Bizet, Georges - Suite No.1 from 'Carmen'

£25.00 only

The first production of 'Carmen' took place at the Opera Comique, Paris in 1875. There was a capacity audience but nobody seems to have thought much of the opera. Carmen came upon them like a shock – ‘Its passionate force’, says one authority, ‘was miscalled brutality, and the suspicion of German influence which Bizet's clever use of guiding themes excited, was in itself enough to alienate the sympathies of the average Frenchman in the early seventies.’ Bizet, in short, had broken loose from the classical French style. His music displayed some startling, novel features, and for these the polite tastes of the French public were not prepared. Sadly, Bizet died three months after Carmen's initial poor reception, and was not able to see his opera achieve the success it deserved. Carmen has since become a firm favourite of opera audiences throughout the world.

In this Suite No.1 , Helen Vollam has arranged the  Prelude, Aragonaise, Habanera and Danse Boheme , and it features on our CD 'Enigma '.

Score and parts provided

Level: Advanced

Duration: 11 minutes