Carmen - Wikipedia. Carmen (French pronunciation: . The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Hal. The opera was first performed at the Op. Bizet died suddenly after the 3. Carmen has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon; the . It is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of Don Jos. The depictions of proletarian life, immorality, and lawlessness, and the tragic death of the main character on stage, broke new ground in French opera and were highly controversial. After the premiere, most reviews were critical, and the French public was generally indifferent. Carmen initially gained its reputation through a series of productions outside France, and was not revived in Paris until 1. Later commentators have asserted that Carmen forms the bridge between the tradition of op. After the composer's death, the score was subject to significant amendment, including the introduction of recitative in place of the original dialogue; there is no standard edition of the opera, and different views exist as to what versions best express Bizet's intentions. The opera has been recorded many times since the first acoustical recording in 1. Background. The capital's two main state- funded opera houses. Although this failed and was withdrawn after 1. It was Bizet who first proposed an adaptation of Prosper M. Teste. Chorus: Soldiers, young men, cigarette factory girls, Escamillo's supporters, Gypsies, merchants and orange sellers, police, bullfighters, people, urchins. Cast details are as provided by Mina Curtiss (Bizet and His World, 1. The stage designs are credited to Charles Ponchard. On the right, a door to the tobacco factory. At the back, a bridge. On the left, a guardhouse. A group of soldiers relaxes in the square, waiting for the changing of the guard and commenting on the passers- by (. She declines, saying she will return later. Carmen enters and sings her provocative habanera on the untameable nature of love (. The men plead with her to choose a lover, and after some teasing she throws a flower to Don Jos. He reads that his mother wants him to return home and marry Mica. Zuniga, the officer of the guard, learns that Carmen has attacked a woman with a knife. When challenged, Carmen answers with mocking defiance (. Confused yet mesmerised, Jos. Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Merc. Carmen is delighted to learn of Jos. Outside, a chorus and procession announces the arrival of the toreador Escamillo (. Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1922 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat. Home; Opera; Carmen; Overview. Carmen—herself a pawn of fate—lures a naive soldier and a bullfighter into a destructive rivalry for her affection, while the beguiling Habanera and Gypsy Song have their way with the. Invited inside, he introduces himself with the . Lillas Pastia hustles the crowds and the soldiers away. When only Carmen, Frasquita and Merc. After the smugglers leave, Jos. Carmen treats him to a private exotic dance (. Unconvinced, Carmen demands he show his love by leaving with her. Having attacked a superior officer, Jos. The women depart to suborn the customs officers who are watching the locality. On hearing a gunshot she hides in fear; it is Jos. As Escamillo leaves he invites everyone to his next bullfight in Seville. As he departs, vowing he will return, Escamillo is heard in the distance, singing the toreador's song. Act 4. Act 4: A square in Seville. A square in Seville. At the back, the walls of an ancient amphitheatre.
Zuniga, Frasquita and Merc! Escamillo enters with Carmen, and they express their mutual love (. As Escamillo goes into the arena, Frasquita warns Carmen that Jos. Alone, she is confronted by the desperate Jos! While he pleads vainly for her to return to him, cheers are heard from the arena. He then stabs her, and as Escamillo is acclaimed by the crowds, Carmen dies. In the original, events are spread over a much longer period of time, and much of the main story is narrated by Jos. Carmen has a husband called Garcia, whom Jos. At that point, according to Bizet's biographer Winton Dean, . De Leuven had vociferously opposed the entire notion of presenting so risqu. He was assured by Hal. Furthermore, the gypsies would be presented as comic characters, and Carmen's death would be overshadowed at the end by . De Leuven reluctantly agreed, but his continuing hostility towards the project led to his resignation from the theatre early in 1. He completed the draft of the composition. He was pleased with the result, informing a friend: . There is no definitive edition, and there are differences among musicologists about which version represents the composer's true intentions. He also provided a new opening line for the . While each is presented quite differently from M. They are more akin to the verismo style that would find fuller expression in the works of Puccini. Dean describes him in act 3 as a trapped animal who refuses to leave his cage even when the door is opened for him, ravaged by a mix of conscience, jealousy and despair. In the final act his music assumes a grimness and purposefulness that reflects his new fatalism: . Her capriciousness, fearlessness and love of freedom are all musically represented: . Schonberg likens Carmen to . She would rather die than be false to herself. This has deterred some of opera's most distinguished exponents; Maria Callas, though she recorded the part, never performed it on stage. Macdonald suggests that outside the French repertoire, Richard Strauss's Salome and Alban Berg's Lulu . Press speculation favoured Zulma Bouffar, who was perhaps the librettists' preferred choice. She had sung leading roles in many of Offenbach's operas, but she was unacceptable to Bizet and was turned down by du Locle as unsuitable. She refused the part when she learned that she would be required to die on stage. He would later become a baritone, and in 1. Zurga in the Covent Garden premiere of Les p. Mapleson thought her . However, she married and left the stage altogether in 1. Mapleson's considerable cash inducements to return. The first part of act 2 also went well, but after the toreador's song there was, Hal. The more conservative critics complained about . Among the few supportive critics was the poet Th. It was his wedding anniversary. That night's performance was cancelled; the tragic circumstances brought a temporary increase in public interest during the brief period before the season ended. For this version, first staged on 2. October 1. 87. 5, Bizet's friend Ernest Guiraud replaced the original dialogue with recitatives, to create a . Guiraud also reorchestrated music from Bizet's L'Arl. The latter reportedly saw the opera 2. In February 1. 87. Brussels at La Monnaie; it returned there the following year, with Galli- Mari. On 1. 7 June 1. 87. Carmen was produced in London, at Her Majesty's Theatre, where Minnie Hauk began her long association with the part of Carmen. A parallel London production at Covent Garden, with Adelina Patti, was cancelled when Patti withdrew. The successful Her Majesty's production, sung in Italian, had an equally enthusiastic reception in Dublin. On 2. 3 October 1. American premiere, at the New York Academy of Music, and in the same year was introduced to Saint Petersburg. In August 1. 88. 1 the singer wrote to Bizet's widow to report that Carmen's Spanish premiere, in Barcelona, had been . Carvalho was roundly condemned by the critics for offering a travesty of what had come to be regarded as a masterpiece of French opera; nevertheless, this version was acclaimed by the public and played to full houses. In October Carvalho yielded to pressure and revised the production; he brought back Galli- Mari. The New York Times welcomed Bizet's . Thereafter Carmen was quickly incorporated into the Met's regular repertory. In February 1. 90. Enrico Caruso sang Jos. Afterwards he sat up until 3 am reading the reviews in the early editions of the following day's papers. Fritz Oeser's 1. 96. Dean's view is unsatisfactory. Oeser reintroduces material removed by Bizet during the first rehearsals, and ignores many of the late changes and improvements that the composer made immediately before the first performance. Dean places Bizet's realism in a different category from the verismo of Puccini and others; he likens the composer to Mozart and Verdi in his ability to engage his audiences with the emotions and sufferings of his characters. However, Dean insists that . The mock solemnities of the changing of the guard, and the flirtatious exchanges between the townsfolk and the factory girls, precede a mood change when a brief phrase from the fate motif announces Carmen's entrance. After her provocative habanera, with its persistent insidious rhythm and changes of key, the fate motif sounds in full when Carmen throws her flower to Jos. The tranquillity is shattered by the women's noisy quarrel, Carmen's dramatic re- entry and her defiant interaction with Zuniga. Newman describes it as . In the card scene, the lively duet for Frasquita and Merc. The music reflects their contrasting attitudes: Escamillo remains, says Newman, . Schirmer Inc., New York, 1. Giraud's 1. 87. 5 arrangement. Act 1. Prelude (orchestra)Sur la place chacun passe (Chorus of soldiers, Moral! Sur tes pas nous pressons! Si tu m'aimes, Carmen (Chorus of citizens, children, Escamillo, Carmen, Frasquita, Merc! Since then, many of the leading opera houses and artistes have recorded the work, in both studio and live performances. These include David Mc. Vicar's Glyndebourne production of 2. Royal Opera productions of 2. Francesca Zambello. Fantasia da camera super Carmen), is based on themes from Carmen. The films range across many languages and cultures, and have been created by prominent directors including Raoul Walsh (1. The story is transposed to 1. Chicago, and employs an all- black cast. Likewise, the melody from Manuel Garc. When the theme is used to represent Carmen, the orchestration is lighter, reflecting her . Retrieved 1. 1 March 2. Macdonald, Hugh. Retrieved 1. February 2. 01. 2. Bartlet, Elizabeth C. Retrieved 2. 9 March 2. Dean 1. 98. 0, pp. Mc. Clary, pp. 2. Dean 1. 96. 5, pp. Retrieved 2. 9 March 2. Forbes, Elizabeth. Retrieved 1 March 2. Retrieved 1 March 2. The Mapleson Memoirs, Volume I, Chapter XI.
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