BIZET, Georges (Bizet, Georges) (1838-1875), French composer. Alexander Cesar Leopold Bizet (baptized as Georges) was born in Paris on October 25, 1838 into a musical family: his father and maternal uncle taught singing. At the age of nine he entered the Paris Conservatory. He brilliantly studied the piano class with A.F. Marmontel and the composition class with P.Zimmermann, J.F.F. Galevy and C. Gounod; has been awarded many awards. In 1857 he was awarded the prestigious Rome Prize; by that time he had completed the symphony in C major, and Bizet's one-act operetta Doctor Miracle (Le Docteur Miracle) won the first prize at the competition established by J. Offenbach.

Bizet spent about three years in Rome, where the beauty of nature and the visual arts influenced him more strongly than Italian music. In the comic opera Don Procopio, written during this period, he imitates Donizetti in many ways; however, of the contemporary composers, Gounod had the greatest influence on him for a long time, and of his predecessors, Mozart and Rossini. An unusually gifted pianist, Bizet earned the recognition of Liszt himself, who listened to him playing in May 1861 - a few months after Bizet returned from Rome to Paris.

As usual, Bizet immediately began composing an opera if he liked the libretto, but soon cooled off and left the work unfinished (one of his biographers counted about 20 such fruitless attempts). The first completed and staged opera by the composer was The Pearl Seekers (Les Pecheurs de perles, 1863); despite the obvious influence of Gounod and J. Meyerbeer, the charm of lyricism and exotic oriental flavor ensured her a place of honor in the French opera repertoire. Possessing an outstanding talent, Bizet could barely make ends meet and had to earn money in music publishing houses. The day laborer took away a lot of his time, undermined his health and distracted him from serious creativity. The next completed opera - The Perth Beauty (La jolie fille de Perth) - was written in 1866 and staged at the end of 1867. The weak libretto and the composer's forced concessions to the prima donna, no doubt, affected the quality of the score, but still there is a lot of wonderful material in it, which Bizet later used in other works.

Bizet's versatile talent allowed him to start creating a great opera, however, the first works in which his creative possibilities (not counting the early symphony) were revealed were pieces for the piano duet Children's Games (Jeux d "enfants, 1871), a one-act opera by Jamileh (Djamileh, 1872) and music to the drama by A. Daudet Arlesienne (L "Arlsienne, 1872). The marriage of Bizet in 1869 to Genevieve Halévy, the daughter of his old teacher, brought order to his life and balanced his feelings; in the trials that fell to his lot during the Franco-Prussian War (Bizet served in the National Guard) and in the days of the Paris Commune, his personality acquired true depth.

In the cycle Children's Games, Bizet showed himself as a master of witty and lyrical miniature; in Jamila he continued to perfect his original orchestral writing, the gift of recreating local color and portraying poetic characters, already evident in the Pearl Seekers. The music to the Arlesienne testifies to the further creative growth of the composer: in several dances, intermezzos and "melodramas" he managed to convey not only the atmosphere of Provence, but also the lyric-tragic element of Daudet's drama.

The excellent libretto chosen by Bizet for the next opera, for the first time, corresponded to the uniqueness of his talent: it was a staging of a novel by Prosper Mérimée Carmen, made by A. Melyak and L. Galevi. Bizet began work in 1872, but the premiere at the Parisian Opera Comic took place only on March 3, 1875. The impressive success at the Vienna Opera (October 1875) made it possible to present the true value of the work. Bizet died on June 3, 1875 died.

Georges Bizet is a great French composer, virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era. His works, not always appreciated by his contemporaries, survived the creator. Opera "Carmen", a masterpiece of musical art, has been gathering audiences in the best theaters in the world for over 100 years.

Childhood and youth

Georges Bizet was born on October 25, 1838 in Paris. Few people know that the real name of the composer is Alexander Cesar Leopold, in honor of the great emperors, and Georges was received at baptism.

Georges's mother, Aimé, was a pianist, and her brother François Delsarte was a singer and vocal teacher. Father Adolf-Aman made wigs for some time, and then became a singing teacher, despite the lack of special education.

In the house on the rue Tour d'Auvergne, music was constantly playing, bewitching the child. Instead of playing with his peers, little Georges enthusiastically mastered musical notation, his mother taught her son to play the piano.

At the age of 6, Bizet went to school and fell in love with reading, but Aimé, seeing the boy's amazing talent for music, made him sit at the piano for hours. Thanks to this, on the eve of his 10th birthday, October 9, 1848, Georges entered the Paris Conservatory of Music as a volunteer in the class of Antoine Marmontel, the famous piano teacher of the 2nd half of the 19th century.

The future composer had perfect pitch and a phenomenal memory, he received the first prize in the solfeggio competition, which gave him the right to free lessons in composition from the famous teacher of that time Pierre Zimmermann. The instrument receded into the background, a dream arose to compose music for the theater.

After graduating from the piano class, Bizet began to study composition with Fromanthal Halévy, teacher, artistic director of the Teatro Italien in Paris. Composing music captivated the student of the conservatory, at this time he wrote many works in different genres.

In parallel with the composition, Georges began playing the organ in the class of Professor François Benoit and soon won the second and then the first prize of the Conservatory for performing arts.

Music

During his studies, Bizet created the first pieces of music: "Symphony in C", unknown until 1933, found in the archives of the Paris Conservatory, and the comic opera "House of the Doctor".

The public acquaintance with the aspiring composer took place after a creative competition announced by Jacques Offenbach, the owner of the Buff-Parisienne theater in Montmartre. It was necessary to write a musical comedy performance with the participation of 4 characters. The award is a gold medal and 1200 francs. Bizet presented the operetta Doctor Miracle to the jury and shared the prize with Charles Lecoq.

In 1857, for the annual competition of the Academy of Fine Arts, the aspiring composer composed the cantata "Clovis and Clotilde", became a laureate of the Rome Prize, received a grant and went to an internship in Rome. Bizet was fascinated by the beauty of Italy, he became interested in opera, fell in love with music and paintings. In Rome, the composer was supposed to create a cantata under the terms of a grant, but instead composed the comic opera Don Procopio and the ode-symphony Vasco da Gamma.

In the fall of 1960, Bizet's foreign internship was interrupted due to his mother's illness, and he returned to Paris. The next 3 years became difficult in the composer's creative biography. Georges had to make a living creating entertaining music for café concerts, rearranging orchestral scores of famous piano works, and giving private lessons.

As a Roman laureate, Bizet had to write a comic work for the Opera-Comique theater, but this was not possible for personal reasons. In 1961, my mother died, and six months later the teacher, Fromantal Halevy, died. In 1863, the composer, overcoming his feelings, created the lyric opera Seekers of Pearls, and then the opera The Perth Beauty on a plot.

Dmitry Hvorostovsky and Kastronovo perform a duet from the opera Pearl Seekers

In the 70s, Bizet's creativity began to flourish. The premiere of Jamila took place at the Opera Comic Theater, critics and spectators appreciated the delicate style and grace of the Arabic motives of the work. In 1872, the composer composed the music for the drama "Arlesienne" by Alphonse Daudet. The production was not successful and was remade by the author into an orchestral suite.

The pinnacle of Bizet's work was the opera Carmen, which was not appreciated during the author's lifetime. The premiere of 1875 failed and caused a negative reaction from the press, the production was called scandalous and immoral. Despite this, the performance was shown 45 times during the first year. The audience went to him out of curiosity, which doubled after the death of the composer.

Overture to the opera "Carmen" by Georges Bizet

Bizet did not live to see the recognition of his creation. The first positive reviews came a year after the premiere. "Carmen" was appreciated. , who watched the production more than once throughout the year, wrote:

“Bizet is an artist who pays tribute to the age and modernity, but warmed by true inspiration. And what a wonderful plot of the opera! I cannot play the last scene without tears! "

The audience fell in love with the heroine, whose musical portrait is woven from the sounds of habanera, polo, seguidilla. The bullfighter's couplets melted the hearts of the audience.

Personal life

Bizet's first love was the Italian Giuseppa. This relationship was not destined to be long, since the composer left Italy, and the girl did not follow him.

An interesting fact in the biography of the author of "Carmen" was the passionate interest of Madame Mogador, known as the Countess de Chabriand, the opera singer Madame Lionel, the writer Celeste Venard. The lady was much older than Georges, she enjoyed scandalous fame. The composer was not happy with her, suffered from mood swings and obscene antics. After the breakup, he was depressed for a long time.

Bizet found happiness with the daughter of his teacher Fromanthal Halévy, Genevieve. The marriage was preceded by a stubborn struggle with the relatives of the chosen one, who were against the wedding. The young people defended their love and got married on June 3, 1869, settled in the popular place of creative people, Barbizon.

Genevieve Halévy, wife of Georges Bizet

In 1870, the Franco-Prussian War began, the composer was drafted into the ranks of the National Guard, but was quickly released from service as a Roman scholar. He took his young wife from Barbizon and returned to Paris, where he helped the defenders of the city as much as he could.

On July 10, 1871, Genevieve gave birth to a son, the boy was named Jacques. According to rumors, the composer had two children, the 2nd boy Jean - from the servant Maria Reuters. Georges loved his son and wife, but could not be completely happy in his personal life. Genevieve considered her wife a loser and started an affair with the pianist and neighbor Elie-Miriam Delabord. Bizet knew about this and was very worried.

Death

The death of Bizet still remains a mystery to researchers. It is known that this happened in Bougival, where the composer's family, accompanied by the maid Maria Reuter, went with their son for the summer. They settled in a two-story house that has survived to this day, his photo is on the Internet.

Bizet was ill, but this did not prevent him from going for a walk to the river on May 29, 1875, in the company of his wife and neighbor Delabord. Georges loved to swim. He bathed in cold water. On May 30, the composer was struck down by an attack of rheumatism with fever and unbearable pain, his arms and legs gave up. A day later, I had a heart attack. When the doctor came, Bizet felt better, but not for long.

The next day the patient spent in delirium, and in the evening the attack was repeated. The composer died on June 3, 1875. The last person to see the composer alive was Delabord. The doctor stated the cause of death: a cardiac complication of acute articular rheumatism.

The version voiced by a friend of the composer Anthony de Chudan, who was the first to come to Bujeval after learning about the tragedy, became sensational. He said that there was a cut wound on Bizet's neck, which could have been inflicted by the last person who saw Georges alive, namely Delabord. The neighbor had reasons for the murder, he courted Genevieve, and the husband stood in the way of happiness. Subsequently, Delabord wanted to marry the composer's widow, but the wedding did not take place.

Another possible cause of death of the creator of "Carmen", researchers consider suicide. In their opinion, the composer inflicted a wound on himself, trying to cut the trachea or artery. There were grounds for this assumption. Recently, Georges was depressed due to creative failures and illnesses. Before leaving for Buzewal, he put things in order in the papers, made important orders. The doctor who pronounced the death could hide the fact of the suicide at the request of his relatives.

Documents confirming any of the versions have not been preserved. Genevieve's uncle, Ludovic Halévy, kept a diary that could shed light on the mystery of the composer's death, but the lines written after the sad event were destroyed. In addition, Bizet's widow demanded that friends and acquaintances get rid of Georges' letters over the past 5 years.

The composer was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery. At the ceremony, excerpts from the works of the deceased were performed. A year later, a monument by Paul Dubois was erected on the grave with the inscription on the pedestal:

"Georges Bizet, his family and friends."

Artworks

Opera

• 1858-1859 - Don Procopio
• 1862-1863 - Pearl Seekers
• 1862-1865 - "Ivan IV"
• 1866 - "Perth Beauty"
• 1873-1874 - Carmen

Operettas

• 1855-1857 - "Héloise de Montfort"
• 1855-1857 - "The Return of Virginia"
• 1857 - Clovis and Clotilde
• 1857 - Doctor Miracles

Odes-symphonies

• 1859 - "Ulysses and Circe"
• 1859-1860 - "Vasco da Gama"

Works for orchestra

• 1866-1868 - "Rome" ("Memories of Rome")
• 1873 - Homeland Overture

The era of romanticism.

1. Biography. early years

4. During the Paris Commune

Theater Opera Comique in Paris.

The events of the Franco-Prussian war and the Paris Commune frightened him as a representative of the bourgeois, but they stifled him from striving for truthful, realistic art. Bizet was already married and had moved in dangerous times to a quieter area of ​​Paris.

In the 70s - the period of Bizet's creative maturity - Jamile's opera (based on the poem "Namuna" by A. Musset, 1871), music for the drama "Arlesienne" by A. Daudet (1872) were created. Having mastered the rhythmic-intonation peculiarities of folk tunes, almost without resorting to quotations, Bizet reliably recreated in these works the character of oriental and Provencal music. These scores are distinguished by the mastery of the expressive means of the orchestra. Two orchestral suites from the music to "Arlesienne" are very popular (one created by the author, performed in 1872, the second - by the composer E. Giraud, performed in 1885).

5. Epic with the opera "Carmen"

The composer's aspiration to democratize opera, the desire to get rid of theatrical clichés and conventions was vividly expressed in the opera Carmen (based on the novel by P. Merimee, 1874). The libretto for the opera was created by Ludovic Halevy, a cousin of Georges Bizet's wife, whom he married for a year. Most of the music was written in two months in the suburbs of Paris - this is Bougival, where the family had a country house.

The main role was assigned to the singer Galli-Marya. Celestine Galli-Marier was not satisfied with the habanera and the composer reworked it several times. Georges Bizet has never been to Spain, so he used Spanish dance music, its themes. He "borrowed" the theme of habanera from the work of the Spanish composer Sebastian Herod, which was then a widespread practice. But he made a piece of music out of it, which has an independent value.

The opera was written by order of the management of the Opera Comic Theater. A small theater at that time served the theatrical needs of the respectable and narrow-minded bourgeois. In addition, the theater became a place for informal meetings of parents, looking for wealthy suitors for their daughters. Even their attitude towards operas was regulated by bourgeois tastes. Heroes must have a noble birth, noble message, beautiful suffering, they could only die for a significant purpose.

For the first time, representatives of the "lower classes" - a cigar factory worker and a mercenary soldier - performed on the French opera stage; the feelings and passions of people of low, common origin were truly revealed. The opera embodies the Spanish national musical flavor, the richness and diversity of folk scenes, the tense course of dramatic events. At the premiere at the Opera, the comedian (1875) "Carmen" was harshly greeted by the bourgeois audience, saw neither noble characters nor noble behavior between lovers. The rejection of the new opera and the indignation of the bourgeoisie were also supported by the then bourgeois press. Newspapers published articles calling the opera a "social dump." A wild gypsy woman and a soldier, whose behavior was on the verge of pathology, could not teach the nobility of respectable daughters from bourgeois families. In addition, while still married, Carmen dies for the sake of freedom - her own feelings ...

6. Last years and death

PI Tchaikovsky wrote that “it is in the full sense of the word a masterpiece.

8. The most important works

Operas and operettas

• La prtresse, operetta (1854)
• "Miracle Doctor" (Le docteur Miracle), opera buff (1857)
• "Don Procopio" (Don Procopio), opera buff (1859)
• "Pearl Seekers" (Les pcheurs de perles), opera (1863)
• "Ivan IV", large opera (middle)
• "Perth beauty" (La jolie fille de Perth), opera (1867)
• Numa, opera (1871)
• "Arlesian" (L "Arlsienne),"music for the play" (1872)
• "Jamila" (Djamileh), one act opera (1872)
• Carmen, opera (1875)

Symphonic music

• Symphony No. 1 in C-dur (1855)
• Symphony No. 2 "Roma" (destroyed by the author)
• Suite "Arlesienne" (from music by Bizet for the play Arlesienne, 1872)
• Suite from the opera "Carmen"

Other

• choirs with orchestra and a cappella;
• pieces for piano,
• piano duets;
• romances, songs;

Alexander Cesar Leopold Bizet (1838-1875) - French composer, his work belongs to the period of romanticism, wrote pieces for piano, romances, works for orchestras and operas. He won worldwide fame thanks to his most famous opera "Carmen".

Childhood

On October 25, 1838, in the family of a Parisian, a singing teacher, a son was born, who was given the name Alexander Cesar Leopold Bizet. During his baptism he was named Georges, under this name he received further fame.

The boy's family was musical. In addition to the fact that dad taught singing at school, mom was also related to music, she played the piano professionally. Also, the singing teacher was Georges' maternal uncle.

Little Georges loved to play music with his parents. But at the same time, he, a child, so wanted to run on the street and play with the children. However, the parents decided differently, they did not welcome street entertainment, so that at the age of four, Georges was already well versed in music and played the piano.

Conservatory

The boy was not yet ten years old, as he was admitted to the Paris Conservatory. Parents decided to send him there to study, as his musical talent was clearly noticeable. The childhood of Georges Bizet ended, which practically never began.

In the mornings, Georges was always taken to the conservatory by his mother. After school, she waited for him, and then every day she repeated the same scenario: at home he was fed, locked in a room where he was supposed to play the piano. And the boy played the instrument until he fell asleep behind it from fatigue.

Young Georges tried to resist his mother, he liked literature so much that he wanted to constantly study it and read many books. But as soon as his mother found him with another book in her hands, she repeated monotonously: “It's not for nothing that you grew up in a musical family, you will become a musician, not a writer. And outstanding! "

In his studies, Georges did not experience difficulties, he grasped everything literally on the fly. During his studies, he proved himself to be a brilliant student in the piano class with the teacher A. F Marmontel, in the composition class with the teachers Ch. Gounod, P. Zimmermann, J. F. F. Halévy.

Bizet studied at the Conservatory for nine years and successfully graduated from it in 1857. Over the years of study, the young man began to try himself as a composer, he created many musical works, among them there is one symphony, which Georges wrote at the age of seventeen, it is still successfully performed by musicians from all over the world.

In the last year of his studies, Georges took part in a competition in which he had to write an operetta for one act, he composed a cantata for a legendary ancient plot and received an award. During his studies, Bizet also received several awards for playing the piano and organ.

In his last graduation year, Georges wrote the operetta Doctor Miracle. And when he graduated from the Paris Conservatory, he received his most valuable award, the Rome Prize, for the cantata "Clovis and Clotilde". She gave Bizet great opportunities - to live in Italy for four years and receive a state scholarship.

Italy

In 1857, after graduating from the conservatory, Bizet left for Italy, where he lived until 1860. He studied local life, traveled, admired the beauty of nature and fine arts, and also devoted a lot of time to his education.

For a long time, Georges could not decide on a further life path, there was no way to find his own theme in music. Over time, Bizet decided to connect his future work with the theater. He was very interested in opera premieres and musical theaters in Paris. To some extent it was mercantile, because then in the theatrical musical world it was easiest to achieve success.

The years spent in Italy, Georges then considered the most carefree in his life. He gradually composed, during this time he wrote several pieces for orchestras (they later became part of the symphonic suite "Memories of Rome") and the symphony-cantata "Vasco da Gama".

But the time of receiving the Italian state scholarship came to an end, Georges had to return to Paris.

Return to Paris

Upon arrival in his hometown, Bizet did not have the best times; it was not easy to achieve recognition in Paris. He met with Antoine Choudan, who owned the most famous Parisian publishing house. Antoine looked at Georges in surprise: is it really the same young genius who received the prestigious Rome Prize in front of him? It was risky to contact an aspiring composer, but Shudan saw that the young man really needed money and was ready to take on any job. Antoine invited Bizet to rearrange the operas of famous composers for piano.

Day and night, Georges had to work with other people's musical works, he also gave private lessons and wrote light music to order. He was regularly paid money, but they were constantly in short supply. Soon his mother died, and the composer added to all other problems a nervous strain, a sharp breakdown began.

He could make a great living as a pianist, as his friends advised him, but Georges was not looking for an easy way of life, nevertheless, he completely immersed himself in composing music.

Creative way

He was still attracted by musical theater, but everything that Bizet wrote did not find approval. Nobody appreciated the comic opera Don Procopio. But Georges continued to live in need, to work and wait.

In 1863, he composed the opera Pearl Seekers, it premiered, the work was staged eighteen times, but then it was removed from the repertoire. Sleepless nights at work on other people's scores, music lessons that have become unloved, and poverty have returned again. Working for the sake of little money, which was only enough to not starve to death, took up all Bizet's time, there was no time to engage in creativity. The only thing that saved Georges was walking in the evening Paris and visiting the theater, in this he found an outlet, it would seem, from a hopeless situation.

The next opera, The Beauty of Perth, was staged in 1867, but was also unsuccessful. In 1868, Bizet began a creative crisis, and health problems were added. Georges' marriage in 1869 saved him from a protracted depression, but a year later he enrolled in the National Guard to participate in the Franco-Prussian War, which left its mark on family life, health, and the composer's work.

Since 1870, Bizet returned to writing, one after the other his musical works came out:

• Suite for Piano "Children's Games";
• romantic one-act opera "Jamila";
• music for the play "Arlesienne".

However, all these compositions were not successful then, despite the fact that in the future they became part of the golden fund of world symphonic works.

In 1874-1875 Georges worked on an opera for P. Mérimée's novella Carmen. Its premiere took place on March 3, 1875. Surprisingly, the opera, recognized as the pinnacle of French realism, bypassed all world opera stages, and becoming the most popular and beloved work in the history of music, suffered a fiasco on the day of its premiere.

The failure of his beloved brainchild led to the composer's tragic end. Georges Bizet died, and four months later the enchanting success of Carmen took place at the Vienna Opera. He never found out that a year later this work was staged on all the largest stages in Europe, recognized as the pinnacle of his work, that Carmen had become the most popular opera in history and in the world.

Personal life

Georges' first love was a girl named Giuseppa; he met her in Italy. The young man was short-sighted and slightly overweight, and his curls were so tightly intertwined on his head that it was impossible to comb them, so the composer himself considered himself not very attractive to the representatives of the opposite sex. During a conversation with women, he blushed, spoke quickly, became confused, his palms were sweating, and he was very shy of all this.

Georges was intoxicated that Giuseppa paid attention to him. But the father sent a letter where he informed about the illness of the mother. Bizet had to return to Paris, he invited the young bride with him, but Giuseppa could not just leave everything and leave for another country. Georges promised the girl that he would write a couple of comic operas, make a lot of money, return to her and they will live like kings. This did not happen, the composer himself barely survived, he only had memories of his first youthful love.

Georges was already 28 years old when an experienced woman appeared in his life who taught him true love. He met her on the train, it was Mogador (opera diva Lionel, Countess de Chabriand, writer Celeste Vinard). It was by the age of 42 that the woman became a writer, and her youth passed in brothels. After a stormy youth, she danced on stage for a long time, and then began to write her own novels about life. At the same time, her books in Parisian stores did not linger, Mogador was not mentioned aloud in society, but everyone in Paris knew about this woman.

All the grief of Georges was drowned in the passion of this woman. He was happy with her, but not for long. It was hard to withstand her mood swings, when Mogador was in anger, all her worst and negative qualities woke up. And Bizet had too vulnerable soul and delicate taste to endure all this. In addition, Mogador was getting old, she had financial problems, and Georges could not help with money, so this woman did not need his love. But he could not part with her. Once, during a scandal, Mogador poured a tub of ice water on Georges and drove him out into the street.

The consequence of this was purulent tonsillitis, which doctors discovered in him. Taking into account the fact that Georges suffered from sore throats and colds since childhood, his health deteriorated even more. The composer lay down, could not speak, but such physical suffering was insignificant in comparison with mental. A break with Mogador, a beggarly existence, a failure in creativity - Bizet came to a state of deep depression.

The Frenchman Georges Bizet was a great theatrical composer. The most iconic work in his work was the opera "", which to this day remains famous and beloved by the public.

Bizet was brought up in an intellectual environment: his father taught singing, and his mother was a pianist. She began to teach four-year-old Georges to play this instrument. At the age of ten he entered the Paris Conservatory. There he was taught by great French musicians: Antoine Marmontel, Pierre Zimmermann, Fromantal Halévy, Charles Gounod. Bizet's talent was obvious: the boy played the piano masterly, became a winner in theoretical competitions, became interested in playing the organ.

While studying at the Conservatory, Bizet creates the laid-back Symphony in C major and the comic opera House of the Doctor. After graduating from the conservatory, the composer received the Rome Prize for the cantata Clovis and Clotilde, which ensured a four-year residence in Italy and a scholarship. At the same time, Bizet wrote the operetta "Doctor Miracle" and won with it in the competition announced by Jacques Offenbach.

A stay in Italy has a beneficial effect on the young composer. He is inspired by the picturesque southern nature, masterpieces of architecture and painting, books about art. Bizet plunges into the creative world of Mozart and Raphael. His creativity becomes graceful, taste - subtle, melodies - rich. He is attracted by opera music, its ability to be an integral part of the stage performance. Influenced by his works, he creates the comic opera Don Procopio and the ode-symphony Vasco da Gama.

After that, Bizet returns to Paris, and here begins the torment of creativity and a time of lack of money. He rearranges the opera scores of other composers, writes music for café concerts, working for a piece of bread. In parallel with this, he tries to write new serious works, turning to lyric opera. He creates the operas "" (1863), saturated with the atmosphere of the East, and "Perth Beauty" (1867), which tells about the life of ordinary people. These works were a huge success with the public, which improved the position of the composer. Following this, Bizet wrote the not very successful opera Ivan the Terrible, which the audience never saw. The author begins to compose music for large and chamber orchestras. These works include the symphony "Rome", the piano ensemble "Children's Games", romances.

Georges Bizet also openly expresses his civic position. In 1870 he joined the National Guard, which fought in the Franco-Prussian War. The fruit of this period of his life was the patriotic overture "Homeland" (1874). This decade saw the heyday of Bizet's creative life. In 1872, the premiere of the opera Jamile, based on a poem by Alfred de Musset, took place with tremendous success. The production, which tells about pure love, opens up new horizons in the musician's work.

Bizet's works are distinguished by their uncompromising and truthful depiction of life's tragedies, combined with the filigree style. The author idolizes William Shakespeare, Michelangelo,.

One of Bizet's masterpieces is the accompaniment to Alphonse Daudet's drama The Arlesienne (1872). The action takes place in Provence, and the music, in which the composer includes folk motives, reflects the unique flavor of this region of France. The orchestra sounds casual and bright. Bell chimes and the sounds of folk festivities are heard in the music. It is in this work that Bizet introduces the saxophone to the symphony orchestra.

In the last years of his life, Bizet created the unfinished opera Don Rodrigo and Carmen (1875), which brought him the greatest fame.

The opera Carmen is a musical drama that exposes the contradictions of life. It is based on the plot of Prosper Mérimée, but the author's images are full of poetic symbols. All characters have individual characters: the beautiful gypsy Carmen, the bullfighter Escamillo, the smugglers ... These heroes are free and spontaneous, their energy is powerful and passionate. Thinking over these images, Bizet is imbued with Spanish music and uses the rhythms of habanera, seguidilla and polo. They are contrasted with the calm and comfortable world of Jose and Michaela. In their duet, romance intonations can be traced. The collision of the worlds of Carmen and Jose makes a tragedy out of an ordinary love drama, in which love, passion and freedom are sung.

It's hard to believe that the premiere of this opera failed miserably. The press and the public reacted strongly negatively to her.

Three months later, on June 3, 1875, the composer died without knowing the further fate of his creation: literally a year after the failed premiere, "Carmen" is triumphantly held on the largest stages in Europe.

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