Georges Bizet with a poster image for his opera Carmen (Collage by Risa Ryan)
Georges Bizet (1838–1875) lived only one year longer than Mozart, and his music shared the Mozartian gifts of melody, clarity, and grace. The young composer’s desire to fulfill that promise—and the lure of Parisian decadence—remained competing forces throughout his life. Using CD and video recordings, Saul Lilienstein explores the many facets of Bizet’s genius, spanning his concert music, symphonic compositions, early works for the theater, and his operatic masterpiece, Carmen—illustrating there is much to be discovered in the life of Georges Bizet.
9:30–10:45 a.m. The Precocious Student in Paris
Bizet was indebted to Charles Gounod, who was his mentor and guide. Examine concert music Bizet composed for the voice and for the orchestra, from the earliest songs and symphonic works to Jeux d’enfants and the brilliant music of his L’Arliesienne suite.
11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Early Works for the Theater
Hear excerpts from Les pecheurs des perles—an opera once forgotten, now renowned for its melodic beauty—and La jolie fille de Perth, a treasure still waiting to be discovered.
12:15–1:30 p.m. Lunch (participants provide their own).
1:30–2:45 p.m. Carmen: The Genesis and Early Reception
Carmen premiered at the Opera Comique in Paris, where productions that mixed music, dance, and dialogue were the norm. Yet its characters and content shocked audiences expecting an opera with a moral message. Only later, when Bizet adapted the work into the fully sung-through grand opera style, did Carmen receive acclaim. Compare excerpts from both versions to follow its development.
3–4:15 p.m. Everyone’s Carmen
Consider the work’s influence on Italian verismo opera, the concert transcriptions, flamenco-inspired versions in Spain, and new interpretations reflecting this masterwork’s continuing relevance in the contemporary world.
Other Connections
Bizet’s operatic Carmen has been reincarnated as a singing (and dancing) temptress in a variety of forms over the years. Oscar Hammerstein II’s Carmen Jones set the story in the WWII-era American South. The film of Antonio Gades’ flamenco version follows the downfall of a choreographer seduced by his star, and Beyoncé gave the character a contemporary spin in MTV’s 2001 Carmen: A Hip-Hopera.
