3 extracts from Carmen (1875)

Prelude

“La fleur que tu m’as jetée” (Flower Song)

“Votre toast, je peux le vous rendre” (Toreador Song)

When Bizet died, a few hours after the 33rd of the initial run of 45 mainly ill-attended performances of Carmen at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, as far as he knew it was a failure. Had he lived four or five months longer he would have witnessed its first success in Vienna and, given two more years, he could have followed its triumphant progress through five of the major cities of Europe and America, when it was already well on its way to becoming the world’s favourite opera.

Obviously, Carmen owes its phenomenal success largely to Bizet’s music, above all its evocation of the public fiestas and private passions of Spain and its people. The Prelude sets the scene with the festive music that will later accompany the bull fight in Seville where Carmen is to have her last meeting with Don José. It is based on a lively march signalling the entry of the toreadors, including her new lover Escamillo who is represented here by what must be one of the most famous tunes in the whole of opera. The Prelude also includes, after a dramatic silence, the harmonically sinster and percussively ominous “fate” motif associated with Carmen and anticipating the violent end lying in wait for her.

Most of the specifically Spanish songs and dances are performed by Carmen and her gypsy companions. By contrast, Don José, her soldier lover, sings in the standard French idiom of the day. His one major aria, “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée” – provoked by Carmen’s angry accusation that he doesn’t lover her – is a particularly appealing example. Preceded by a sombre reminder of the “fate” motif on cor anglais, it is a passionate outpouring of love recalling the moment when Carmen singled him out by tossing a flower in his direction and he fell for her. The spontaneity of this Flower Song is all the more remarkable considering that it was originally conceived for another opera.

The Toreador Song, “Votre toast, he peux le vous rendre” comes from the second act of Carmen, where Escamillo makes his entry as a celebrity toreador and first sets eye on Carmen. Hailed by Carmen and her companions in their favourite drinking den, Escamillo returns their toast by regaling them with a colourful account of heroism of the bull ring. In the famous march-time refrain “Toréador, en garde!” he declares that, for the bull fighter, love is as exciting as the contest itself. The truth of that is confirmed, with tragic consequences, later in the opera.