What was the name of the composer Bizet? Many scholars will immediately answer: Georges. This is both true and not entirely true. Name Georges great musician received at baptism, but in fact his name was Alexander Cesar Leopold.
Childhood and early years
The future composer Bizet was born on October 25, 1838 in the capital of France, Paris. His father, Adolphe Bizet, made a living as a hairdresser and directly making wigs. A little later, Adolf began giving music lessons, although he had no primary education in the field of art. Georges' mother, Aimee, worked as a pianist, and her brother François Delsarte became famous as talented singer and a vocal teacher who performed at the courts of Napoleon III. Georges was the only child in the family. From an early age, he learned to play the piano from his mother, demonstrating amazing abilities, and already on October 9, 1848, two weeks before his tenth birthday, he entered the Paris Music Conservatory. It was in this educational institution that the talented young man composed his first famous compositions.
Music career
In November 1855, at the age of seventeen, the young composer Bizet wrote his first symphony as homework. Until 1933, it remained unknown and was subsequently discovered quite by accident in the archives of the library of the Paris Conservatory. This symphony was first played in 1935, and it instantly received universal recognition as a masterpiece written by a young, but capable and spiritual musician.
In subsequent years, the young composer participated in various creative competitions, striving to win cash prizes and prestigious prizes, and eventually won the competition of opera writers organized by Offenbach. Georges shared first place and a prize of 1200 francs with Charles Lecoq. In several other competitions, Bizet had already won an impressive grant, on which he lived comfortably for the next five years. Of these, he spent the first two years in Rome, a year in Germany and the last two years in Paris.
In his prime
In July 1860, after Georges had left Rome and was still traveling around Italy, he came up with the idea of writing a symphony in four movements, in which each fragment would represent the musical embodiment of an Italian city - respectively Rome, Venice, Florence and Naples . However, that same year, composer Bizet learned that his mother was seriously ill and was forced to end his Italian travels. In September 1860 he returned to Paris; a year later, the musician’s mother died. It was not until 1866 that he finally wrote the first version of the completed symphony. Until 1871, he adjusted his musical composition in every possible way - and suddenly died himself, without having time to bring the creation inspired by Italy to the ideal. In 1880 it was published under the title "Roman Symphony".
What did Bizet the composer actually become famous for? "Carmen" is an opera written based on the short story of the same name French writer Prospera Merimee became his most significant and famous work. Main role According to the musician's plan, it was intended for mezzo-soprano. The author wrote most of the opera in the summer of 1873, but it remained unfinished until the end of the next year, 1874. Probably due to problems in his personal life and separation from his wife for two whole months. Although listeners did not initially receive "Carmen" very warmly, it remains best work Bizet.
Personal life
The composer Bizet married his late teacher's daughter, Geneviève Halévy, on June 3, 1869. When the Franco-Prussian War began in July of the following year, the musician, like many of his other creative compatriots, joined the French. Due to the war and post-war chaos, Georges suspended work on many works. On July 10, 1871, Genevieve gave birth to Georges' first and only child, a son named Jacques.
Death
The composer Bizet, whose biography is known to every professional musician today, died of a heart attack at the age of thirty-six. There were rumors that Elie-Miriam Delaborde, allegedly the illegitimate son of Charles-Valentin Alkan, could be indirectly responsible for the death of Georges, since shortly before the death of the latter, the two men staged a swimming competition, after which Bizet caught a severe cold and came down with a fever. At that time, murder and suicide were even suspected, since a wound similar to a gunshot was found on the left side of the composer’s neck. Historians, however, believe that this is what a lymph node looked like, which, due to a serious illness and a heart attack, swollen and ruptured. Bizet died on the sixth anniversary of his own marriage, exactly three months after the first performance of Carmen. His death came suddenly just when he began to find his own “adult”, unique style. Georges Bizet was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris next to no less famous musicians Chopin and Rossini.
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 Djamile (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, representatives of the “lower classes” - a cigar factory worker and a mercenary soldier - performed on the French opera stage; 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;
Talented child
On October 25, 1838, the future world-famous man was born in Paris. famous composer Georges Bizet.
He grew up in musical family(father taught vocals, mother was a professional pianist), so from the very early childhood Georges was surrounded by music.
His parents were his first teachers. By the age of four, the child already knew well musical notation, played the piano. Parents persistently worked musical education boy, leaving him no time to play with his peers.
His successes were so significant that even before he was ten years old, Bizet entered the capital's conservatory. The young talent wrote his first musical compositions at the age of 13. In the morning, his mother took Georges to the conservatory, and after lessons she took him home.
A short break for lunch - and again music lessons in a separate room, where he was locked and where the boy played the piano until he was completely exhausted.
However, studying was not particularly difficult for Georges. After graduating from the conservatory at the age of 19, he wrote the cantata Clovis and Clotilde, for which he received the Grand Prix de Rome. By the way, no one has ever received such an award at such a young age.
First love and first hardships
In Italy, Georges met cheerful girl Giuseppa, fell in love with her to the point of intoxication. He thought that by writing a couple of comic operas he would earn enough to provide a comfortable life with his beloved. But then the news came that my mother fell ill.
Georges, leaving home, promised the girl to return when her mother recovered. For her treatment, the young composer tried his best to earn money: he transcribed the scores of operas by other composers for the piano, for which he was regularly paid. But there was still not enough money.
The sick mother, who so dreamed of seeing her Georges rich and famous, tirelessly repeated that he should write a symphony that would glorify him and lead him out of poverty. He wrote, the pile of drafts grew, but there was less and less time left, and his debts grew. Mother was fading away. A whole year of hard work to save his mother did not bring the expected result. The mother died without ever seeing her son famous.
Passion for theater
Musical theater has long attracted Bizet. He wrote a lot for the stage. But the criticism was not particularly kind to the young composer. He wrote the comic opera Don Procopio and several orchestral plays, but all this was not appreciated. Finally, in 1863, a certain shift occurred: the premiere of Bizet's opera The Pearl Fishers was noticed by critics, but without much enthusiasm.
The opera was performed on stage only 18 times, and then it was excluded from the repertoire. And again everything returned to normal: persistent and unsuccessful work on sleepless nights, other people’s scores, miserable music lessons.
Lack of money and despair. Opera diva – Mogador
Getting to know opera singer Mogador gave Georges Bizet a violent passion, which did not bring either happiness or even advancement in his career. She was a celebrity in Paris. She was known not only as opera diva Madame Lionel, but also as the writer Celeste Venard and as socialite Countess de Chabrilan.
She was a lovely 42-year-old widow and the owner of the capital's musical theater. The 28-year-old Bizet was consumed by their mutual passion. But it was this woman who brought a lot of mental anguish to Georges: she turned out to be capricious and absurd, constantly causing scandals and terrible scenes. And she no longer needed the young man’s love.
One day, in a fit of anger, Mogador poured a tub of ice water on Georges. The young man went out into the street. It was winter. He caught a cold. He became seriously ill for a long time: he worked in bed and practically lost his voice. His relationship with Mogador ended, but mental suffering, as well as physical, poisoned his life for a long time.
Marriage
In the spring of 1869, in the house of his teacher, Georges met his matured daughter Genevieve. Their romance developed slowly. Failure with the opera "The Beauty of Perth" (1866). Illness, loss of self-confidence, lack of money - all this devastated the composer’s soul. But one day Georges decided to propose to Genevieve.
At first, the young wife surrounded Bizet with love and care, creating comfortable conditions for him to work. Georges worked tirelessly: he composed music and still gave lessons. Soon Genevieve got tired of this life. One day her husband found her at home with her lover.
Opera "Carmen" (1874)
Georges Bizet's swan song was the opera "Carmen", where the heroine is so similar to the passionate Mogador. At the premiere in the hall of the Paris Opera, Bizet was frozen with horror: was it really a shameful failure this time too? The public's reaction was lukewarm. Georges realized that no one appreciated his masterpiece again.
Genevieve left the theater after the first act. Crushed by yet another failure, the composer, in a fit of despair, threw himself into the Seine. This time his illness turned out to be fatal: fever, deafness, paralysis of arms and legs, heart attack - and death on June 3. 1875. He was only 37 years old.
He was not destined to see himself and his “Carmen” in the rays of the enchanting success that came 4 months after his death in Vienna Opera. All the once unrecognized works of Georges Bizet, and first of all his “Carmen,” will forever be among the most brilliant creations of musical classics.
The world-famous French composer Georges Beze was born into a simple Parisian family on October 25, 1838. The boy was named after three names of great commanders at once - Alexander-Caesar-Leopold. Already at baptism he received the name Georges, which went down in history.
His parents did not have much musical talent - his father Adolf was a singing teacher, his mother Ema was a piano teacher. But they were able to discern and develop their son’s gift. Already at the age of 10, still very young, he was accepted to study at the Paris Conservatory. It was there that Beze wrote his first famous works.
Alexander-Caesar-Leopold lived a short (only 37 years) but eventful life and meetings.
The golden time of childhood and youth
The composer had virtually no childhood. From the age of four he knew all the notes and played the piano. According to parental instructions, studying music took up most of the day. And the boy simply had no free time left for games and pranks with his peers.
When Meringue entered educational institution, his day was planned in advance: early rise, breakfast and classes at the conservatory. Mom always accompanied and greeted him. After lessons - dinner with the family, and again a date with the staff and keys. Georges was locked in his room alone with the instrument. The music playing continued until late at night, until he fell asleep from fatigue.
The boy cried from resentment and anger, tried to resist his parents’ instructions, although he himself saw how much his talent was revealed after hard work in class.
The years spent at the conservatory were fruitful for the composer. He had inimitable creative intuition, phenomenal musical ear and memory. He was hardworking in class and mastered the subtleties with ease. musical art. At this time several world written famous compositions. One of which is “ Symphony in C major».
Seventeen-year-old Meringue created his work in a little more than two weeks as homework. Lightness, classical refinement of form and lively expression characterize the creation of the young talent. It became known after his death. In the mid-20th century, American choreographer J. Balanchine staged theatrical productions based on the music of the symphony.
Already in his last year they talked about him as a promising composer. The one-act operetta “Doctor Miracle” is Georges’ first professional success. He wrote it specifically for the Jacques Offenbach competition, where he shared first place and 1200 francs with Charles Lecoco. And here is the graduation ceremony at the Paris Conservatory. He is 19 years old, and he has already become the youngest laureate of the Grand Rome Prize. The cantata “Clovis and Clotilde” brought the author an impressive grant to study in Italy and receive a scholarship from the state.
Rome, inspiration, love...
Italy will win Beze's heart with its majestic architecture - and at the same time will disappoint - “This is a lost country for art.” The young guy greedily absorbs the colorful smell of Italian life, enthusiastically writes letters to his parents about his travels. He will spend three years there (1858-1860) honing his skills, writing a cycle of pieces for orchestra (part of the suite “Memories of Rome”). As the composer would later write, “these were mine best years" - exquisite cuisine, rich history of the city, culture and first love...
Georges never considered himself handsome. He's overweight, curly, and shortsighted. Do girls like such men? He became timid, blushing, at every glance from the opposite sex. The smiling coquette Giuseppa captivated the virtuoso pianist with her easy-going nature. But the lovers were not destined to be together - bad news came from Paris.
Hard times
The young man left Italy as soon as he received a letter from home - his mother was seriously ill. There was practically no money. He and his father took on any job - they mostly gave private lessons.
The capital's musical community greeted him coolly. No one wanted to get involved with a young pianist without authority and name. In desperation, Georges turns to the then popular Parisian publisher Antoine Choudan, who gives him the opportunity to make money. Now the virtuoso pianist is busy correcting and transcribing other people's opera scores, writing entertaining music and... getting tired like hell. In one of the letters he will write: “I am exhausted... I am torn to pieces.”
A year after his return, his mother dies. Ahead for many years need and oblivion. Meringue wants to create, write music, but he has absolutely no time left for this. Hard, low-paying work takes up too much time.
A protracted creative crisis was interrupted new love pianist - Genevieve Halévy, daughter of his late teacher. They would marry in June 1869, and early the following summer Georges would join the French National Guard to fight against Prussia. After his return, his beloved wife will give him an heir - his son Jacques.
Passionate Carmen
“Carmen” has been performed at all known venues throughout its existence. opera scenes peace. From 1874-1875, Beze worked on the libretto and composed music. The prototype of the main character was his old love, who broke his heart - the beautiful Mogador. Their romance could be called a misalliance; he was 28, and she was already 42. The couple broke up due to the woman’s temperament.
The opera premiered in March 1975. Then “Carmen” was received coldly, the music was considered too difficult to perceive, and the plot was primitive. Georges, in a fit of indignation, rushes into ice water Seine. In the morning the composer will fall into delirium with a fever. In three months he will die of a heart attack. Meringue did not live to see the triumph of his work at the Vienna Opera for only 4 months. The pianist's imminent death was considered an irreparable loss for the musical community.
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: Already 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, the best work was the symphony he created at the age of 17, which is successfully performed to this day.
IN last year While studying, Bizet composed a cantata on an ancient legendary story, 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 biggest 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 presenting 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 in those days.
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 the daughter of his teacher, 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 theater production Comic opera, 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 the famous composer Georges Bizet worked on the opera Carmen. 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 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 Toreodors” 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 opera fell in love with the audience precisely because of the abundance of passions, without pathos and tall forms, 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
Summary operas.
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 her feelings according to her 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.