Bizet's Carmen: A Short Guide to a Great Opera (Great Operas)

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Bizet's Carmen: A Short Guide to a Great Opera (Great Operas)

The Paris audience in 1875 was shocked by the sexually explicit realism of Bizetâ€™s exotic operatic masterpiece, its â€˜verismoâ€™ depiction of low life and brutal passion. But since the disastrous premiÃ¨re â€“ a sensational failure which hastened Bizetâ€™s premature death â€“ it has been the greatest operatic success. It led to a film opera, a jazz opera, a rock ballet and a Broadway musical. Equally, it impressed great composers including Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Vaughan Williams.

The story, written by Prosper MÃ©rimÃ©e and adapted by librettists Meilhac and HalÃ©vy, is set in colourful Seville, in southern Spain, renowned for bullfights. The corporal Don JosÃ© is seduced by Carmencita, a gypsy whore who works in a tobacco factory. With her Habanera (a Cuban dance like the tango) and Andalusian Seguidilla, she charms him, and escapes prison. She falls for Escamillo, a celebrity toreador associated with the famous tune TorÃ©ador en garde. Don JosÃ©â€™s Flower Song fails to win her for long. We visit the haunt of Sevilleâ€™s demi-monde, Lillas Pastiaâ€™s bodega, and a gypsy encampment in the mountains, before JosÃ© stabs Carmen outside the bullring.

Written by Michael Steen, author of the acclaimed The Lives and Times of the Great Composers, â€˜Short Guides to Great Operasâ€™ are concise, entertaining and easy to read. They are packed with useful information and informed opinion, helping to make you a truly knowledgeable opera-goer, and so maximising your enjoyment of a great musical experience.

Other â€˜Short Guides to Great Operasâ€™ that you may enjoy include Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Eugene Onegin.

Country	USA
Author	Michael Steen
Binding	Kindle Edition
EISBN	9781848315518
Format	Kindle eBook
Label	Icon Books Ltd
Manufacturer	Icon Books Ltd
NumberOfPages	32
PublicationDate	2013-02-20
Publisher	Icon Books Ltd
ReleaseDate	2013-02-20
Studio	Icon Books Ltd

Bizet's Carmen: A Short Guide to a Great Opera (Great Operas)

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