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"Carmen"

"Carmen," an opera written by Georges Bizet, is based upon a book, also named Carmen, by Prosper Mérimée. Meilhac and Halévy wrote the libretto for "Carmen" from Bizet's work. After it premiered in 1875, critics pronounced it an immoral failure. Today, however, it is the fourth most frequently performed opera.

Unique Nature of "Carmen"

Musically, the opera "Carmen" makes the orchestra performers more important than the singers onstage. At the time of its composition, this was an innovative approach. It features complex dancing as well as complex characters, and the musical duets demonstrate the compatibility, or lack thereof, between the characters.

"Carmen" Summary: Act One

In act one, the scene opens in Seville, Spain, around 1820. Don José, a brigadier in the Spanish army, is engaged to a young girl from his hometown named Micaela. Micaela comes to visit Don José at the guard house where he is stationed, carrying a message from his mother. However, before she can let him know about her arrival, he comes to relieve his fellow soldiers from guard duty.

At this point, Carmen, a gypsy girl who works with other women at a nearby factory producing cigarettes, comes out on a break. Seeing Don José, she sets out to capture his attentions and offers him a bunch of flowers she had been wearing. Up to this point, he had never even noticed Carmen. However, by the time her break is over, he is smitten with her.

Micaela finds Don José at last. She gives him some money and his mother's message. Seeing his fiancée reminds Don José of his values, and he decides to forget Carmen and stay true to Micaela. Just as he is about to throw away Carmen's flowers, however, all the cigarette factory workers rush out. It soon becomes plain that Carmen hurt a co-worker in a fight. She is arrested and put in the charge of Don José. Since she refuses to apologize or admit fault, the arresting officer goes to get a warrant to send her to prison.

While Don José and Carmen are left alone, she seduces him into agreeing to help her escape custody. Don José also plans to meet Carmen later that night at an inn. The officer returns with the warrant, and Don José marches off with the prisoner and a couple of other soldiers. Along the road, Carmen gives her captor a good shove, and he falls on his head on purpose. While his comrades try to care for him, Carmen gets away with the help of some friends. Don José, under suspicion, is demoted and sent to prison himself.

"Carmen" Summary: Act Two

As the second act begins, Carmen and her fellow gypsies, along with a group of smugglers and some soldiers, gather at the inn where she had planned to meet Don José earlier. A famous bullfighter, or toreador, named Escamillo, arrives. Captured by Carmen's attentions, Escamillo tries to win her heart. She plays fickle, first seeming to return his affection, then acting as if she has no interest in him. The inn closes, and the soldiers and Escamillo leave for the night.

The smugglers try to talk Carmen into joining them in some business they have on hand, but she refuses. She is in communication with Don José, and he has promised to meet her tonight. The smugglers urge Carmen to try to persuade Don José to join the gypsies, and she agrees. When the brigadier arrives, she tries her hardest to seduce him into desertion, but his sense of honor prevents him from agreeing. Just as he is about to leave, his superior officer Zuniger arrives and sees the two together.

Zuniger is jealous of the relationship between Don José and Carmen. He tries to order Don José away, but the younger man challenges his superior to a swordfight. Carmen cries out for help; the smugglers respond and take Zuniger prisoner. Now an outlaw by association, Don José is forced to accompany the gypsies to the mountains.

"Carmen" Summary: Act Three

Act three of "Carmen" takes place in the gypsies' hideaway in the mountains. Don José, ignoring the plans of the smugglers around him to perform some illegal plan, tries to cement Carmen's love. However, he suffers from some ambivalence because he knows she is below his social class, and he is more tenderhearted than she. At this point, Carmen has lost interest in Don José and longs for Escamillo.

The toreador, following the object of his affections, arrives at the camp and confesses his love for Carmen to Don José without realizing he is speaking to his rival. Don José, insane with jealousy, tries to kill Escamillo, but Carmen and the smugglers prevent it. Micaela, somehow finding her fiancé, enters the scene to give Don José bad news: his mother is on her deathbed. The duty of a son wins over Don José’s infatuation, and he leaves after threatening both Carmen and Escamillo with revenge.

"Carmen"Summary: Act Four

Act four of "Carmen" opens back in Seville just as a grand bullfight is about to take place. Escamillo is supposed to be the main bullfighter at the event. Carmen is there to watch, as is Don José, who has just buried his mother. He seeks out his love to offer his heart one last time, even saying he will become a gypsy.

Tough-skinned Carmen doesn't care; she boldly states that she only loves Escamillo. As the crowd's shouts rise to a peak during the bullfight, Don José pulls out a knife and stabs Carmen in the heart. When the triumphant Escamillo exits the ring, it is to find Carmen dead and Don José, crazy with grief, kneeling at her side, confessing his crime.

Resources

Music With Ease (2005). Carmen an Opera by Georges Bizet. Retrieved December 13, 2007 from the Music with Ease Web site: http://www.musicwithease.com/bizet-carmen.html.

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