French composer Georges Bizet (1838–1875) started the trend among French composers for ‘childhood-related works’ with Jeux d’enfants (Children’s Games), his 1871 suite for two pianos – four hands. The final 12 pieces encompass all kinds of children’s games, some for

In they come, swaggering and posing, the heroes of the bull ring: the toreadors! In Bizet’s Carmen, the latest love of her life, Escamillo, appears in a procession to the bull ring in Act IV. Escamillo’s arrival and dallying with

It’s not really common knowledge, but Georges Bizet was an absolutely brilliant pianist. He entered the class of Antoine-François Marmontel at the Paris Conservatoire at the age of nine, eventually winning Premiers Prix for piano, organ, fugue, and composition. In

Georges Bizet at 150 Honouring the Legacy of a Musical Genius On 3 June 2025, we mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Georges Bizet (1838–1875), a composer whose brief but brilliant career left an indelible mark on the

Vicious reviews have been known to severely damage careers and artistic prospects. In the case of George Bizet (1838-1875), it has been suggested that the horrendous initial reception of Carmen had somehow contributed to the composer’s death. The opera premiered

When talking about operas, we mostly focus on arias, those glorious moments where all time stops and the hero or heroine tells us of their hopes and their dreams, or their disappointments and anger. Duets, however, have their own strength.

If there is one opera I love above all others, it has to be Georges Bizet’s Carmen. It contains beautiful and ethnic melodies, plenty of action and great drama. But the reason I personally rate it above others in the

George Bizet (1838-1875) was greatly optimistic about the premiere performance of his opera Carmen on 3 March 1875 at the “Opéra Comique” in Paris. Final rehearsals had gone very well, and on the very same day Bizet was appointed as