State Opera

G. Bizet: Carmen

The world premiere of Carmen at Paris’ Opéra Comique, on March 3, 1875, passed virtually unnoticed. Although on the very day of the first night, Bizet was made Knight of the Order of the Légion d’honneur, in no way could the distinction atone for his disappointment by the opera’s extremely lukewarm reception by the audience. The real triumph came only later on, with the first performance at the Vienna Court Opera, on October 23, 1875, an occasion which Bizet did not live up to attend. On that night, Carmen was propelled onto its victorious trajectory across the world’s operatic stages, earning it the status of one of the most performed repertory numbers. Bizet himself found its subject, in Prosper Mérimée’s novella about the beautiful and lighthearted Carmen whose reckless life draws to its end by the hand of her refuted lover, Don José. Bizet was immediately captivated by the story: He loved exotic themes, and though he himself had never visited Spain, the sheer drama of the plot enthralled him. He commissioned the libretto to Henri Meilhac (spoken dialogue) and Ludovic Halévy (arias, etc.); nonetheless, Bizet’s personal share in its making was most likely considerable (for instance, the text to the Habanera is his own).

There exist doubts about the opera’s authorized definitive version. We only know that on June 2, 1876, one day before his death, Bizet concluded an agreement with the Viennese opera company, on substituting for its production the spoken dialogues by recitatives. The task was undertaken by Bizet’s friend, Ernest Guiraud, who also incorporated into Act Four the ballet music, taken over from other works by Bizet. From the Vienna premiere on, Carmen continued to be performed in that format worldwide. In 1964, Fritz Oeser published his reconstruction of the original version, thereby providing an alternative to the established staging practice. The Prague State Opera presents the opera’s original version, with abridged dialogues.