical works were published one after another:
- piano suite “Children's Games”;
- romantic one-act opera “Jamile”;
- music for the play "Arlesienne".
However, all these works were not successful at that time, despite the fact that in the future they became part of the golden fund of world symphonic works.
In 1874-1875, Georges worked on an opera for P. Merimee’s short story “Carmen”. Its premiere took place on March 3, 1875. Surprisingly, opera, recognized as the pinnacle French realism, which went around all the world's opera stages, becoming the most popular and beloved work in the history of music, suffered a fiasco on the day of its premiere.
The failure of his beloved brainchild led to the composer's tragic end. Georges Bizet died, and four months later in Vienna Opera"Carmen" was a fabulous success. He never found out that a year later this work was staged on all the largest stages in Europe, recognized as the pinnacle of his work, that Carmen became the most popular opera in history and in the world.
Personal life
Georges' first love was a girl named Giuseppe, whom he met in Italy. The young man was short-sighted and slightly overweight, and his curls were so tightly intertwined on his head that it was impossible to comb them, so the composer himself considered himself not very attractive to representatives of the opposite sex. While talking to women, he blushed, spoke quickly, got confused, his palms sweated, and he was very embarrassed about all this.
Georges was intoxicated by the fact that Giuseppa paid attention to him. But the father sent a letter informing him about his mother’s illness. Bizet had to return to Paris, he invited his young bride with him, but Giuseppa could not just give up everything and go to another country. Georges promised the girl that he would write a couple of comic operas, earn a lot of money, return to her and they would live like kings. This did not happen, the composer himself barely survived, he was left only with memories of his first youthful love.
Georges was already 28 years old when an experienced woman appeared in his life and taught him true love. He met her on the train, it was Mogador ( opera diva Lionel, Countess de Chabrilan, writer Celeste Vinard). It was by the age of 42 that the woman became a writer, and her youth was spent in brothels. After a stormy youth, she danced on stage for a long time, and then began to write her novels about life. At the same time, her books did not stay in Parisian stores, Mogador was not mentioned out loud in society, but everyone in Paris knew about this woman.
All of Georges' sorrow was drowned in the passion of this woman. He was happy with her, but not for long. It was hard to withstand her mood swings, when Mogador was angry, then all her worst and worst feelings woke up. negative qualities. But Bizet had a too vulnerable soul and discriminating taste to bear it all. In addition, Mogador was getting old, she had problems with finances, and Georges could not help with money, so this woman no longer needed his love. But he could not part with her. Once, during a scandal, Mogador poured a tub on Georges ice water and kicked him out onto the street.
The consequence of this was purulent tonsillitis, which doctors discovered in him. Considering that Georges suffered from sore throat and colds since childhood, his health deteriorated even more. The composer fell ill and could not speak, but such physical suffering was insignificant compared to mental suffering. The break with Mogador, a miserable existence, a failure in creativity - Bizet approached a state of deepest depression.
Biography of Georges Bizet - early years.
Georges Bizet was born in Paris on October 25, 1838. His full name was Alexandre-César-Leopold Bizet, but his family called him Georges. Georges Bizet was brought up in an atmosphere of love for music: his father and maternal uncle were singing teachers, and his mother played the piano. She became his first music teacher. Bizet's talent manifested itself in a very early age: From the age of four he knew the notes.
At the age of ten, Bizet entered the Paris Conservatory, where he studied for nine years. Bizet's teachers were the most famous musical figures in France: A. Marmontel, P. Zimmerman, composers F. Halévy and C. Gounod. Although Bizet himself later admitted that he was much more attracted to literature, he music lessons were very successful: already during his studies he wrote a lot musical compositions. Among them became best work a symphony he created at the age of 17, which is successfully performed to this day.
In his last year of study, Bizet composed a cantata on an ancient legendary plot, with which he took part in a competition to write a one-act operetta, and which received a prize. Bizet also received prizes at competitions in piano and organ playing, and his greatest award during his studies was the Grand Prix de Rome for the cantata “Clovis and Clotilde,” which gave him the opportunity to receive a state scholarship and a four-year residence in Italy.
After graduating from the conservatory, Bizet lived in Italy from 1857 to 1860. There he traveled a lot and studied his education, getting acquainted with local life. At that time, the young composer was at a crossroads: he had not yet found his theme in musical creativity. However, he decided on the form of presentation of his future works - for this he chose theatrical music. He was interested in Parisian opera premieres and musical theater, partly for mercantile reasons, since it was easier to achieve success in this area at that time.
During his stay in Italy, Bizet wrote the symphony-cantata “Vasco da Gama” and several orchestral pieces, some of which were later included in the symphonic suite “Memories of Rome”. The three years spent in Italy were a rather carefree time in the biography of Georges Bizet.
Upon returning to Paris, Bizet began Hard times. Achieving recognition was not so easy, and Bizet earned money by giving private lessons, writing music to order in a light genre, and working with other people's works. Shortly after Bizet's arrival in Paris, his mother died. Constant overexertion and sudden declines in creative forces that accompanied the composer throughout his life became the reason for his short life genius composer.
But Bizet did not look for easy ways to recognition. Although he could have become an excellent pianist and more quickly achieved success in this field, he completely devoted himself to composing. “I don’t want to do anything for external success, brilliance, I want to have an idea before starting anything...” - this is how Bizet himself wrote about his choice. The diversity of his creative ideas can be judged by the unfinished works found, which Bizet did not manage to complete during his short life, such as the opera “Ivan the Terrible,” found only in the 30s of our century.
In 1863, the premiere of Bizet's opera The Pearl Fishers took place, which, although it ran for eighteen performances, was not a great success. Another Bizet opera, La Belle de Perth, was written in 1867 and also did not receive public approval. Bizet himself was forced to agree with the opinions of critics and survive this moment of crisis in his musical career. However, it was in “The Beauty of Perth” that the first features of Bizet’s realism appeared, who sought to change the style of comic opera, endowing it with deep life conflicts and feelings.
This was followed by the difficult year 1868 in the biography of Georges Bizet, when, in addition to serious health problems, he experienced a prolonged creative crisis. In 1869, Bizet married his teacher’s daughter, Genevieve Halévy, and in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, Bizet enlisted in the National Guard, which could not but have a heavy impact on the young family and creative work composer.
Biography of Georges Bizet - mature years.
The 70s were a heyday creative biography Georges Bizet. In 1871, he began to study music again and composed the piano suite “Children's Games.”
Soon Bizet composed a one-act romantic opera "Djamile", and in 1872 the premiere of Alphonse Daudet's play "La Arlesienne" took place. The music written by Bizet for this play entered the golden fund of world symphonic works and became a new milestone in Bizet’s creative biography. The premieres of these plays were unsuccessful, despite the high merits of Bizet's music. Bizet himself considered the opera “Djamile” the beginning of his new path. "Djamile" became a confirmation of Bizet's creative maturity. It is believed that it was this work that led the composer to his operatic masterpiece"Carmen"
Despite the fact that "Carmen" was written for production at the Opera Comic Theater, it can only be formally attributed to this genre, since "Carmen" is, in fact, a musical drama in which the composer managed to vividly depict folk scenes and characters.
The premiere of "Carmen" took place in 1875 and was unsuccessful, which was very difficult for the composer and greatly affected his health. "Carmen" was appreciated after Bizet's death and was recognized as the pinnacle of his work a year after its unsuccessful premiere. Pyotr Tchaikovsky called Carmen a masterpiece, reflecting “to the strongest extent the musical aspirations of an entire era” and was convinced of the timeless popularity of the opera.
The uniqueness of Georges Bizet's work was expressed not only in the high merits of his music, but also in his deep understanding of theatrical music.
Georges Bizet died on June 3, 1875 from a heart attack.
Georges Bizet. "Carmen"
Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen" is the culmination of all the works of the famous French composer Georges Bizet and one of the most best operas in the world. Besides, Carmen was the last opera, written by Bizet: its premiere took place on March 3, 1875, three months before the composer's death. It is even believed that the composer’s premature departure was accelerated by the incredible scandal surrounding the opera: the audience considered the plot indecent and the music too complex and imitative. The production was not only unsuccessful, it seemed to be a colossal failure.
main character opera, Carmen, is one of the most brilliant opera heroines. Passionate temperament, feminine attractiveness along with independence. This interpretation of the expressive image of Carmen bears little resemblance literary heroine, taken as a basis. Georges Bizet's Carmen is devoid of cunning, thievery, and everything petty and ordinary. Bizet added traits of tragic greatness to Carmen: at the cost own life she proves her right to love and be loved. It is probably this tragic nature of the heroine that makes her so attractive to viewers.
The opera's music is full of amazing melodies, and the plot is extremely dramatic. There is so much life and authenticity in her, which makes Carmen understandable and close to the viewer. "Carmen" is a unique masterpiece of opera music.
The plot of the opera "Carmen"
The main characters of the opera are the gypsy Carmen, Sergeant Don Jose, his bride Michaela and Georges Bizetoreador Escamillo. The main character is connected with smugglers, she seduces the sergeant, but over time her feelings for him cool, and Carmen falls in love with the bullfighter.
The complex vicissitudes of the relationships between the characters and their mixed feelings create a multilinear plot, but it is in this intricacy that Carmen’s sincerity and temperament, her independence and genuineness are revealed, and the whole range of complex relationships between the characters is outlined. And the genius of Georges Bizet is that musical means he so expressively demonstrated the inner integrity, purity and sincerity of Carmen's expression of feelings. Created by the composer, Carmen is the embodiment of female originality and charm, fearlessness and determination, the desire to remain herself no matter what.
Today there is probably not a person who does not know the opera “Carmen”. Everyone knows Suite No. 2 and March of the Toreadors. The music made this opera truly folk. However, this was not always the case.
Everyone knows that he worked on the opera Carmen famous composer Georges Bizet. He began work on this opera in 1874. The plot of this opera is taken from the novel by Prosper Merimee, which shares the same name with the opera. But to be more precise, it is the third chapter of this novel that is taken as the basis.
Of course, not everything in this opera is presented as in the novel. For example, in the opera itself, the scriptwriters have somewhat exaggerated the colors. Emphasizing in the characters exactly those traits that explained their behavior. But what is most important in this opera, as in everything that Georges Bizet wrote, “Carmen” was not just an opera for the bourgeoisie. Scenes taken from life ordinary people made this opera truly beloved by the people. After all, everything in it is clear and so close and at the same time not devoid of romance.
However, not everything was as it is now. And the opera "Carmen" was not accepted by Parisian society. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why he died great composer. Georges Bizet died three months after the premiere of Carmen. However, it cannot be said that at one time Carmen was a hopeless opera. After all, she was a great success in the countries of Eastern Europe and in Russia. And Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky called this opera a Masterpiece, literally predicting universal love for it.
Everyone knows that the opera Carmen is a story about love. And it takes place in Spain. But what is most surprising is that Georges Bizet created the most Spanish opera having never been to Spain. And the opera “Carmen” itself has become a classic Spanish music. After all, Suite No. 2 is considered the best example of classical flamenco. The basic rhythm of this suite still serves as the basis for many flamenco works. And “March of the Toreodores” is considered the best passadoble. So, in fact, “Carmen” is the most Spanish, French opera.
Georges Bizet's opera Carmen was first presented to audiences in 1875. The plot of the opera is taken from the work of Prospero Merimee. At the center of the events is the gypsy Carmen, whose actions and lifestyle affect and change the fates of those who find themselves next to her. Filled with the spirit of freedom and denial of laws, Carmen enjoys the attention of men without thinking about their feelings.
In Russia, the first production of the opera took place at the Mariinsky Theater, and subsequently went around all famous theater institutions. All 4 acts of the production are filled with action, bright colors and natural feelings. The audience fell in love with the opera precisely because of the abundance of passions, without pathos and tall shapes, because over the course of 2 hours we observe a story from the lives of ordinary people who could not curb their desires. Although 100 years ago the opera was recognized as vulgar and ugly, and was highly discouraged by all famous printed publications. Thanks to the media storm of the time, the opera was seen by many people, if only out of curiosity. It is impossible to imagine a better advertisement. The audience liked Carmen, and to this day the story of the free life and accidental death of a gypsy attracts a lot of people to the theater
Brief summary of the opera.
Carmen is a beautiful, hot-tempered, temperamental gypsy who works in a cigarette factory. Because of a fight that broke out among factory workers, Carmena was arrested and brought to the police station. There she languishes awaiting a warrant, and Sergeant Jose guards her. The gypsy was able to fall in love with him and persuade him to release him. Jose at that time had a fiancée, a good position and a single mother, but his meeting with Carmen turned his whole life upside down. He lets her go, and loses his job and respect, becoming a simple soldier.
Carmen continues to have fun, visiting pubs and collaborating with smugglers. Along the way, he flirts with Escamillo, a famous handsome bullfighter. Jose, who raised his hand against his boss in the heat of a quarrel, has no choice but to stay with his Carmen and her friends, who are illegally transporting goods. He loves her madly, he has long forgotten about his bride, but Carmen changes his feelings according to his mood, and Jose is bored with her. After all, Escamillo appeared on the horizon, rich and famous, who promised to fight in her honor. The ending is predictable and tragic. No matter how Jose begs Carmen to come back to him, she says in harsh terms that it’s all over. Then Jose kills his beloved so that no one gets her
Final scene death against the backdrop of a public performance by Escamillo, who himself has already lost interest in Carmen, is the most memorable scene of the entire opera.
(1838-1875) French composer
Georges Bizet was born on October 25, 1838 in Paris. The future composer received his first music lessons from his musician parents. The boy's outstanding abilities were revealed early: at the age of four he already knew music, and at nine he entered the Paris Conservatory. The boy's phenomenal hearing, memory, brilliant performing and composing abilities delighted his teachers. Bizet wanted to become a universal musician and even practiced playing the organ.
Even then, his talent manifested itself in various areas musical creativity. While still at the conservatory, he composed a symphony, 3 operettas, several cantatas and overtures, as well as piano pieces (including a cycle of 12 pieces for 4 hands, “Children’s Games”). Soon Bizet brilliantly graduated from the Paris Conservatory, where he studied famous composers C. Gounod and F. Halévy.
The young musician repeatedly received prizes at competitions at the conservatory, and upon completion of the course in 1857, he became a laureate of a competition in Rome and was awarded the right to spend 3 years in Italy to improve his music. For him it was a time of intense creative search. Bizet tried himself in various musical genres: wrote a symphonic suite, cantata, operetta, piano pieces, romances.
But, as it turned out, musical theater became his true calling. True, the path to creating your own original works was not easy. Upon returning from Italy, Bizet composed the opera “The Pearl Fishers” (1863) on an exotic plot telling about love drama Leila and Nadir, and then “The Beauty of Perth” (1867) based on the novel by Walter Scott. Both works were received coolly, but the composer did not give up his search. “I’m going through a crisis,” he said in those years.
New impressions caused by the events of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and the Paris Commune led to the creation of the lyrical opera “Djamile” (1872) based on the plot from the poem “Namuna” by A. de Musset. This opera marked the beginning of the composer's period of creative maturity.
Following the then fashionable passion for oriental exoticism, Bizet conveyed in his works the deep psychological experiences of the characters and showed himself to be a master of romantic opera. At the same time, he composed music for A. Daudet’s drama “The Arlesian”. Rich in colorful folk paintings, truthful and bright images heroes, it paved the way for the opera Carmen, which was Bizet’s greatest creative achievement and at the same time became his swan song.
Bizet began working on Carmen in 1873. Its plot is borrowed from the novella French writer Prosper Merimee, and the libretto was written by experienced writers A. Melyak and L. Halevi. Bizet boldly departed from the original and created a completely new work. “Carmen” is interesting not only for its realistic plot and romantic intrigue, but also for its bright, deep, dramatic music. The composer made the images of Merimee’s heroes deeper and more original, giving each of them a sharpened form musical characteristic. That is why “Carmen” still does not leave the world opera stage. According to P. I. Tchaikovsky, “Carmen” is destined to become the most popular opera in the world.”
Its premiere took place in March 1875. But, despite the fact that wonderful singers sang in the play, the production failed. Bright, expressive music was too unusual for the Parisian public. Bizet was shocked by what happened, because he had no doubt of success. Sudden illness broke him, and just three months after the premiere of Carmen, on June 3, 1875, he died in the Paris suburb of Bougival.
There is a singing teacher in the family. He was registered under the name Alexandre-Cesar-Leopold Bizet, but at baptism he received the name Georges, by which he was later known. Bizet entered the Paris Conservatoire two weeks before he turned ten.
In 1857 he shared a prize with Charles Lecoq in a competition organized by Jacques Offenbach for the operetta " Wonderful doctor" and received the Rome Prize, which allowed him to live in Rome for three years, composing music and pursuing his education. The reporting work (the writing of which was mandatory for all laureates of the Rome Prize) was the opera “Don Procopio”. With the exception of a period spent in Rome, Bizet lived his entire life in Paris.
After a stay in Rome, he returned to Paris, where he devoted himself to writing music. In 1863 he wrote the opera The Pearl Fishers. During the same period, he wrote "The Beauty of Perth", music for Alphonse Daudet's play "The Arlesian" and a piece for piano "Child's Games". He also wrote the romantic opera Djamile, usually regarded as the predecessor of Carmen. Bizet himself forgot about it, and the symphony was not remembered until 1935, when it was discovered in the library of the conservatory. When first presented, this work received praise from the early romantic period. The symphony is remarkable for its stylistic similarity to the music of Franz Schubert, which was almost unknown in Paris at the time, except perhaps for a few songs. In 1874-1875, the composer worked on Carmen. The opera premiered at the Opera-Comique theater in Paris on March 3, 1875 and ended in failure. Bizet did not complete his Second Symphony, Rome.
Essays (full list)
Operas
- "Anastasi and Dmitry"
- “Don Procopio” (opera buffa, in Italian, 1858-1859, staged 1906, Monte Carlo), also exists orchestrated by Leonid Feigin
- “Love the Artist” (French L’Amour peintre, libretto by Bizet, after J.B. Molière, 1860, not finished, not published)
- "Guzla Emir" ( comic opera, 1861-1862)
- “The Pearl Seekers” (French Les Pecheurs de perles, 1862-63, staged 1863, Théâtre Lyric, Paris)
- “Ivan the Terrible” (French: Ivan le Terrible, 1865, staged 1946, Mühringen Castle, Württemberg)
- "Nicholas Flamel" (1866?, fragments)
- “The Beauty of Perth” (French: La Jolie fille du Perth, 1866, staged 1867, “Théâtre Lyricique”, Paris)
- “The Cup of the King of Thule” (French: La Coupe du roi de Thule, 1868, fragments)
- "Clarissa Garlow" (comic opera, 1870-1871, fragments)
- "Calandal" (comic opera, 1870), Griselda (comic opera, 1870-71, unfinished)
- “Djamile” (comic opera, 1871, staged 1872, Opera Comique theater, Paris)
- "Don Rodrigo" (1873, unfinished)
- “Carmen” (dramatic opera, 1873-1874, staged 1875, Opera Comique theater, Paris; recitatives written by E. Guiraud, after Bizet’s death, for production in Vienna, 1875)
Operettas
- Anastasia and Dmitry
- Malbrough is going on a campaign (Malbrough s’en va-t-en guerre, 1867, Athenaeum theater, Paris; Bizet owns the 1st act, the other 3 acts are by I. E. Legui, E. Jonas, L. Delibes)
- Sol-si-re-pif-pan (1872, Chateau d'eau Theater, Pa.
- Angel and Tobia (L’Ange et Tobia, circa 1855-1857)
- Héloïse de Montfort (1855-1857)
- The Enchanted Knight (Le Chevalier enchant?, 1855-57)
- Erminia (1855-1857)
- The Return of Virginia (Le Retour de Virginie, circa 1855-1857)
- David (1856)
- Clovis and Clotilde (1857)
- Doctor Miracle (1857)
- Song to the Age (Carmen seculaire, after Horace, 1860)
- The Marriage of Prometheus (Les Noces de Promethee, 1867)
The era of romanticism.
1. Biography. early years
4. During the Paris Commune
Opera Comique theater in Paris.
The events of the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune frightened him as a representative of the bourgeoisie, but they withered him from his aspirations for truthful, realistic art. Bizet was already married and moved during dangerous times to a calmer area of Paris.
In the 70s - the period of Bizet's creative maturity - the opera Djamila (based on the poem "Namuna" by A. Musset, 1871) and music for the drama "La Arlesienne" (1872) by A. Daudet were created. Having mastered the rhythmic and intonation features of folk tunes, almost without resorting to quotations, Bizet reliably recreated the character of Oriental and Provençal music in these works. These scores are distinguished by masterful mastery expressive means orchestra. Two orchestral suites from the music to Les Arlesiennes are very popular (1 created by the author, performed in 1872, 2 by composer E. Giraud, performed in 1885).
5. Epic with the opera "Carmen"
The composer's desire for democratization opera art, the desire to get rid of theatrical cliches and conventions received its vivid expression in the opera “Carmen” (based on the short story by P. Merimee, 1874). The opera's libretto was created by Ludovic Halévy, the cousin of Georges Bizet's wife, whom he married the same year. Most of the music was written in two months in the suburbs of Paris - Bougival, where the family had a country house.
The main role was assigned to the singer Galli-Marya. Celestine Galli-Marier was not satisfied with the habanera and the composer reworked it several times. Georges Bizet had never been to Spain, so he used Spanish dance music and its themes. He “borrowed” the theme of the habanera from the work of the Spanish composer Sebastian Herod, which was then a common practice. But he made it into a musical work that has independent value.
The opera was written by order of the management of the Opera Comique theater. The small theater then served the theatrical needs of the respectable and narrow-minded bourgeoisie. In addition, the theater became a place for informal meetings of parents, who were looking for wealthy grooms for their daughters. Even their attitude towards operas was regulated by bourgeois tastes. Heroes must be of noble birth, noble to lead, suffering beautifully, they could die only for a significant purpose.
For the first time in French opera stage Representatives of the “lower classes” spoke - a cigar factory worker and a mercenary soldier, the experiences and passions of people of low, ignoble origin were truthfully revealed. The opera embodies the Spanish national musical flavor, the richness and variety of folk scenes, and the intense course of dramatic events. At the premiere at the Opera Comedian (1875), Carmen was received sharply negatively by the bourgeois public; they saw neither noble characters nor noble behavior between lovers. Rejection new opera and the bourgeois indignation was supported by the bourgeois press of that time. Newspapers published articles calling the opera a “social dump.” The wild gypsy and the soldier, whose behavior bordered on pathology, could not teach the nobility of respectable daughters from bourgeois families. In addition, Carmen, who is still married, dies for the sake of freedom - her own feelings...
6. Last years and death
P.I. Tchaikovsky wrote in that “this is a masterpiece in the full sense of the word.8. Major works
Operas and operettas
- La prtresse, operetta (1854)
- "Miracle Doctor" (Le docteur Miracle), opera buff (1857)
- "Don Procopio" (Don Procopio) opera buff (1859)
- "Pearl Finders" (Les pcheurs de perles), opera (1863)
- "Ivan IV", grand opera (secondary)
- "Perth Beauty" (La jolie fille de Perth), opera (1867)
- "Numa", opera (1871)
- "Arlesian" (L'Arlsienne),"music for the play" (1872)
- "Jamila" (Djamileh) one-act opera (1872)
- "Carmen", opera (1875)
Symphonic music
- Symphony No. 1 in C major (1855)
- Symphony No. 2 "Roma" (destroyed by the author)
- Suite "Arlesienne" (from Bizet's music for the play Arlesienne, 1872)
- Suite from the opera "Carmen"
Other
- choirs with orchestra and a cappella;
- pieces for piano,
- piano duets;
- romances, songs;