Zh bizet carmen summary. See what "Carmen (opera)" is in other dictionaries

The dramatic love story of the Spanish gypsy Carmencita and the soldier José, told by the French writer Prosper Mérimée, inspired his compatriot composer Georges Bizet to create the world-famous opera Carmen in four acts.

Extras characters: soldiers, officers, women working in a cigarette factory, gypsies, smugglers, bullfighters and street boys.

The main characters of the opera: the gypsy Carmen, the sergeant Don Jose, the bullfighter Escamillo, the smugglers Dancairo and Remendado and others.

In the first act of the opera, we find ourselves in Spain, on the busy square of the city of Seville. In the hot glow of the midday sun, the life of a multi-colored crowd continuously flows.
Soldiers are stationed at the barracks, they smoke, exchange jokes, look at the senoritas passing by. The attention of Sergeant Morales is attracted by a shy, ruddy girl with a small bundle in her hands. She is obviously not from these places and the sergeant calls her. The girl shyly approaches and asks about Sergeant José. Morales explains to her that he will soon lead the changing of the guard and invites the pretty señorita to wait for the squadron foreman here with them. The embarrassed girl refuses and leaves.
Regretfully, the soldiers sigh, but soon drums are heard and the sound of a flute heralds the end of duty. Boys and idle townspeople gather to gawk at the changing of the guard. With a playful wink, Morales informs José that a "pretty woman dressed in blue" was looking for him. Jose determines that this is his fellow villager Michaela.
Workers of a cigarette factory run out into the square at lunchtime in a cheerful crowd, and Carmen is among them. She stands out noticeably in the crowd: shiny black hair with a bluish tint, huge burning eyes, an acacia twig is threaded into the deep neckline of a bright corsage. The beautiful gypsy woman is immediately surrounded by a crowd of admirers, but, laughing and dancing, she approaches the stern soldier Jose, who has turned away from her, and throws a sprig of acacia at him with a challenge: “You don’t love me, but I love you ... So beware of my love!” - the words of the famous habanera sound.
The sergeant is distracted from the alluring charms of the gypsy woman by the kind, shy Mikaela, who has brought news from her mother. They joyfully recall their home, spring and the day of their engagement. After seeing off the bride, Jose rereads his mother's letter and suddenly hears shouts at the factory gate: “Carmen! Carmen!...” It turned out that after quarreling with her friend, Carmen cut her with a knife! On the orders of Captain Zunigi, Jose arrests a daring gypsy who, not at all embarrassed, laughs and teases the captain, and whispers false promises of love to the drugged Jose if he lets her go. Forgetting his duty as a soldier, José agrees and "misses" Carmencita in the crowd.

The second act of the opera begins with a noisy crowded fun in the tavern of Lilhas Pastiagde. Here we see Carmen, and Captain Zuniga melting with love for her, and the fearless bullfighter Escamillo, who tells about bullfighting, about dangers and rewards. "Spanish women's burning eyes look passionately, and love is waiting for you!"
Finally, the owner closes the tavern, which, under the cover of night, becomes a den of smugglers. The ringleaders Remendado and Dancairo announce an upcoming case in which the women must help. But Carmen is looking forward to someone, today she is thoughtful, absent-minded and categorically refuses such a profitable business. It's useless to argue with her! After all, today the young sergeant José, her lover, was released from prison. They will stay together all night, she will sing and dance only for him, and he will forget both his homeland, and his mother, and his bride. Jose is drunk with love, but at dawn he has to return to the barracks and Kamen's persuasion does not work. Leaving, Jose runs into Zuniga on the threshold, who has come on a date with the beautiful Carmencita. Jealousy overshadows the soldier's mind and he draws his saber. With difficulty, the smugglers separate them, but now Jose has one road - to the gallows!
Not! Carmen triumphs: "Freedom and love await you!"

The action of the third part begins at night in the mountains, where smugglers make their way between the rocks. A short respite, the gypsies lay out the cards, Carmen sits down next to them. What will the cards say to her? Once again, one answer. Peaks! Death! She glances at the pensive Jose standing at the cliff. Love has come and gone. What to do? “Love has wings like a bird, and there is no way to tie them.”
A squad of smugglers is on the road again. José is the last to leave. How tired he was of this craft! He remembers his mother. Why did he leave her for months? Carmen ... She dances carelessly and rings castanets in front of everyone she meets.
In a chain, people go into darkness, and two shadows appear by the stream. This is Mikaela with a guide. With bated breath, she struggles with fear. But she firmly decided to take the unfortunate Jose away from the evil gypsy, and from the hard lot of a deserter and a robber. Hearing someone's steps, Michaela hides and hardly recognizes her ex-fiance in the aged, gloomy man! He suddenly raises his gun and fires into the darkness. Escamillo emerges from behind a rock with his hat pierced. He has long been accustomed to dangers and surprises, so he simply jokes: “I would take it a little lower, buddy ...” The bullfighter came here risking his life for his Carmen. She loves him! Hearing this, Jose rushes with a knife at an opponent and the preponderance of forces is clearly on his side, but then Carmen appears between them, the smugglers who run up separate them and Escamillo leaves. Saying goodbye, the bullfighter invites everyone to a bullfight. “He who loves will come,” he says, looking meaningfully at the gypsy.
Suddenly, Remendado notices Michaela hiding behind the rocks. Jose is extremely surprised. What force brought her here? Only a great desire to save a loved one! He must go with her!
Carmen's mocking smile and her words that it's time for him to go home and they have long been out of the way, infuriate Jose. This is what she says, for the sake of which he lost everything dear! No, he's not going anywhere!
Michaela begins to beg Jose to say goodbye to her dying mother and her words sober Jose's hot head. He's leaving. Turning around, he promises that he will meet with the treacherous gypsy.

The fourth act takes place in Seville in the square near the circus. A motley crowd of townspeople, in anticipation of entertainment, makes noise, laughs, calls to each other with jokes. Captain Zuniga walks with another beauty, no longer remembering Carmen. Suddenly the crowd erupts into shouts and cheers. Bravo!.. Bravo!.. Here he is!.. Long live the fearless torrero! Escamillo appears on the square, next to the new chosen one is Carmen.
The friends who ran up warn Carmencita that they met Jose in the crowd. He's watching her and she should be careful! But the daring Carmen is ready for this meeting. She knows why he is looking for her.
A jubilant crowd rushes under the dome of the circus, where a bullfight is about to begin and José appears on Carmen's path. He was led to her by hatred and a thirst for revenge, but when he saw the eyes of his beloved, he immediately forgives everything. He's in love again! He agrees to go away with her, to become a bandit, a robber, or anyone else again ... Carmen, in response, rips off the ring he gave him and eagerly wants to leave. "Impossible! We can't bring back the past!" She was born free and she will die free!
As if blinded by a flashing ray of sun that fell on the thrown ring, José pounces on Carmen with a knife ...
From the circus come the jubilant cries of the crowd. "Victory! Victory!" The fanfare sounds solemnly. Surrounded by a crowd, Escamillo appears in the square.
“I killed her! Arrest me!” Jose exclaims sadly.

G. Bizet opera "Carmen"

The plot of J. Bizet's opera "Carmen" is taken from the novel of the same name by P. Mérimée. At the center of the cycle of events is a beautiful, passionate and freedom-loving gypsy woman, who changes the lives of the people around her with her lifestyle and actions. This is the composer's last opera, which has passed a thorny path to fame and the stages of world theaters. It is considered the culmination of creativity Georges Bizet and his life fiasco.

A summary of Bizet's opera "" and many interesting facts about this work, read on our page.

Characters		Description
	mezzo-soprano	Andalusian gypsy
Don Jose	tenor	Dragoon Sergeant
Michaela	soprano	country girl, Jose's fiancee
Escamillo	baritone	bullfighter
Frasquita	soprano	Gypsy
Mercedes	mezzo-soprano	Gypsy
Morales	baritone	officer, sergeant dragoon
Zuniga	bass	officer, lieutenant of the dragoons
Remendado	tenor	smuggler
Dancairo	baritone	smuggler

Summary of "Carmen"

The action of the opera takes place in Spain, in the first half of the 19th century. Carmen is a beautiful, passionate, temperamental gypsy who works in a cigarette factory. She noticeably stands out among other workers - as soon as this burning beauty appears on the street, all admiring male glances immediately rush to her. Carmen, with particular pleasure, mocks the men around her and their feelings. But the temperamental girl does not like the fact that Jose is indifferent to her, she is trying in every possible way to attract his attention. Having failed, the gypsy, along with other girls, returns to work. However, a quarrel flares up among them, which instantly turns into a fight. The culprit of the conflict is Carmen. She is sent to a cell, where she languishes in anticipation of a warrant under the supervision of José. But the insidious seductress makes the sergeant fall in love with herself, and he helps her escape from custody. This reckless act completely turns his life upside down: Jose loses everything - his girlfriend, family, respect, rank and becomes a simple soldier.

And all this time, Carmen continues to lead an idle life - together with her friends, she wanders through taverns, where she entertains visitors with her songs and dances. At the same time, the girl manages to cooperate with smugglers and flirt with the bullfighter Escamillo. Soon Jose appears in the tavern, but not for long - it's time for him to return to the barracks for an evening check. However, the gypsy turns on all her charm so as not to let the soldier go. Jose is fascinated by her, and the captain's order means nothing to him now. He becomes a deserter and is now forced to be with Carmen and the smugglers. But soon the feelings of the burning beauty fade away - Jose is bored with her. Now she was seriously carried away by the bullfighter, who even promised to give a fight in her honor. And the soldier in love is forced to leave her temporarily - from his former lover, he learns that his mother is dying, and he hastily goes to her.

The square in Seville is preparing for a bullfight. The gypsy is preparing to join the feast, but Jose appears on her way. He begs the girl to be with him again, confesses his love, threatens, but all in vain - she is cold to him. In a fit of anger, he takes out a dagger and plunges it into his beloved.

A photo:

Interesting Facts

Surprisingly, I have never been to Spain. To create the necessary musical atmosphere, he reworked folk melodies, giving them the desired Spanish flavor.
In 1905, scientists discovered a new asteroid, which was named Carmen.

The famous German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck was present under various circumstances at the show of "Carmen" 27 times.
The English musicologist Hugh MacDonald wrote that French opera knows no more fatalist than Carmen. Outside France, her descendants could be "Salome" by Richard Strauss and "Lulu" by Alban Berg.
The play premiered on March 3, 1875 and ended in complete failure. And exactly 3 months after it, the composer himself died. The cause of his death is still debated. According to one version, Bizet could not survive the fiasco of "Carmen" and the "immorality" in which he was accused after the premiere. The opera seemed indecent to the public, because its heroes were bandits, smoking factory workers, smugglers and ordinary soldiers. And when characterizing the main character of the opera, art connoisseurs were not at all shy in expressions - she was the true embodiment of vulgarity and dirt.
The opera was designated by the composer as a comic one. And the first performance took place at the Opera-Comic. And what about the comic, you ask? Everything is simple. According to the traditions of the French theater, all works, the main characters of which are ordinary people, were classified as a comedy genre. It is for this reason that musical numbers alternate with conversational dialogues in the opera - all comic operas in France were built according to this scheme.
One of the co-directors of the Opera Comic had to leave his position because of this work. Adolphe de Leuven believed that in such a genre as a comic opera, there should absolutely be no murder, especially such a terrible and sophisticated one. In his opinion, violence absolutely does not fit into the norms of a decent society. He tried in every possible way to convince the authors of this, repeatedly invited librettists to his conversation, persuading them to make Carmen's character softer and change the ending. The latter was required in order for the audience to leave the theater in a great mood. However, they never reached an agreement, and as a result, Adolf was forced to leave his post. This has become a kind of protest against the performance, which promotes the murder.

Shortly before his death, J. Bizet signed a contract with the Vienna State Opera for the production of Carmen. Despite some edits and differences from the author's original, the performance was a huge success. "Carmen" won praise not only from ordinary viewers, but also from such prominent composers as Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner . This was the first serious success of the creation of J. Bizet on the way to world recognition.
On October 23, 1878, the first premiere of this work in the United States took place at the New York Academy of Music. In the same year, the opera appeared before the audience in St. Petersburg.
Carmen was the last opera staged at the Bolshoi (Stone) Theatre. It was with this work that the theater decided to end its history - after the last performance it was closed, then transferred to the RMO, and then completely demolished. In 1896, the building of the St. Petersburg Conservatory was erected in its place.

Popular arias and numbers

Habanera - listen

Escamillo couplets - listen

Aria Jose - listen

Gypsy dance - listen

The history of the creation of "Carmen"

He announced his plans to write the opera Carmen in 1872. Even then, the Opéra-Comique placed an order with the famous librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, and they worked with might and main on the text. They managed to significantly transform the short story by P. Merimee. First of all, the changes affected the images of the main characters - in their interpretation they became more noble. Jose, from a severe lawbreaker, turned into an honest, but weak-willed person. The gypsy woman is also presented in a different way - independence is more emphasized in her, and the thirst for theft and cunning are hidden. The authors also changed the place of action - if in the literary source everything happened in slums and gorges, then in the libretto all events were transferred to the center of Seville, to the squares and streets. The playwrights introduced a new character into the opera - Jose's beloved, Michaela, to show the complete opposite of Carmen. The bullfighter from an uninitiated and nameless participant turned into a cheerful Escamillo, who played a decisive role in the fate of the main character.

The text was completely ready by the spring of 1873, and at the same time the composer set to work. The opera was completely finished in the summer of 1874.

However, the rejection of this opera appeared long before it was staged, as soon as the idea was voiced - the abundance of dramatic events and the intensity of passions were not suitable for the stage in which the first production was planned. The thing is that the Opera Comic was considered a secular theater, which was visited only by representatives of the wealthy class. Going to the theater, they knew in advance that they would see an easy genre with an abundance of funny situations. This audience was far from frenzied passions, and certainly, bloody murders. In the opera, heroes and passions unacceptable to the public were presented - girls not burdened with morality, cigarette factory workers, robbers, military deserters.

The premiere of the opera took place in the capital of France, at the Opéra Comique. It was March 3, 1875. The audience did not know how to react to this performance: it had very beautiful music, instantly etched into the memory, but there was also a terrible plot, which is simply indecent to talk about in a secular society. The opera failed, and its authors were accused of licentiousness and immorality. But, despite the fact that Bizet's creation was a complete fiasco, it was staged 45 times that year. And the reason for this is quite simple - the usual human curiosity. The public was haunted by the fact that all of Paris was talking about this work at that time. Interest in the work intensified at the beginning of the summer - exactly 3 months after the premiere, J. Bizet died. Many came to the conclusion that the failure with Carmen was to blame, because the failure and persecution from the press provoked a nervous shock in the maestro and contributed to the deterioration of his health. After the end of the theatrical season, the performance was decided to be removed from the stage. Then everyone was sure that he would never appear there again.

In the autumn of 1875 the opera was staged in Vienna in German. However, what was shown to the audience was radically different from what Bizet intended - it was a real opera-ballet with many dance numbers. The Vienna theater decided to surprise the audience with a spectacular spectacle - riders on real horses and a whole cortege of bullfighters were brought onto the stage.

In December of the same year, Carmen was staged in Italy. Subsequently, the work was an unprecedented success, and was immediately included in the repertoire of many world theaters. Moreover, the audience liked the Viennese, classical production. Other directors who staged this opera in other European countries relied on it.

In February 1878, the opera was brought to Russia and shown to a wealthy public on the stage of the Bolshoi (Stone) Theater in St. Petersburg. It was performed by the imperial Italian troupe in its edition. Many scenes were cut from the work in order not to shock the audience. However, this did not help, and the performance was not a success. In many ways, this turn of events was facilitated by the fact that the soloists did not have time to prepare well, since they were in a hurry with the production. As many newspapers wrote at that time, the premiere of this performance was more like a rehearsal, so many shortcomings and "roughness" were present in it.

But in 1882, the audience greeted another production of the play with enthusiasm, and, finally, Bizet's work received well-deserved recognition. Its initiator was the new director of the imperial theaters, I.A. Vsevolozhsky. The excerpts that were cut out again appeared on the stage, a new cast was chosen, and all the choreographic numbers were staged.

In 1885, the text of the libretto was translated into Russian, and in this version the opera was first performed at the Mariinsky Theater,

The fact that "Carmen" received worldwide recognition made the French again interested in her. One of the composers of that time, Ernest Guiraud, decided to make his own version - he replaced all conversational dialogues in Bizet's work with recitatives, and also decorated the finale of the opera with bright choreographic scenes. The opera was staged in Paris in this version in 1883, and this time it was a real triumph. After 21 years, the capital of France saw the anniversary, thousandth performance "".

One of the first Russian composers who got acquainted with this work Bizet , became P.I. Chaikovsky . He liked it so much that Pyotr Ilyich even learned the entire clavier by heart. And when the media continually published negative reviews and devastating reviews, he insisted that one day this opera would become the most popular in the world. And the Russian genius was not mistaken. Today, the tragic story about the life of a freedom-loving gypsy, interpreted by the great French maestro, is considered one of the peaks of opera music - a brilliant, standard and inimitable creation.

Georges Bizet "Carmen"

Opera in four acts by Georges Bizet, libretto by Henri Millac and Ludovico Halevi, based on a short story by Prosper Mérimée.

Characters:

CARMEN, a gypsy (soprano, mezzo-soprano or contralto)
DON JOSE, corporal (tenor)
Escamillo, bullfighter (baritone)
MICHAELA, peasant woman (soprano)
EL DANKAIRO, smuggler (baritone)
EL REMENTADO, smuggler (tenor)
ZUNIGA, Captain José (bass)
MORALES, officer (bass or baritone)
FRASQUITA, gypsy (soprano)
MERCEDES, a gypsy (soprano)

Action time: around 1820.
Location: Seville and its environs.
First performance: Paris, Opéra Comique, March 3, 1875.

Carmen is, I am sure, the most popular of all operas. There is an opinion that the cause of Bizet's death was the trauma he received from the failure of the opera at the premiere (the composer died three months after it). But the fact is that this opera was received much better than any of Bizet's previous works (already in the year of its production at the Opera Comic, Carmen was performed thirty-seven times and since then has been performed on this stage more than three thousand times). In fact, Bizet died - at the age of only thirty-seven - from an illness; it was probably an embolism (blockage of a blood vessel). Nowadays, this opera is included in the repertoire of all opera troupes and is performed in all languages, including Japanese. Her popularity is not limited to the opera stage. It has expanded into the restaurant music repertoire, exists in piano transcriptions as well as in cinematic versions (the last and most successful Carmen Jones is based on an operetta version that was a hit on Broadway).

It is not difficult to understand the reason for such popularity. There are many great melodies in the opera! She is incredibly dramatic. She is so bright and clear! In addition, all these characteristic features of it are already revealed in the overture. It starts bright and clean - like a sunny day in Spain. Then the famous melody of the bullfighter's couplets sounds, and finally it suddenly becomes dramatic - at the moment when the theme of fate is heard in the orchestra, the very theme that characterizes Carmen and her violent love.

ACT I

The overture ends with a dramatic dissonant chord. The curtain rises. Before us is a square in Seville (almost 180 years ago). Sultry afternoon. At the barracks, a group of soldiers off duty, they look at passers-by and cynically discuss them. Directly opposite the barracks is a cigar factory. Michaela appears. She is not a local and is looking for her friend Corporal Don Jose here, and when she finds out that he is not here, embarrassed by the offers of his colleagues to stay with them, she leaves. There is a changing of the guard, during which a group of street boys pose as soldiers. Don José and his commander, Captain Zuniga, are among those who have been replaced, who, in a brief conversation with Don José, is interested in the girls working in the cigar factory. They are obviously attractive, as a group of young men (today we would call them provincial cowboys) have gathered at the factory gate and are waiting for them to come out for lunch. The ringing of the bell at the factory announces the beginning of the break, and broken cheerful workers pour out of the gate in a crowd, they smoke cigars - a rather bold occupation for a girl in the twenties of the XIX century! But the gathered young men are waiting first of all for the most attractive of them - Carmen.

The orchestra announces the arrival of Carmen with a short version of the theme of her fate; Finally, here she is. She flirts with young men and sings. The famous habanera sounds (“L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” - “Love has wings like a bird”). This is a frank warning that Carmen's love is a dangerous business. Don Jose (he always seemed to me to be some kind of formalist and pedant) pays no attention to Carmen, and at the end of her song she dismissively throws a flower at him. The girls return to work and laugh at his embarrassment.

Michaela arrives, she is still looking for Don José. she has a letter to him from his mother and a present - a good occasion for a very gentle duet ("Parle moi ma mere" - "What did relatives say?"). Before they can finish their duet, a terrible noise is heard in the factory, and the workers run out into the street. Captain Zuniga, trying to restore order, finds out that the reason for Carmen's panic: she attacked one of the girls and slashed her with a knife. He orders Don Jose to arrest the culprit, bring her to him for trial in the barracks and guard her until he decides what to do with her, left alone with Don Jose, Carmen finally wins the heart of the young soldier with a heady seguidilla (“Pres de la porte de Seville" - "Near the bastion in Seville"). In it, she promises to sing and dance for him - and love him! - in a tavern near Seville (not a very good reputation), which is kept by her friend Lillas Pastia. Zuniga returns, he gives the order to Don Jose to take Carmen to prison. On the way there, she manages to push Don José away and escape. As a result, the young corporal was arrested.

ACT II

Each of the four acts of Carmen is preceded by its own symphonic introduction, or intermission. The intermission for the second act is based on a short soldier's ditty later sung by Don José. As the curtain rises, we see Lillas Pastia's tavern. Gypsy dance is full of incendiary fun. Captain Zuniga, this Jose boss, is also here. Of the visitors, he is the most important person. Now he is trying to win over Carmen. He does not really succeed - Carmen prefers a not so respectable society. However, she is pleased to hear that Don Jose's sixty-day guardhouse period, which he received for his connivance in her escape, is ending.

Suddenly, a popular athlete appears on the scene. This is Escamillo, the bullfighter, and, of course, he sings his famous "Toreador's Couplets" ("Votre toast, je peux le rendre" - "I accept your toast, friends"); all join in unison. Like Zuniga, he is captivated by the sparkle in Carmen's eyes. The same, for its part, can give him no more hope.

But it's getting late, and it's time to close the tavern. Soon everyone leaves, and no one remains, except for Carmen and four smugglers - two girls named Frasquita and Mercedes, and a couple of bandits - El Dancairo and El Remendado. Together they sing a light, lively quintet ("Nous avons en tete une affaire" - "We want to offer you a job"). Everyone talks about the need for girls to carry out smuggling raids, because this is their business. Where it is necessary to circle around the finger, divert attention, women are irreplaceable. At this moment, the voice of Don José sounds offstage, singing his soldier's song.

Carmen, who is waiting for José, sees everyone out of the tavern and warmly welcomes Don José, who came here after his release from custody. As she promised, she sings and dances for him. In the midst of her dance, the sound of a trumpet is heard, which for Don José is a signal to come to the barracks. He wants to go, but this inflames Carmen even more. "Is that how you treat a girl?" she screams at him. Carmen is angry: she no longer wants to see a man for whom there is something more important than her love. Hurt by her reproaches, he takes out a flower that she once threw him, and in a very passionate "aria about a flower" tells how he inspired him all those days that he spent in prison ("La fleur que tu m' avais jete" - "You see how sacredly I preserve the flower that you gave me"). Touched and softened in her heart, Carmen again addresses him affectionately. But what she could not achieve with affection, jealousy succeeds: Zuniga, the commander of Don Jose, appears on the threshold of the tavern: an officer came to see Carmen, and the corporal has nothing more to do here. He arrogantly orders Don Jose to go to the barracks. Well, that's too much! Don José, having lost his head, draws his saber; he is ready to attack the senior officer. At this moment, gypsies burst in and disarm the captain. Don Jose has no choice: he refuses a military career and joins a gang of gypsies - smugglers - this is exactly what Carmen planned. The second act ends with a chorus glorifying the free life. It is enthusiastically sung by everyone except Zunigi.

ACT III

The flute solo, which begins the intermission to the third act, paints a poetic picture of nature - the peace and quiet of the slumbering mountains. The smugglers' choir plays, a song that Don José was forced to join in. Now they have settled down for a short rest among the mountains in a secluded place where they are engaged in their illegal business. Don Jose suffers from homesickness (he dreams of a quiet peasant life), he is tormented by remorse. Only passionate love for Carmen keeps him in the camp of smugglers. But Carmen does not love him anymore, he is tired of her. The break is inevitable. What do the cards predict? Frasquita and Mercedes are guessing. I must say that they foretold a very attractive future for themselves: Frasquita is destined to meet a passionate lover, Mercedes - a rich old man who intends to marry her, and she, Carmen, who has "peaks" for the umpteenth time - death. "It's pointless to try to get away from your own fate," she sings in the famous "card" aria. But here comes the signal to smugglers to go to work, that is, to try to transport their goods across the border. (Their choir at this point always strikes me with its noisiness, because it is sung by delinquents engaged in illegal and therefore covert operations.)

As they leave, Michaela appears looking for Don José. She is very frightened and asks for protection from God in a touching aria ("Je dis que rien ne m'epouvante" - "In vain I assure myself"). Suddenly, Jose, who was left to guard some of the goods, shoots at someone who is sneaking here. Frightened girl hides. However, Jose was not aiming at Michaela, but, as it turned out, at Escamillo, who came here in search of Carmen, whom he was in love with. Recognizing him, Don Jose draws a knife, and a fight ensues between the rivals, but Escamillo's dagger breaks, and the bullfighter is on the ground. At this moment - very opportunely - Carmen appears to save the bullfighter. After thanking Carmen exquisitely, he invites everyone to his next performance in Seville. Escamillo leaves, and then Don José discovers the presence of Michaela nearby. She tells why she decided to go on this dangerous journey for smugglers: Don Jose's mother is dying and wants to see him for the last time. Carmen contemptuously tells José that he'd better go. But, before leaving, he turns to her and angrily warns that they will meet again - only death can separate them. Behind the scenes, the bullfighter's aria sounds, Carmen tries to run towards him. But Don José, turning once more towards her, rudely, with all his strength, pushes her, so that she falls to the ground. Only then is it removed. In the orchestra, the toreador's melody is quietly and ominously repeated.

ACT IV

The last act is preceded by one of the most brilliant orchestral fragments of the entire score - a symphonic episode captivating with its rhythmic pulsation, sustained in the character of the Spanish folk polo dance. All in holiday clothes; everyone is ready to enjoy the magnificent performance of Escamillo in the arena in Seville. Noble ladies, officers, commoners, soldiers - it seems that the whole city has gathered, wanting to see a bullfight. Finally, the bullfighter himself appears, and Carmen by his arm, dressed with all the luxury with which a bull-slayer at the zenith of his glory can afford to dress his beloved. They sing a small and rather banal love duet. And when Escamillo disappears inside the theater, everyone, with the exception of Carmen, rushes after him. Her friends, Frasquita and Mercedes, warn her that Don José is hiding somewhere. She defiantly remains standing alone, declaring that she is not afraid of him.

Don Jose enters, he menacingly approaches her, in tatters, wounded - a striking contrast to Carmen on the day of her triumph. He begs her to return to him. In response - her firm refusal. Another of his pleas - and again in response only contempt. In the end, in a rage, she throws the gold ring that he gave her right in his face right in the face. Behind the scenes, a jubilant chorus sounds to the victorious bullfighter - Don José's happy rival. Lost from all this reason, Don José threatens Carmen with a dagger. She desperately tries to hide from him in the theater. But at the moment when the crowd in the theater enthusiastically greets the winner - Escamillo, Don José is here, on the street, stabbing a dagger into his beloved forever lost by him. The crowd pours out of the theater. Don Jose, mentally broken, shouts in despair: “Arrest me! I killed her. Oh my Carmen! - and falls at the feet of the dead Carmen.

Henry W. Simon (translated by A. Maykapar)

Few 19th-century operas can compare to this: the world of music would be incomplete without Carmen, and Bizet would only have to write this opera to become Bizet. But the audience at the Opéra Comic did not think so when, in 1875, the opera was first received with increasing indifference and even indignation. The most stormy scenes and the realistic performance of Marie-Celestine Galli-Marie, the leading lady, who subsequently contributed to the approval of Bizet's masterpiece on stage, aroused particular rejection. During the premiere, Gounod, Thomas and Massenet were present in the hall, praising the author only out of courtesy. The libretto, in which the composer himself made changes several times, belonged to two masters of the light genre - Halevi (cousin of Bizet's wife) and Meliak, who at first entertained the public in collaboration with Offenbach, and then independently, creating comedies that were very much appreciated. They drew the plot from the short story by Mérimée (suggested to Bizet even earlier) and had to work hard to be accepted into the Opéra Comique, where a love story with a bloody ending and against a rather vulgar background caused considerable confusion. This theatre, though always trying to be less traditional, was visited by the well-meaning bourgeoisie, who used the performances to arrange the marriage affairs of their children. The diversity of characters, mostly ambiguous, which Merimet introduced into his short story - gypsies, thieves, smugglers, cigar factory workers, women of easy virtue and bullfighters - did not help maintain good morals. The librettists managed to create a lively Spanish flavor, they singled out several vivid images, framing them with exquisite choirs and dances, and added an innocent and pure character to this rather dark company - the young Michaela, who, although she remained beyond the threshold of action, made it possible to create a number of solid and touching music pages.

Music embodied the intention of the librettists with a precise sense of proportion; this music combined the sensibility, ardor, and strong flavor of Spanish folklore, partly genuine and partly composed, and was supposed to please even the hostile taste. But this did not happen. Nevertheless, despite the failure, "Carmen" withstood forty-five performances in the year of the premiere. It was a real record, which was undoubtedly promoted by curiosity, the desire to see a “scandalous” performance in its own way. After the thirty-fifth performance, there was also added the shock caused by the death of the still young author, killed, as they said, by an undeserved failure. The first signs of a real approval of the opera appeared after the Vienna production in October of that year (conversational dialogue was replaced by recitatives in it), which attracted the attention and approval of such masters as Brahms and Wagner. Tchaikovsky saw "Carmen" in Paris more than once during 1876 and wrote such enthusiastic words in one of the letters of 1880 to von Meck: "... I do not know anything in music that would have a greater right to represent an element that I call it pretty, le joli... Spicy harmonies, brand new sound combinations are many, but it's not an exclusive goal. 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 can't play the last scene without crying!" And that some melodies and harmonies, as well as partly instrumental coloring, subsequently influenced him himself - this is beyond any doubt: Bizet portrayed too well the passion that flares up and rages in the soul of a beauty, as if spoiled by her own beauty - the beauty and depravity of the heroine feed flame of tragedy.

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote about this in the first chapters of the book The Wagner Case in 1888, after listening to Carmen twenty times, for the first time in 1881 in Genoa, when the fate of the opera had already been decided. Nietzsche conveys his impressions of Carmen in this way: “She approaches, graceful, languid, coquettish ... There is something African in her serenity ... her passion is short, unexpected, feverish ... This is love - fatum, rock, shameless, innocent, cruel." The tragedy takes place against the backdrop of bullfighting, in broad daylight, where death has nowhere to hide. The heroine's singing - exotic, extraordinary, effortless, like a story about a long journey - is combined with the purest and most enthusiastic choral pages that have ever been written. Then a challenge is thrown into the face of the complacent spectator, for the first time in European music, a veristic alarm is heard: something that does not fit well with the good manners of a prima. Bizet, already in The Pearl Seekers, showed how the eyes, clouded by the haze of dreams, suddenly begin to see a rough and cruel material world in front of them. But now he created a language not of dreams, but of experience, and was able to introduce elements that academic pedants had always considered impossible in a beautiful style (many of these pedants never understood Carmen).

The vocal part of the opera, being ardent and impulsive, is not devoid of sophistication. Often melodies, long and wide, languid or very rhythmic, writhing, envelop the images with a strange charm, like Carmen's shawl, which she lowered over her face, covering one eye, while the other threw lightning at her hearts. But in the opera there is a place not only for sensuality. Bizet puts everything at stake, the wildest fantasy comes into play. Such is the final ensemble in the tavern, which goes back to the late Rossini and will influence the comic style of the late 19th century, Verdi's Falstaff: Bizet adds chromatic sharpness to the click of heels and castanets (then turning into sparkling singing) and from a high voice begins a free, unrestrained anthem (the same moving ease permeates the march of children from the first act). There is another hymn - referring to the camps of smugglers - this is the duet of Michaela and Jose, which, with its church cadences, is close to a lullaby at an accelerated pace. And what about the exit of the workers of the cigar factory with their cheeky gait, about the legendary land of smugglers, about the tercet with cards, about the luxurious preparations for the bullfight? Truly too much beauty. All this is too perfect not to die of despair.

Bizet, however, knew perfectly well what the true dignity of music was, as we can read about in his article published in 1867 in the Revue National et Etranger. Defending sincerity in art, he wrote: “For me, there are only two kinds of music: good and bad ... Make me laugh or cry; portray me love, hate, fanaticism, crime: enchant me, dazzle me, delight me, and I certainly will not inflict a stupid insult on you by labeling you like some kind of beetle-winged insect.

G. Marchesi (translated by E. Greceanii)

History of creation

Bizet began working on the opera Carmen in 1874. Its plot is borrowed from the short story of the same name by the French writer Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870), written in 1845. The content of the short story has undergone significant changes in the opera. Experienced writers A. Melyak (1831-1897) and L. Halévy (1834-1908) masterfully developed the libretto, saturating it with drama, deepening emotional contrasts, creating convex images of characters, in many respects different from their literary prototypes. Jose, depicted by the writer as a gloomy, proud and stern robber, acquired other features in the opera; a peasant boy who became a dragoon, he is shown as a simple, honest, but quick-tempered and weak person. The image of the strong-willed, courageous bullfighter Escamillo, barely outlined in the short story, received a bright and juicy characterization in the opera. Even more developed than the literary prototype is the image of the bride Jose Micaela - a gentle and affectionate girl, whose appearance sets off the unbridled and ardent character of a gypsy. Significantly changed and the image of the main character. Carmen in the opera is the embodiment of feminine beauty and charm, passionate love of freedom and courage. Cunning, thieves' efficiency - these features of Carmen's short story by Merimee were eliminated in the opera. Bizet ennobled the character of his heroine, emphasizing in him the directness of feelings and independence of actions. And, finally, expanding the scope of the narrative, the authors of the opera put into action colorful folk scenes. The life of a temperamental, motley crowd under the burning sun of the south, the romantic figures of gypsies and smugglers, the elevated atmosphere of a bullfight with particular sharpness and brightness emphasize the original characters of Carmen, Jose, Michaela and Escamillo, the drama of their destinies in the opera. These scenes gave the tragic plot an optimistic sound.

The premiere of "Carmen" took place in Paris on March 3, 1875 and was not successful. The author was accused of immorality: the free manifestation of the feelings of the heroes - ordinary people from the people - disgusted the sanctimonious bourgeois morality. One of the first among the great contemporaries of Bizet, the music of "Carmen" was appreciated by P. I. Tchaikovsky. “Bizet’s opera,” he wrote, “is a masterpiece, one of those few things that are destined to reflect the musical aspirations of an entire era to the strongest degree. In ten years, Carmen will be the most popular opera in the world.” These words turned out to be prophetic. If in 1876 "Carmen" for a long time disappeared from the repertoire of Parisian theaters, then abroad - in Vienna (1875), St. Petersburg (1878) and many other European cities, its success was truly triumphant. In Paris, the production of Carmen was resumed in 1883, edited by E. Guiraud (1837-1892), who replaced spoken dialogue with recitatives and added ballet scenes at the end of the opera, taking music from other works by Bizet.

Music

"Carmen" is one of the masterpieces of operatic art. Music, full of life and light, vividly affirms the freedom of the human person. Deeply truthful drama of clashes and conflicts. The heroes of the opera are depicted juicy, temperamentally, in all the psychological complexity of the characters. With great skill, the national Spanish flavor and the setting of the drama are recreated. The strength of Carmen's optimism lies in the inseparable inner connection between the heroes and the people.

The opera opens with an overture juxtaposing images of sunny Spain, a jubilant folk festival and the tragic fate of Carmen.

The beginning of the first act is serene and clear. The introductory folk scenes are rich in movement and colors: a choir of soldiers, a fervent march of boys. A chorus of girls, factory workers, is preparing Carmen's exit. Her habanera “Love has wings like a bird” is close to proud Spanish dance songs. The duet of Michaela and Jose "I remember a day in the mountains" is designed in idyllic colors. The song about a formidable husband, the seguidilla and the duet of Carmen and Jose create a multifaceted image of a freedom-loving gypsy.

The second act, like all subsequent ones, is preceded by a colorful symphonic intermission. The gypsy dance that opens the act is full of incendiary fun. Escamillo's energetic, courageous march "A toast, friends, I accept yours" (his music was first heard in the overture) depicts a brave hero of a bullfight. Quintet of smugglers (with the participation of Carmen) "If we need to deceive" is sustained in a light, mobile character. The duet of Carmen and Jose is the most important scene of the opera, the clash of two human wills, characters, views on life and love. The embodiment of the life ideals of the heroes is Jose's "aria about a flower" ("You see how sacredly I preserve the flower that you gave me") and Carmen's song, her hymn to freedom "There, there, in my native mountains." If the characterization of Jose is dominated by the element of a song-romance, emphasizing his spiritual softness, then the rebellious spirit of Carmen is revealed in the temperamental rhythms and tunes of Spanish folk songs. The act ends with the melody of Carmen's freedom-loving song played by the choir.

The symphonic intermission for the third act paints a poetic picture of nature - the peace and quiet of the slumbering mountains. Gloomy alert sextet with the smugglers' choir-march "Bolder, bolder on the road, friends, go!" - and another choir - a lively and cheerful character "We are not afraid of customs soldiers" describe the world in which Carmen and José live. The central episode of the third act is the divination scene (tercet); the cheerful chirping of Frasquita and Mercedes sets off the mournful reflection of Carmen, who appears here in an unusual, tragic guise. Michaela's lyrical aria "In vain I assure myself" takes on a decisive character. José's meeting with Escamillo creates a dramatic escalation and prepares the climax of the third act (Carmen's break with José). The finale of the act conveys an ominous alertness and tension of the situation, foreshadowing the inevitable denouement.

The symphonic intermission for the fourth act, in the style of the Spanish folk dance "polo", is one of the wonderful examples of Bizet's penetration into the spirit of folk music. The act is divided into two halves: the pictures of a bright, glittering folk festival are opposed by the personal drama of the characters; life's contrasts are extremely naked. The action opens with a lively folk scene, reminiscent of the beginning of an opera with its bright and sunny color. A solemn heroic march and choir accompany Escamillo's triumphal procession. The melody of the duet of Escamillo and Carmen “If you love, Carmen” pours widely and freely, full of hot feeling. In the second half of the act, especially in the duet between José and Carmen, the dramatic tension quickly builds up. Throughout the scene, the contrast of popular jubilation and personal drama intensifies. The four invading festive cries of the crowd aggravate the duel of heroes, leading to a tragic denouement.

M. Druskin

One of the most outstanding works of world opera classics. After the scandalous premiere, which ended in failure, already in the autumn of the same year, the Vienna premiere (for which Guiro wrote recitatives instead of spoken dialogues) was a great success, which the composer was not destined to see (Bizet died suddenly in the summer of 1875). Recently, a number of theaters are returning to the "conversational" version. The Russian premiere took place in 1885 (Mariinsky Theatre, conductor Napravnik, as Carmen Slavina). Carmen has enjoyed unparalleled popularity for over 100 years. Her incendiary melodies: the habanera "L'amour est oiseau rebelle", the bullfighter's couplets "Votre toast", heartfelt lyrical episodes (Jose's aria "with a flower" from 2 d., etc.) are heard as well as the most popular folk and pop songs . In 1967, Karajan staged the film-opera Carmen with the participation of Bumbry, Vickers, Freni. A new version of the opera was shot in 1983 by F. Rosi (conductor Maazel, soloists Michenes-Johnson, Domingo, etc.). Among the productions of recent years, we note the performances of 1996 at the Metropolitan Opera (Graves in the title role) and at the Mariinsky Theater (conducted by Gergiev).

Discography: CD (with recitatives) - RCA Victor. Dir. Karajan, Carmen (L. Price), Jose (Corelli), Michaela (Freni), Escamillo (Merrill) - Deutsche Grammophon. Dir. Levine, Carmen (Baltsa), Jose (Carreras), Michaela (Mitchell), Escamillo (Rami) - CD (with dialogues) - Philips. Dir. Ozawa, Carmen (Norman), Jose (Shikoff), Michaela (Freni), Escamillo (Estes).

E. Tsodokov

Bizet became interested in the plot of Carmen while still working on Jamila, and in 1873-1874 he came to grips with finishing the libretto and writing music. On March 3, 1875, the premiere took place at the Comic Opera; three months later, on June 3, Bizet died suddenly, before he could complete a number of his other works. (Among them is the heroic opera "Sid" (in a later edition - "Don Rodrigo") based on the tragedy of de Castro. The music was fully composed, but not recorded (only sketches of the vocal parts have survived) - Bizet played it to his friends. Possessing a rare memory, Bizet, like Mozart, fixed his compositions on music paper only when the deadline for their performance was approaching.)

His premature death was probably hastened by the secular scandal that broke out around the "Carmen". Satiated bourgeois - ordinary visitors to the boxes and stalls - found the plot of the opera obscene, and the music - too serious and complex. Press reviews were almost unanimously negative. At the beginning of the next year, 1876, Carmen disappeared for a long time from the repertoire of Parisian theaters, and at the same time its triumphant success began on the stage of foreign countries. (the first performance in Russia took place in 1878). In Paris, the production of "Carmen" was resumed only in 1883. After her transition to the Grand Opera stage, Ernest Guiraud replaced the initial dialogue with recitatives and added ballet scenes in the last act (borrowed from the music of Belle of Perth and The Arlesian). From now on, "Carmen" deservedly took one of the first places in the repertoire of the world musical theater.

But long before that, Tchaikovsky noted its outstanding artistic value. Already in 1875 he had the clavier "Carmen", at the beginning of 1876 he saw her on the stage of the Paris "Comique Opera". In 1877, Tchaikovsky wrote: "... I learned it by heart, all from beginning to end." And in 1880 he stated: “In my opinion, this is a masterpiece in the full sense of the word, that is, one of those few things that are destined to reflect in themselves, to the strongest degree, the musical aspirations of an entire era.” And then he prophetically predicted: "I am convinced that in ten years, Carmen will be the most popular opera in the world ...".

The plot of the opera is borrowed from Prosper Mérimée's short story "Carmen" (1847), more precisely, from its third chapter, containing Jose's story about the drama of his life. Experienced masters of theatrical dramaturgy, Meliak and Halevi, created an excellent, stage-effective libretto, dramatic situations and text of which clearly outline the characters of the play's characters. But during the development of this plot, under the leadership of Bizet, essential new points were introduced.

First of all, the image of Jose (in Spanish pronunciation - Jose) has changed. At Merimee, this is a well-known bandit, on whose conscience there are many crimes. He is stern, proud, gloomy and somehow reminded the writer of "Milton's Satan." The image created by Mérimée is unusual and has a more conditionally "opera" character than is the case in Bizet's opera itself. In the interpretation of the composer, Jose is humane, simple, devoid of features of individual exclusivity. Not a fearless, strong-willed, romantically lonely hero was described by Bizet, but his contemporary, an honest, direct, somewhat weak-willed man, dreaming of a cozy and calm happiness, but due to fatal circumstances, torn from the usual conditions of existence. This was the cause of his personal drama.

A radical rethinking of the image of Jose brought new moments to his relationship with Carmen.

And this image has changed. But the changes here went in the opposite direction - everything was removed that was connected with the depiction of Carmen's dexterity, cunning, thieves' efficiency, in other words, everything that belittled this image. In Bizet's opera, he is elevated, made nobler and, again, more humane, and even endowed with traits of tragic grandeur in the end. Without breaking with the original source, the authors of the opera more actively emphasized the love of freedom, the directness of the heroine's bold character. They brought the essence of this image closer to that romantic interpretation of "gypsy" as a synonym for love of freedom, independence in personal relationships, opposed to the hypocrisy of bourgeois morality, which found its most striking embodiment in Pushkin's "Gypsies".

But most importantly - music Bizet endowed Carmen with features popular character. In order for the composer to achieve this, the librettists changed the scene - they took it to the squares and the boundless expanses of the mountains, populated them with masses of people, full of lively and active joy, in constant motion. Life boiled rapidly around the heroes of the opera, and their ties with reality - especially with Carmen - became stronger and more versatile.

The introduction of folk scenes, which occupy an important place in the opera, gave a different lighting, a different color to Merimee's short story, moreover, a different ideological orientation: the drama, gloomy in colors, acquired the character of an optimistic tragedy. The power of love of life, radiated by folk scenes, permeates the image of the heroine. In the glorification of open, simple and strong feelings, a direct, impulsive attitude to life, the main feature of Bizet's opera is its high ethical value. "Carmen," wrote Romain Rolland, "is all outside, all life, all the world without shadows, without understatement."

Concentrating the action, compressing it, freeing it from side intrigues, but at the same time expanding to strengthen the role of the folk principle, the authors of the opera saturated the dramaturgy with vitally authentic contrasts, gave energy and dynamics to its development. In contrast to Jose, the bullfighter Escamillo acquired a strong-willed, heroic, albeit somewhat external characterization, and the antithesis to Carmen was the affectionate and gentle Michaela - an image created by the librettists on the basis of the phrase casually thrown by the writer about "a girl in a blue skirt and with blond braids." This antithesis also has a strong literary tradition. One can recall the opposition of the images of Clelia and the Duchess from Stendhal's "Parma Convent" or in his own novel "Red and Black" - Madame Renal and Mathilde de Lamolle. In the specific context of the opera, this antithesis helped to show the emotional drama of Jose, his painful search for happiness in a versatile way.

Bizet's music further emphasized the contrast and dynamics of dramatic development: it is characterized by liveliness, brilliance, and a variety of movements. These qualities, typical of the composer, perfectly matched the depiction of the action of the Spanish plot. Only in rare cases, using folk melodies, Bizet aptly conveyed the Spanish national flavor. It was not the first time he turned to him: the Vasco da Gama symphony-cantata (1859), the arrangement of six Spanish songs (1867), the gypsy songs and dances in The Perth Beauty (1867) - and the features of gypsy music are included as an important element in the folklore of the southern regions of Spain - and, finally, the unfinished opera "Sid" (1873-1874) - these are the stages of Bizet's creative search in discovering his method of reproducing the Spanish national spirit. The role of the Arlesian is also significant, for the folklore of Provence, as well as its language, is partly close to Spanish.

Only three genuine folk melodies are used in the score of the opera: this is the habanera of act I, whose music gives a free adaptation of a song of Cuban origin, published in 1864 in one of the collections (see examples 194 a, b); polo (folk Spanish dance) from the orchestral introduction to act IV - its melody is inspired by the song of the famous Spanish singer M. Garcia (see example 283 in) and, finally, the melody of Carmen Zunige's daring response in Act I (see example 195), for which the librettists used the text of Zemfira's song from Pushkin's "Gypsies" translated by P. Merimee.

Along with such "quotes", Bizet interspersed in the musical fabric individual turns and developmental techniques - melodic and rhythmic, characteristic of Spanish music. These are the methods of cadence allocation of the fifth stage - the mentioned intermission ends on the dominant; comparison within the framework of the seven-step mode of the major and minor tetrachords, and the final sound of the first of them coincides with the initial sound of the second, which takes place both in the named intermission and in the seguidille of act I.

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Characters:

Carmen the gypsy mezzo-soprano
Don Jose, sergeant tenor
Escamillo, bullfighter baritone
Dancairo, smuggler baritone
Romendado, smuggler tenor
Zuniga, lieutenant bass
Morales, sergeant baritone
Mikaela, Jose's fiancee soprano
Frasquita, a gypsy, Carmen's friend soprano
Mercedes, a gypsy, Carmen's friend soprano
Lillas Pastia, tavern owner without words

Guide, officers, soldiers, boys, tobacco factory workers, young people, gypsies and gypsies, smugglers, bullfighters, picadors, people.

The action takes place in Spain at the beginning of the 19th century.

STEP ONE

soldiers

On guard
street life
we live by the clock.
Crowds of people, noise and din!
Crowds of people, noise and din!
We have fun!
We have fun!
Crowds of people, noise and din!
We have fun!
We have fun!

Morales

So that the soldier of the guard service
did not fall asleep
they need to chat with a passerby,
whoever he is!
Both fun and enjoyable
watch the crowd...

soldiers

Both fun and enjoyable
watch the crowd.

Have fun, my friend, we are with you!
We have fun!
We have fun!
Have fun, my friend, we are with you!
We have fun!
We have fun!

(scared)
You?

Morales and soldiers

Michaela

Thanks, no.
I can't take your advice.

Morales

We Jose will wait together
and please believe us
I swear by the honor of a soldier
I won't give you offense.

Michaela

I believe you, señor; I'll just leave for a while
then I'll come back here.

to come with the guard to replace you?
After all, Don Jose must certainly
come with the guard to replace you.

Morales and soldiers

Yes, he must be here
come with the guard to replace us.

Not! Not! Not! Not! Not!
I can't, forgive me!

(Breaks out and runs away.)

Morales

She sang beautifully
but flew away!
It is unlikely that the bird will return to us!
Let's look around again...

soldiers

And it's fun
and nice
watch the crowd.
Have fun, my friend, we are with you!
Have fun, my friend, we are with you!

Morales

We have fun!

Morales and soldiers

We have fun!

(A trumpet is off stage. The music of a military march is heard. Soldiers with weapons line up in front of the guardhouse. Boys come running from all sides. The changing of the guard appears, led by Zuniga, with José. Passers-by are watching the changing of the guard.)

Boys

In the rearguard of the squadron
our guard always!
Horns trumpet fervently
tra-ta-ta-ta, tra-ta-ta!
brother elder road
chose the little soldier.
He walks with him.
Once! Two! Straighter row!

step measured and firm!
Our soldier's honor
we will never drop!
In the rearguard of the squadron
our guard always!
Horns trumpet fervently
tra-ra-ta-ta, ta-ra-ta-ta!
brother elder road
chose the little soldier.
He walks with great strides.
Once! Two! Straighter row!
Chest forward, shoulder blades together
step measured and firm!
We are our soldier's honor
we will never drop!
Ta-ra-ta, ra-ta, ra-ta-ta-ta-ta!
Ta-ra-ta-ta!

(After the command "at ease" Morales approaches José.)

Morales

I'll tell you a secret:
a brown-haired woman was looking for a meeting with you alone!
And the eyes are heavenly!

Jose

Michaela! That's her!

Dear Lieutenant, I don't want to argue with you.
Here are the beauties from the factory before you without embellishment!
Here they are! See and judge for yourself.

Love is careless and capricious,
and we can't avoid trouble.

any of us, and I, and you!

People

Carmen

Today I am in love
and tomorrow you, my friend!

People

And tomorrow you!

Carmen

smitten with passion,

Workers

Love is careless and capricious,
and we can't avoid trouble.
In her game to become a victim is called
any of us, and I, and you!

Young people and soldiers

Today I am in love
and tomorrow you, my friend.

People

And tomorrow you!

Carmen

smitten with passion,
fall at my feet with a prayer!

Workers

Love is careless and capricious,
and we can't avoid trouble.
In her game to become a victim is called
any of us, and I, and you!

Young people and soldiers

We are called to become a victim of love, and I, and you!

People

Carmen

Today I am in love
and tomorrow you, my friend.

People

And tomorrow you!

Carmen

smitten with passion,
fall at my feet with a prayer!

People

My friend!

Young people

Carmen, we are your humble servants!
Carmen, don't hide anything from us!
Kindly name me
who is worthy of your love.

(Young people surround Carmen. She does not pay any attention to them. She approaches José and throws him a flower.)

Workers

(laughing)
Love is careless and capricious,
and we can't avoid trouble.
In her game to become a victim is called
any of us, and I, and you!

(The factory bell rings. The workers leave, Carmen is with them. José looks after her in confusion. The square is empty.)

Jose

(picking up a flower)
This look is a fiery abyss!
strange flower...
With a gentle flame
its petals tremble...
Aroma knocks off your feet
and intoxicated with hope!
What's wrong with me?
Isn't it all witchcraft?
There is no other way to explain!

(Micaela appears.)

Michaela

That order
not for us.
And about him you now
forget!
Do me
nothing in jail
if you, Jose,
do you love me!

Jose

Carmen

(Zuniga returns and hands Jose a package.)

Zuniga

(to Jose)
I appoint you the head of the convoy.

Carmen

(to Jose; quietly)
Walk halfway with me
I you then
that there is strength I will push with my shoulder ...
You, Jose, will fall,
and I will quickly hide.

(to Zuniga; laughing)
Love is careless and capricious,
and we can't avoid trouble.
In her game to become a victim is called
any of us, and I, and you!

(showing tied hands)
Today I am in love
and tomorrow you, my friend,
smitten with passion, you will fall
at my feet with a prayer!

(Two soldiers take Carmen under escort, Jose walks behind them. Women and young people gradually squeeze forward again. Carmen, having crossed the square, pushes Jose. He falls. Carmen runs away. The workers, laughing loudly, surround Zuniga.)

ACT TWO

(Lillas Pastia's tavern. Carmen, Frasquita and Mercedes are sitting at a table with Zuniga and other officers. Gypsies dance to the sound of guitars and tambourines. The dancing stops.)

(Dances follow, joined by Mercedes, Frasquita and Carmen.)

Frasquita

Friends, Pastia said...

Zuniga

Why is the old devil fussing there?

Frasquita

Said that the Corregidor himself
we were ordered to disperse.

Zuniga

choir

(behind the scenes)
Hello, brave bullfighter!
Hello, brave bullfighter!
Hello Escamillo!
Hello! Hello! Hello!

Zuniga

Zuniga

So it was, so it will be!

Frasquita

Yes, it always is!

What happened to you? What's wrong with you, Carmen?
Tell me quickly!

Frasquita

Yes, Carmen, you tell me what's wrong with you?

Mercedes

What happened to you?

romendado

You tell me what's wrong with you?

What happened to you?

Carmen

I won't hide from you...

Frasquita

Mercedes

Dancairo

romendado

Carmen

I confess, maybe I...

Dancairo and Romendado

Frasquita and Mercedes

Carmen

I fell in love again!

Dancairo

Can't be!

Dancairo and Romendado

Jose

(offstage; from a distance)

Carmen

(to Dancairo)
Did you hear?

Jose

(behind the scenes)
Who sent you to us, dragoon from Alcal?

Jose

(behind the scenes)
Believe and don't believe
angels and devils
to life or death!
If it is true,
this is a bold move!
I want sometimes
risk your head!
That's how I'm set
dragoons from Alcal!

(Near the window, Frasquita and Mercedes watch José approaching.)

Frasquita

He is just for us!

Mercedes

Seems smart!

Dancairo

Indeed, we have a good companion!

romendado

Who said "cowardly"?

Carmen

That poor liar!

Carmen

Ours, but not really.

Jose

(offstage; approaching)
Who goes? It's me, the dragoon of Alcal!
What brings you here from Alcal?
possessed by passion,
punished by jealousy,
I'm going to my beloved!
If it is true,
this is a bold move!
I want sometimes
risk your head!
That's how I'm set
dragoons from Alcal!

(Entering a tavern. Dancairo, Romendado, Frasquita and Mercedes exit.)

Carmen

Hey Jose!

Jose

Carmen

And you, my friend, are jealous!
Why, señor
your angry gaze?
In response to your reproach
I will dance for you too
once you want it.
By the will of fate at this hour
you are my audience!
La la la la la la la...

(Carmen dances, singing, to the accompaniment of castanets. Jose looks at her with admiration. Behind the stage, from afar, trumpets are heard.)

Jose

(stopping Carmen)
Please, Carmen, stop, listen!

Carmen

(surprised)
What's the matter with you, don José?

Jose

Do you hear somewhere far away...
The sound of an army trumpet?
He torments my soul
orders to rush to collect!

Carmen

Bravo! Bravo! How lovely!
Without music, dance is no fun
now the enthusiasm of the past
will find my dance again!
La la la la la la la la...

I beg you, Carmen, be quiet... be quiet! My God!
Enough, please! I beg you!
God, give me strength!

Carmen

Where the world has gone a little crazy
where the night in delirium draws patterns of stars!
Hurry, hurry there, to that land of miracles,
to that paradise of heaven!
If you're in love, then
hurry, hurry there
where the river rages in pearls,
where the world has gone a little crazy!
Hurry there! Hurry there!

Jose

I beg you, be quiet!

Carmen

Goodbye! Leave forever!

Jose

Well! Everything is everything!
Sorry and goodbye!

Carmen

Jose

Goodbye Carmen! Do not see you again!

Carmen

(Jose runs to the door. A knock on the door stops him.)

Zuniga

(Behind the door)
Carmen, open up! Please!

Jose

Someone is knocking on the door!

Carmen

Be quiet! Be quiet!

Zuniga

Are the doors strong?
I'll check!

(Forcibly opens the door.)

So that's who you are with, beauty!
I thought it was a dandy
and he is a simple sergeant!
The worse, for example,
officer for you?

There is no need and no worries!
There are no worries!
Life flows freely!

Dancairo and Romendado

It's just waiting for us...

The second group of gypsies

Yes, we are all waiting there...

Frasquita, Mercedes, Carmen, Dancairo, Romendado, José and a group of gypsies

Only there are gypsies, the soul of the rebellious ...

Another group of gypsies

Jose

I want to warn:
such words are dangerous...

Carmen

Are you threatening me with death?
Why are you keeping silent? Maybe I'm right?
If this is fate
it is unnecessary to argue with her.

(Frasquita and Mercedes take out their cards and start guessing, spreading the cards in front of them.)

Frasquita

Mercedes

Frasquita

Mercedes

About what awaits me in love ...

Frasquita

And what enemies hide in the soul.

Mercedes

And what enemies hide in the soul.

Frasquita and Mercedes

Deck of cards, tell me

and that enemies are hidden in the soul.

Frasquita

Mercedes

Frasquita

Mercedes

Tell!
Fate promises me a groom
handsome and young.

Frasquita and Mercedes

Deck of cards, tell, tell
the whole truth to me about bright days and troubles.

Frasquita

About what awaits me in love ...

Mercedes

About what awaits me in love ...

Frasquita

And what enemies hide in the soul.

Mercedes

And what enemies hide in the soul.

Frasquita and Mercedes

Deck of cards, tell me
about what awaits me in love,
and that enemies are hidden in the soul.

Frasquita

Wealth!

Mercedes

Carmen

Well, I'll guess too.

(She lays out the cards.)

Diamonds! Peaks! Again! And again!
This is death for me and him...
Fate itself sends death!

Fate sends death!

Frasquita

Wealth!

Mercedes

Carmen

Fate sends death!

Frasquita

Frasquita and Mercedes

Ofraskita, Mercedes and Carmen

The first group of gypsies

So let's go through any cordon!

The second group of gypsies

Frasquita, Mercedes and the first group of gypsies

Whoever he is, the customs guard,
what rank he is, it doesn’t matter at all,
whatever his rank,
there is no reason to be proud of the rank.
We captivate everyone!
Yes, we are going to be successful.

Carmen and the second group of gypsies

Whoever he is, whoever he is,
customs guard customs guard
what rank he is, it doesn’t matter at all,
and whatever the rank,
there is no reason to be proud of the rank.
We captivate everyone!
Yes, we are going to be successful.

Novella Carmen Prosper Merimee

The material was "taken away" from the site http: // site /

"Carmen" (in French "Carmen") was written by Prosper Mérimée in 1845. It consists of 4 chapters. It was this short story that served as inspiration for the composer Georges Bizet when creating his immortal.

the short story Carmen was the inspiration for Georges Bizet's stunning opera

The novel begins with a search by one scientist (in whose features the author himself is guessed -) in the fall of 1830, the place of the last triumphal Spanish battle of Julius Caesar. Fleeing from the heat, he hides in a gorge, where he meets a dexterous fellow with blond hair. He offers to share his meal with him and smoke. They will continue the path together, but the scientist's guide keeps making signs to him, which he ignores. All three stop for the night in the same house: their companion quickly falls asleep, and the scientist cannot fall asleep in any way. Going outside, he notices a guide who is about to inform the soldiers about the whereabouts of the robber José Navarro, for whose capture a reward has been promised. The scientist warns his companion of impending danger. After that, they part as friends.

The scientist continues his research in the library of a monastery in Cordoba, walking in the evenings along the river bank, where one day he meets a dazzling woman with jasmine flowers in her hair. Having treated her to a cigarette, he learns that this is a gypsy named Carmen. He accompanies her to her house, where she invites him to tell fortunes. Fortune telling is interrupted by the appearance of a man in a raincoat, who enters into a skirmish with a gypsy in an unfamiliar language. The scientist recognizes his friend José in the stranger. He takes the guest out of the house, showing the way to his hotel. The scientist discovers the loss of the gold watch that Carmen liked so much. Disappointed, he leaves the city, where he visits again a few months later. He learns that José Navarro has been arrested and will soon be executed. The scientist visits the prisoner, where he listens to his confession.

José's story in Carmen

It turns out that Jose belongs to an old noble Basque family. After a knife fight with one of his compatriots, he was forced to flee and join the dragoon regiment, where he rose to the rank of brigadier. One day, standing on guard at the Seville tobacco factory, he first meets Carmen, who became his passion, pain and cause of imminent death. She goes to work with other girls, and two hours later, José is assigned to take her to prison as the instigator of a quarrel, who disfigured the face of another factory worker with a knife. On the way to the prison, Carmen lies to Jose, persuading him to help her escape. He believes her fables and arranges an escape, because of which he loses his rank and ends up in prison for a month. Carmen sends him a loaf of bread with a file inside and some money, but he refuses to run. After leaving prison, he serves as a simple soldier. Once standing as a sentry at the house of his colonel, he sees a carriage with gypsies who have arrived to entertain the guests. Carmen appoints Jose a meeting and gives him a happy day and night, after which she reports that they are now in the calculation. In vain Jose is looking for her. He meets her again among the smugglers who want to get through the gap in the wall guarded by José. Carmen promises to spend the night with him, and he lets the smugglers through and becomes one himself. For a while, he is happy next to her, until Crooked Garcia, Carmen's ugly husband, released from prison, appears in the detachment. Jose kills an opponent in a duel and, according to gypsy customs, becomes Carmen's rum (or husband). He invites her to flee to America and start a new life there, but she does not want to change her life. After some time, José finds out about her passion for the matador Lucas. Jose takes Carmen to a secluded gorge, where he repeatedly asks to run away with him to America, but she replies that she no longer loves him and does not want to live with him, throwing the ring he gave him in the face. Jose, in anger, stabs her twice with a dagger, after which he buries her body in the forest, putting a ring and a cross there.