According to my resources, the name Carmen is a derivation of Carmel which is one of the titles given to Our Blessed Mother, namely, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This is the patronal feast of the … continue reading
Theballetsuitesecond act ofMassenet‘s opera LeCidis one ofhis best knownand most respectedorchestralworks.The opera, set in Spain in thetwelfth century,is asweepingsagacenters onthe exploits ofDonRodrigue(LeCid)in the battleagainst the Moorsandfight forthe woman he loves. In the same waythatsuggestedBizetsoundsofSpainin his operaCarmen,Massenetusescolorfulorchestration anddance rhythmson striketo evokethe unique flavor ofthe region.Composerinventive useof percussion instrumentsis particularly striking, and certainlyreflects thefact thatearly in hiscareer,Massenetwas apercussionisthimself.The sevenpicturesquemovements are:Castilane, Andalouse, Aragonaise, Aubade, Catalan, MadrilèneandNavarraise.
Carmen is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, on 3 March 1875, and at first was not particularly successful. Its initial run extended to 36 performances, before the conclusion of which Bizet died suddenly, and thus knew nothing of the opera’s later celebrity.
Galli-Marié as Carmen
The opera, written in the genre of opéra comique with musical numbers separated by dialogue, tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery Gypsy, Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen’s love to the glamorous toreador Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage. 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 1883; thereafter it rapidly acquired celebrity at home and abroad, and continues to be one of the most frequently performed operas; the “Habanera” from act 1 and the “Toreador Song” from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias. Later commentators have asserted that Carmen forms the bridge between the tradition of opéra comique and the realism or verismo that characterised late 19th-century Italian opera.
The music of Carmen has been widely acclaimed for its brilliance of melody, harmony, atmosphere and orchestration, and for the skill with which Bizet musically represented the emotions and suffering of his characters. 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 1908, and the story has been the subject of many screen and stage adaptations.
Artist Chloé Berthier, Sylvain Lemarié, François Creton, Olivier Cherki, Lucas Vandel, Marc Brunet, Viviane Yen, Eric Rochefort, Pierre Michel, Anaïs Couteau
Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) leads the Philharmonia Orchestra in this 1958 recording of the Intermezzo, Minuet and Farandole from the L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2. I created this video from the LP depicted above, issued in 1958 on the Angel label, serial number S. 35618. All images in this video are taken from the LP label (3:47) and LP jacket (10:14), front and reverse. (An image of the reverse side of the jacket appears at the end of the video.)
Movement 2: Intermezzo Movement 3: Minuet (5:17) Movement 4: Farandole (9:23)
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CIDSE - TOGETHER FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE (CHANGE FOR THE PLANET -CARE FOR THE PROPLE-ACCESS THIS NEW WEBSITE FROM EUZICASA)