The Pearl Fishers Georges Bizet Two's company. Three's a tragedy. Conductor: ANNE MASON Stage Director: TAZEWELL THOMPSON Performed in French with English Supertitles.

Virginia Opera features a free pre-opera presentation available before the opera by Dr. Glenn Winters, Virginia Opera's Community Musical Outreach Director.

Running time: TBA 

About the Composer

Georges Bizet 

Georges Bizet, born October 25, 1838, was named Alexandre César Léopold Bizet. However, he was christened “Georges” and that became the name he used. Like many other well-known composers he was born into a musical family. His father, Adolphe Bizet, was a voice teacher. His mother came from the famous musical family Delsarte and was an excellent pianist. Georges’ uncle, Francois Delsarte, was a celebrated singer. It came as no surprise when Georges showed signs of musical talent at a very early age. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatory at the age of nine.

He quickly rose to prominence in the school. His most important teacher was Jacques Halévy, who taught Charles Gounod, and was a prominent opera composer. Bizet was mentored by Gounod as well. At age eighteen he competed for the coveted Prix de Rome. The judges awarded no first prize that year and Bizet won second prize. He entered again the following year, 1857, and won. The Prix de Rome, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV, was a scholarship that could be awarded to musicians, painters, sculptors or architects. In the 1850s the winner spent time abroad, particularly in Rome, studying in their field. In addition, living expenses were provided for five years. At the end of each year the student had to submit a specified work so that the judges could determine their progress. Other famous Prix winners were Berlioz, Massenet, Gounod and Debussy. 

In 1857, Bizet departed for Rome and spent three years there. He studied the landscape, the culture, Italian literature and art. Musically he studied the scores of the great masters. At the end of the first year he was asked to submit a religious work as his required composition. As a self-described atheist, Bizet felt uneasy and hypocritical writing a religious piece. Instead, he submitted a comic opera. Publicly, the committee accepted, acknowledging his musical talent. Privately, the committee conveyed their displeasure. Thus, early in his career, Bizet displayed an independent spirit that would be reflected in innovative ideas in his opera composition.

When Bizet returned to Paris and became self-supporting, he composed, gave piano lessons, produced orchestrations and piano transcriptions and wrote operas. Financially, he found his chosen profession "a splendid art, but a sad trade." He endured no less than five operatic failures before writing Carmen, but his critics clearly recognized his abilities as a composer. In 1867 he became engaged briefly to Géneviève Halévy, the daughter of the noted composer of La Juive, his former teacher at the Paris Conservatory. The family of Bizet’s mother objected to the marriage because the Halévy’s were Jewish and the Halévy family objected because of Bizet’s atheism, bohemian lifestyle and financial irresponsibility. The two finally married in 1869 but it was not to be a happy marriage. A son was born in 1872.

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 spurred Bizet’s patriot spirit and he joined the National Guard in defense of Paris. The war also had an effect on the opera world. Prior to the war, composer Jacques Offenbach had reigned in Paris. After the war, his light-hearted satires were no longer as appealing to the Parisians. Bizet was asked to write a one-act comic opera for the Opera-Comique in 1872. It was a failure, but the work won high praise for its music. As a result Bizet was commissioned to write a full, three-act opera by the Opera-Comique. The libretto was to be furnished by Ludovic Halévy, Géneviève’s cousin, and Henri Meilhac, a very popular libretto team of the time. The novel Carmen by Prosper Mérimée was chosen as the source for the opera. This “nouvelle,” written in 1845, contained sex, dishonor and murder. The management of the Comique was very unhappy with the subject matter. Their patrons were used to respectable family entertainment. Blatant sexuality and a violent on-stage murder had never been seen on the stage of the Comique.

Bizet was enthusiastic and took an active part in writing the libretto. He was committed to the realistic nature of the characters and the plot. Bizet’s music captured the exoticism and flair of Spain while remaining true to his lyrical French roots. His brilliant orchestration and originality brought a new dimension to the operatic stage. By the time the opera went into rehearsal a furor had arisen over it. Management tried to change the ending and newspapers were suggesting that the Opera-Comique would no longer be a family theater. In rehearsal chorus members were unhappy being asked to move about the stage freely and act while they sang. The orchestra found the music “unplayable.” By the night of the opening, however, everyone involved with the production was fully supportive.

On March 3, 1875, the opera had its premiere. It was deemed a colossal failure. Bizet’s music was assailed, the character Carmen was too lewd and the whole event was too sordid for the respectable public. It did have forty-eight performances, but played to smaller and smaller audiences. Bizet’s health, never robust, suffered, and he became depressed. Georges Bizet died at his country estate on June 3, 1875, believing he was a failure. It was three months to the day of the opera’s premiere, and it was also his sixth wedding anniversary. He was thirty-six years old. Four thousand people attended his funeral, and Charles Gounod served as one of the pallbearers.