Milestones of Musical Romanticism 7
M. Zachary Johnson
March 23, 2005
-Bizet's *Carmen*-
A masterpiece of the romantic stage is Bizet’s tuneful opera *Carmen. It was premiered at the Paris Opera Comique in 1875. It continued for 37 performances during its first season and has been performed there more than 3000 times. "Within a decade of Bizet's death, *Carmen* was acclaimed around the world. The main reasons were the tunes, which are infallibly vivacious and memorable, and the sexy story." (Swafford: The Vintage Guide to Classical Music)
Carmen, a sultry, passionate gypsy woman--a kind of Spanish siren--seduces a respectable soldier, Don Jose. His love for her turns out to be his undoing. He allows Carmen to escape from prison, and consequently serves 60 days in prison himself; he leaves his former lover, Micaela; after an incident over Carmen, he is forced to leave the military and join the smuggling gypsies. Carmen grows tired of Don Jose and becomes interested in the athlete who appears on the scene, the Toreador. Don Jose attempts to kill his rival in a knife fight, only to have Carmen save the Toreador's life and, when Don Jose leaves to attend to his ailing mother, take the rival's arm. When Don Jose returns, he pleads to Carmen to take him back, but she receives his advances with nothing but contempt. From offstage, we hear the crowd cheer the victory of the Toreador. Carmen begins to rush back into the theater and, in a fit of jealous rage and despair, Don Jose kills her.
This story is perfect for an opera because it is so emotionally charged. It provides ample opportunity for musical expression.
The musical numbers include: Carmen’s Habanera, with which she teases a group of men and first piques Don Jose’s interest; Carmen’s Seguidilla, with which she begins to win him over as he escorts her to prison; the “Bohemian Song” Carmen sings when Don Jose finally releases her; the famous “Toreador Song,” in which the athlete brags of his success in the bull-ring; a lively chorus welcoming the bullfighters as they march in; and the final duet between Don Jose and Carmen when he finds her on the arm of another man, as she rejects him, as his rage escalates and he ultimately kills her.
The overall musical influence we hear in the opera is flamenco music, the music of Spanish gypsies. Flamenco is vocal music for dancing, accompanied usually by strummed guitar, as well as percussive sounds such as foot stomping, hand clapping, finger snapping, and the sounds of castanets.
"In its Spanish setting and Spanish musical atmosphere... Carmen exemplifies a trait that runs throughout the whole Romantic period, namely exoticism.... The music of Carmen has an extraordinary rhythmic and melodic vitality; it is spare in texture and beautifully orchestrated, obtaining the utmost dramatic effect always with the most economical means." (Grout and Palisca, *A History of Western Music*)
To purchase *Carmen* on DVD or CD, and to see other recommendations in the "Milestones of Musical Romanticism" series visit:
http://www.tiadaily.com/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=995
A masterpiece of the romantic stage is Bizet’s tuneful opera *Carmen. It was premiered at the Paris Opera Comique in 1875. It continued for 37 performances during its first season and has been performed there more than 3000 times. "Within a decade of Bizet's death, *Carmen* was acclaimed around the world. The main reasons were the tunes, which are infallibly vivacious and memorable, and the sexy story." (Swafford: The Vintage Guide to Classical Music)
Carmen, a sultry, passionate gypsy woman--a kind of Spanish siren--seduces a respectable soldier, Don Jose. His love for her turns out to be his undoing. He allows Carmen to escape from prison, and consequently serves 60 days in prison himself; he leaves his former lover, Micaela; after an incident over Carmen, he is forced to leave the military and join the smuggling gypsies. Carmen grows tired of Don Jose and becomes interested in the athlete who appears on the scene, the Toreador. Don Jose attempts to kill his rival in a knife fight, only to have Carmen save the Toreador's life and, when Don Jose leaves to attend to his ailing mother, take the rival's arm. When Don Jose returns, he pleads to Carmen to take him back, but she receives his advances with nothing but contempt. From offstage, we hear the crowd cheer the victory of the Toreador. Carmen begins to rush back into the theater and, in a fit of jealous rage and despair, Don Jose kills her.
This story is perfect for an opera because it is so emotionally charged. It provides ample opportunity for musical expression.
The musical numbers include: Carmen’s Habanera, with which she teases a group of men and first piques Don Jose’s interest; Carmen’s Seguidilla, with which she begins to win him over as he escorts her to prison; the “Bohemian Song” Carmen sings when Don Jose finally releases her; the famous “Toreador Song,” in which the athlete brags of his success in the bull-ring; a lively chorus welcoming the bullfighters as they march in; and the final duet between Don Jose and Carmen when he finds her on the arm of another man, as she rejects him, as his rage escalates and he ultimately kills her.
The overall musical influence we hear in the opera is flamenco music, the music of Spanish gypsies. Flamenco is vocal music for dancing, accompanied usually by strummed guitar, as well as percussive sounds such as foot stomping, hand clapping, finger snapping, and the sounds of castanets.
"In its Spanish setting and Spanish musical atmosphere... Carmen exemplifies a trait that runs throughout the whole Romantic period, namely exoticism.... The music of Carmen has an extraordinary rhythmic and melodic vitality; it is spare in texture and beautifully orchestrated, obtaining the utmost dramatic effect always with the most economical means." (Grout and Palisca, *A History of Western Music*)
To purchase *Carmen* on DVD or CD, and to see other recommendations in the "Milestones of Musical Romanticism" series visit:
http://www.tiadaily.com/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=995