NEW YORK - Despite the fact that composer Georges Bizet, wished to “do nothing chic” or trendy in his compositions, his famous opera “Carmen” brought new depth to French opera at the time.

George Bizet’s desire to create something lasting rather than avant-garde may have stemmed from the fact that he wrote music with the avid approval of his family rather than in retaliation against them. The only child of musical parents, Bizet, born in Paris in 1838, lived in a happy home with music at its center- so much so that his parents hid books from the youngster because he had such a strong interest in reading and they wanted to prevent him from neglecting his music. Their strategies worked for he was admitted to the Conservatory the age of nine. At 17 he was already a great musician, and before he was 20 he had won the prize of the best student in Rome.

Bizet was already a well known as a composer when he read Prosper Merimee’s novel Carmen. Merimee had traveled widely in Spain and had heard many strange tales of Spanish life, most of them true. One of the most thrilling of these stories was about a gypsy girl named Carmen whose violent life and death inspired Merimee to write his famous novel. Strongly impressed by this book, Bizet decided he must set it to music.

The contemporary French composers of the day which influenced Bizet to varying degrees included Charles Gounod, Jules Massenet and the German born Jacques Offenbach. All of these were opera composers to some extent, though often writing light or comic opera. In comparison, Bizet's operas and particularly Carmen tended to stand out as highly dramatic and dealing in deeper emotions.

Moreover, in Paris during the early 19th century two distinct styles of opera were performed in two different theaters— serious opera, which was sung throughout and lighter opera or opera comique, in which the dialogue was also spoken. Head of the Opera-Comique, Camile du Locle committed himself to producing Carmen despite the fact that his theater catered to family audiences, and it received its first performance at the Opera Comique on March 3, 1875.

Understandably, with its themes of sexual obsession and the brutal murder at its end, the French public deemed Carmen immoral. Bizet pronounced it “a definite and a hopeless flop” and became ill. Three months after premiere, on June 3, 1875, Bizet died of cardiac complications.

Yet in only a few years “Carmen” was to be played all over Europe. Tchaikovsky adored the opera, and Brahms said that he would have gone to the ends of the earth to embrace the composer of Carmen.

The opera is set in Spain around 1820. At the start of the story, Micaela, a small town girl is looking for a soldier Don Jose, who is sworn to marry her. Carmen, a beautiful Spanish gypsy girl, constantly looking for new love, sees Don Jose and tosses him a rose. He places the rose near his heart. They fall in love. He soon forgets his promise to his mother to marry Micaela.

Carmen is arrested because she hurt another girl in a fight in the cigarette factory where she works. Don Jose is ordered to remove her to prison. She sings the famous “Habanera,” and Don Jose decides to free her. He is then arrested for allowing Carmen to escape from him. Later he becomes a deserter from the army and joins Carmen with her smuggler friends. He transforms from simple and honorable soldier to a murdering brigand.

All is well for Don Jose until toreador Escamillo appears with the famous aria: ”Toreador Song.” Carmen chooses Escamillo as her new love and breaks Don Jose’s heart. Don Jose begs Carmen to return to him, but she refuses because she doesn’t love him anymore. Carmen is always honest with herself to the point that she would rather die than be false to herself. His life in shatters due to this passion, Don Jose kills Carmen. At the end he cries that his life is also ended.

The public knows Bizet primarily for Carmen, but his The Pearl Fishers examines the devastation wrought by passionate love as well. The Pearl Fishers had its world premiere in Theatre Lyrique Paris on September 29, 1863.

The story opens on the island of Ceylon. Zurga is the chief of the tribe of pearl-diving Indians. His boyhood friend, Nadir, returns to the island after a long absence and they remember their former vow when they were both in love with a beautiful girl, Leila. They swear once again to their lifelong friendship and never to fall in love with the same girl.

Leila, High Brahma Princess, and High Priest Nourabad return to the island. Leila must remain veiled throughout her vigil in the temple. But Nadir looks for and finds Leila and they declare their vow of love once again. The High Priest discovers the couple and, joined by a crowd, decide that the couple should be punished. Leila and Nadir appear before Zurga who agrees to free them. He sets the village on fire and awaits his fate at the hands of the raging villagers.

Both Carmen and The Pearl Fishers are available to the opera public at the New York City Opera in March and April.

Some material from: www.miles.co.uk.