Bizet: Carmen

First performed in 1875, Carmen is an opera with four acts composed by Georges Bizet, with libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. Bizet composed a version of the Prelude to Carmen for piano solo.

Among the memorable pieces in Carmen is the aria L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Love is a rebellious bird), often called Habanera. It occurs in Scene-5 of Act-1 and is the entrance aria of the title character, a mezzo-soprano role. The score of this aria was adapted from El Arreglito, composed by the Spanish musician Sebastián Yradier.

Carmen has been widely acclaimed for its brilliance of melody, harmony, atmosphere, and orchestration. It is one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the opera repertory.

Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875) was a French composer, mainly of operas. His masterpieces Carmen, the L'Arlésienne Suites, the Symphony in C, and Jeux d'enfants (for piano four-hands) are good indications of what Bizet might have achieved had his life not been cut short by illness.