Selections from Bizet’s “Carmen” Suites
Notes by TŌN bassist Jack Corcoran
George Bizet died in 1875, three months after the premiere of his opera Carmen, thinking he’d written one of the greatest failures in operatic history. The piece at first scandalized many in the audience, and received notorious reviews. It was commissioned by the Paris Opéra-Comique, which had specialized in presenting moralist pieces where virtue was celebrated. Carmen was a massive departure in the company’s hundred-year history. Its characters are unheroic and mostly come from the underclasses of society. Women smoke cigarettes publicly, get in physical fights, and openly flaunt their sexuality. The opera ends with a soldier murdering the title character out of unrequited love. It’s hard for us to imagine how unexpected that might have been to the initial listeners, many of whom decried its content as immoral and vulgar. Still, Carmen was not a total failure: on the night when Bizet died it had its 33rd performance, and after Vienna’s production in October 1875, it grew to world success. Carmen has become one of the most-performed operas, and its numbers are some of the most easily recognized.
The music of the opera was arranged by Bizet’s friend Ernest Guiraud into two orchestral suites (published in 1882 and 1887), from which we’ll be playing selections. For the Prelude that opens the first Carmen Suite, Guiraud took only the second part of the original opera’s Prelude, featuring what’s called the tragic motif of fate. It’s followed by Aragonaise, a lively Spanish dance, that sets the tone for the last act of the opera in bustling Seville. The sensual nature of the famous “Habanera”, where Carmen sings, “love is a rebellious bird that none can tame . . .” is totally emblematic of the protagonist, and was one of the offensive moments for the initial listeners. “The Song of the Toreador” expresses the extroverted and confident character of Escamillo, a charismatic bull fighter who pursues Carmen, just as vividly. The final selection is music from a dance that the characters Carmen, Frasquita, and Mercédès perform in Lillas Pastia’s tavern in the second act of the opera. You’re invited to stand up and dance!