Opera genre in the works of the composer Bizet. Biography of Georges Bizet

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

Childhood and youth

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

Georges' mother, Aimee, was a pianist, and her brother Francois Delsarte was a singer and vocal teacher. Father Adolf-Aman was engaged in making wigs for some time, and then became a singing teacher, despite the lack of special education.

In the house on Tour d'Auvergne street, music was constantly playing, captivating 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 Eme, seeing the boy’s amazing ability for music, forced him to sit for hours at the piano. Thanks to this, on the eve of his 10th birthday, October 9, 1848, Georges entered the Parisian music conservatory 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 phenomenal memory, he received first prize at the solfeggio competition, which gave him the right to free lessons in composition from the famous teacher of that time, Pierre Zimmermann. The instrument was relegated to the background, and the dream of composing music for the theater appeared.

After graduating from piano class, Bizet began studying composition with Fromental Halévy, a teacher artistic director Parisian Theater Italien. Composing music captivated the conservatory student, at which time he wrote many works in different genres.

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

Music

During his studies, Bizet created his first musical works: “Symphony in C Major,” unknown until 1933, found in the archives of the Paris Conservatoire, and the comic opera “House of the Doctor.”

The public's acquaintance with the aspiring composer took place after a creative competition announced by Jacques Offenbach, owner of the Bouffe-Parisienne theater in Montmartre. It was necessary to write a musical comedy play with the participation of 4 characters. Reward - Golden 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 on an internship to Rome. Bizet was enchanted by the beauty of Italy, he became interested in opera, and fell in love with music and paintings. In Rome, the composer was supposed to create a cantata under the terms of the 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 forced to be interrupted due to his mother's illness, and he returned to Paris. The next 3 years became difficult creative biography composer. Georges was forced to make a living by creating entertaining music for cafe-concerts, translating orchestral scores famous works for piano, give private lessons.

As Rome laureate, Bizet was supposed to write a comic work for the Opera-Comique theater, but this was impossible for personal reasons. In 1961, my mother died, and six months later the teacher Fromental Halévy died. In 1863, the composer, having overcome his experiences, created the lyrical opera “The Pearl Fishers”, and then the opera “The Perth Beauty” based on the plot.

In the 70s, Bizet's work began to flourish. The premiere of “Jamile” took place at the Opera Comique theater; critics and spectators appreciated the subtle style and grace of the Arabic motifs of the work. In 1872, the composer composed the music for Alphonse Daudet’s drama “The Arlesienne”. 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 1875 premiere was a failure and caused negative reaction press, the production was called scandalous and immoral. Despite this, the play was shown 45 times during the first year. Spectators went to see it out of curiosity, which doubled after the composer’s death.

Bizet did not live to see his creation recognized. The first positive reviews appeared a year after the premiere. "Carmen" appreciated by Johannes Brahms. , who watched the production more than once during the year, wrote:

“Bizet is an artist who pays tribute to the century and modernity, but is warmed by true inspiration. And what a wonderful plot of the opera! I can't play without crying last scene!».

The audience fell in love with the heroine, whose musical portrait is woven from the sounds of habanera, polo, and 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 last 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 his passion for Madame Mogador, known as the Countess de Chabrilan, the opera singer Madame Lionel, and the writer Celeste Venard. The lady was much older than Georges and enjoyed scandalous fame. The composer was not happy with her and suffered from mood swings and obscene antics. After the breakup I was depressed for a long time.

Bizet found happiness with the daughter of his teacher Fromental 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 a popular creative people place Barbizon.

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 Rome Scholar. He took his young wife from Barbizon and returned to Paris, where he helped the defenders of the city as best 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 second boy, Jean, from the maid Maria Reiter. Georges loved his son and wife, but could not be completely happy in his personal life. Genevieve considered her husband a loser and began an affair with pianist and neighbor Elie-Miriam Delaborde. Bizet knew about this and was very worried.

Death

Bizet's death still remains a mystery to researchers. It is known that this happened in Bougival, where the composer’s family, accompanied by the maid Maria Reiter and her son, went for the summer. They settled in two-story house, preserved to this day, his photo is on the Internet.

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

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

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

One more possible reason Researchers consider the death of the creator of “Carmen” to be suicide. In their opinion, the composer inflicted the wound on himself, trying to cut the trachea or artery. There were reasons for such an assumption. Lately Georges was depressed due to creative failures and illness. Before leaving for Bougeval, he put his papers in order and made important orders. The doctor who certified the death could have hidden the fact of suicide at the request of the relatives.

Documents confirming any of the versions have not survived. Genevieve's uncle, Louis 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 at the Père Lachaise cemetery. Excerpts from the works of the deceased were performed at the ceremony. 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."

Works

Operas

• 1858-1859 – “Don Procopio”
• 1862-1863 – “Pearl Finders”
• 1862-1865 – “Ivan IV”
• 1866 – “Perth Beauty”
• 1873-1874 – “Carmen”

Operettas

• 1855-1857 – “Heloise de Montfort”
• 1855-1857 – “Return of Virginia”
• 1857 – “Clovis and Clotilde”
• 1857 – “Doctor Miracle”

Odes-symphonies

• 1859 – “Ulysses and Circe”
• 1859-1860 – “Vasco da Gama”

Works for orchestra

• 1866-1868 – “Rome” (“Memories of Rome”)
• 1873 – Overture “Motherland”

How else can you characterize the composer whom P.I. himself Tchaikovsky called him a genius, and called his work - the opera "Carmen" - a real masterpiece, imbued with genuine feeling and real inspiration. Georges Bizet is an outstanding French composer who worked in the era of romanticism. His entire creative path was thorny, and life was a continuous obstacle course. However, despite all the difficulties and thanks to his extraordinary talent, the great Frenchman gave the world a unique work, which became one of the most popular in its genre and glorified the composer for all time.

short biography

On October 25, 1838, in Paris, on the street Tour d'Auvergne, a boy was born into the family of singing teacher Adolphe-Aman Bizet and his wife Aimée. loving parents named after three great emperors: Alexander Cesar Leopold. However, at baptism he received a simple French name Georges, which remained with him forever. From the first days of his life, the child listened to a lot of music - these were his mother’s tender lullabies, as well as educational vocalizations of his father’s students. When the baby was four years old, Eme began to teach him musical notation, and at the age of five she sat her son at the piano. At the age of six, Georges was sent to school, where the inquisitive child became very addicted to reading, which, according to his mother, distracted the boy from his music lessons, which the boy had to sit for hours at a time.

The phenomenal musical abilities that Georges possessed and his diligent studies bore fruit. After the audition, which caused surprised delight among the professors of the Paris Conservatory, the nine-year-old child was enrolled as a volunteer in the prestigious educational institution to the class of the famous A. Marmontel. Possessing a lively character, a curious and emotional student who grasped everything on the fly, the professor really liked him; working with him gave the teacher great pleasure. But the ten-year-old boy made progress not only in playing the piano. In a solfeggio competition, demonstrating a phenomenal ear for music and memory, he earned first prize and was awarded free additional lessons in instrument and composition with the outstanding P. Zimmerman.

• Despite his talent, the young prodigy very often quarreled with his parents over music lessons, he cried and was angry with them, but from childhood he realized that his abilities and his mother’s perseverance would give results that would help him in later life.
• Awarded a Rome scholarship, Georges Bizet not only traveled a lot, but also met different people. Often attending receptions at the French Embassy, ​​he met there interesting person– Ambassador of Russia Kiselyov Dmitry Nikolaevich. A strong friendship began between the twenty-year-old youth and the almost sixty-year-old dignitary.
• Georges Bizet's uncle, Francois Delsarte, was at one time a famous singing teacher in Paris, but he gained great fame as the inventor of a unique system of “staging the aesthetics of the human body,” which later gained its followers. Some art historians believe that F. Delsarte is a person who largely predetermined the development of art of the 20th century. Even K.S. Stanislavsky recommended using his system for the initial training of actors.
• Bizet's contemporaries spoke of him as a sociable, cheerful and kind person. Always working hard and selflessly, he nevertheless loved to have fun with friends, being the author of all sorts of mischievous ideas and funny jokes.
• While still studying at the conservatory, Georges Bizet became known as a skilled pianist. Once in the presence Franz Liszt he performed so masterfully technically complex work composer, which delighted the author: after all, the young musician easily played puzzling passages at the right tempo.
• In 1874, Georges Bizet was awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government for his significant contribution to the development of musical art.
• After the first disastrous premiere, A. Daudet’s drama “The Arlesian” returned to the stage only ten years later. The play had already enjoyed undoubted success among the audience, although contemporaries noted the fact that the audience went to the play more to listen to the music of J. Bizet that adorned it.
• J. Bizet's opera "Ivan the Terrible" was never staged during the composer's lifetime. Contemporaries even said that the composer burned the score out of resentment, but the work was still discovered, but only in the late thirties of the last century in the archives of the conservatory and staged for the first time in a concert version in occupation Paris in 1943 at the theater on the Boulevard des Capucines. The organizers of the performance tried to ensure that there was not a single German among the listeners, since an opera written on a Russian plot could cause them great irritation Moreover, the turning point in World War II not in favor of Germany has already occurred. J. Bizet’s opera “Ivan the Terrible” has never been staged in Russia, since many historical facts it is highly distorted.
• Immediately after the death of J. Bizet, all the composer's manuscripts listed in the will were transferred to the library of the Paris Conservatory. However, many more of his papers and manuscripts were discovered by the executor of Emil Strauss (the second husband of the widow of J. Bizet), Mr. R. Sibyla, who, having determined the value of these documents, also immediately sent them to the conservatory archives. Therefore, descendants became acquainted with many of the composer’s works only in the 20th century.
• Georges Bizet had two sons. The elder Jean appeared from a casual relationship with the maid of the Bizet family, Maria Reiter. The second son, Jacques, was born in marriage with Genevieve, née Golevy.

The creative path of Georges Bizet

The creative life of Georges Bizet cannot be called successful. He very often experienced disappointment due to unfair critical statements about his works. Nevertheless, Bizet is a great composer who devoted his entire life to music and left a varied legacy to his descendants, including operas, operettas, ode-symphonies, oratorios, works for choir accompanied by orchestra and a cappella, vocal cycles and works for piano. , as well as essays for symphony orchestra, including overtures, symphonies, suites.

Already at the age of four, Georges sat down at the piano for the first time, at the age of thirteen he tried himself as a musical composer, and a year later, having entered the composition class of the conservatory, he was in an intense creative search. Gradually, he developed skill, although at first there was a complete lack of individual creative style. During his years of study at the conservatory, Bizet created many different works, but they still felt the influence V.A. Mozart and early L.V. Beethoven, as well as his older friend Charles Gounod. Among Bizet’s creations during the conservatory period, it is necessary to note works for choir and orchestra: “Waltz” and “Student Choir”, the piano piece “Grand Concert Waltz”, the operetta “Doctor Miracle”, the cantata “Clovis and Clotilde”, as well as symphony No. 1 C -dur (“Youthful”), which is still successfully performed at concert venues around the world.

The next important period in the composer’s life were the years spent on internship in Italy. It was a time of constant creative searches, as a result of which Bizet comes to the conclusion that his main musical interest is connected precisely with the theater. Here he writes his first opera, Don Procopio, which, breaking the rules, he sends for a creative report to the Academy of Fine Arts, although it was necessary to compose and send a mass. Somewhat later, Bizet would nevertheless write a work on a religious subject, but not for a report, but for a competition. But his “Te Deum” did not impress the jury, and the composer himself later noted that he was not inclined to write sacred music. Also on this Italian period from the pen of the young composer comes an ode - the symphony “Vasco da Gama”, which served as a creative report to the Academy, and several pieces for orchestra, which were later included in the symphonic suite “Memories of Rome”.

After returning home, Bizet, commissioned by the Parisian Opera-Comique, began work on a musical comedy performance“Guzla Emir”, however, the premiere of the opera did not take place, despite the fact that rehearsals were already underway in the theater. The composer was not satisfied with his creation; he considered it vulnerable and doomed to failure. He took the score and immediately began creating a new work, which, as Bizet assumed, would open up brilliant prospects for him. The final version of the opera was called " Pearl divers" During the same period, the young composer sent his third and final report to the Academy of Fine Arts, consisting of an Overture, a Scherzo and a Funeral March. The premiere of “The Searchers” took place at the end of September 1863 and was quite well received by the public, and to top it off, it received a laudatory review in an article written by G. Berlioz, although there were attacks from critics who accused Bizet of imitating Wagner, there was plenty.

Personal life

Bizet was a very shy young man and did not consider his appearance attractive to women. When communicating with the weaker sex, he was always so worried that his face would turn red, his hands would sweat, and his tongue would slur when speaking. Georges met his first love in Italy, her name was Giuseppe. She was a funny and flirtatious lovely girl, about whom the composer was crazy and made plans for a happy life together, inviting her to come to France. Unfortunately, this relationship did not continue, since Bizet had to urgently return to his homeland due to his mother’s illness.

Georges' next passion was a 42-year-old woman, experienced in love, who spent her youth and youth in brothels, the circus, the theater, and variety shows. She was fourteen years older than Bizet. She was not mentioned in polite society, but in Paris she was known under such names as the beautiful Mogador, Madame Lionel, Countess de Chabrilian, and the writer Celeste Vinard. Mogador captivated the young composer with her recklessness and incredible feminine magnetism. This woman's passion for Georges did not last long. The vulnerable Bizet suffered immensely from her mood swings. One day, during a fit of anger, Mogador doused him cold water and kicked him out onto the street. As a result of this incident, Georges became very ill with a sore throat, in addition, the result of the final break with the scandalous madam was a state of deep depression, from which Bizet was helped out by intense creative work, as well as by meeting a young charming girl - the daughter of his teacher, Genevieve Halévy.

The composer was so fascinated by the seventeen-year-old girl, her tenderness and purity, that, despite the objections of relatives on both sides, he set the goal of marrying Genevieve. The wedding took place two years later on June 3, 1869, and three years later the Bizet family was replenished with a son, who was given the name Jacques. Georges loved his wife very much, but despite this, the composer’s family life and personal happiness began to collapse like a house of cards. The reasons for this were Genevieve’s inability to forgive her husband’s frequent creative failures, and, in addition, her unhealthy imagination was occupied by the successful pianist Eli-Miriam Delaborde, a connection with whom she did not hide from anyone. All these disappointments in life became the cause of the quick death of Georges Bizet, the secret of which not a single biographer of the composer can still unravel.

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On July 8, 2017, we decided to go to the Carla Felicci Theater in Genoa to see the BALLET "Carmen" to the music of J. Bizet.

I always believed that there was only the opera "Carmen" to the music of Bizet.

There was a reason to talk about the wonderful French composer.

Bizet (Bizet) Georges born in Paris on October 25, 1838. His father is a singing teacher, his mother is a pianist (she was Bizet’s first music teacher).

Georges I liked to study music with both my father, a singing teacher, and my mother, a professional pianist. At the same time, like any boy, he wanted to run around the streets and play with other children. The parents thought differently. At the age of four, the boy already knew notes and could play the piano, and two weeks before his tenth birthday he entered the Paris Conservatory. Childhood ended before it began. At thirteen Georges started composing music.

In 1848-57 he studied at the Paris Conservatory, where he studied with A. F. Marmontel (piano), F. Benoit (organ), P. Zimmermann and C. Gounod (counterpoint), F. Halévy (composition; Halévy’s daughter Genevieve became Bizet's wife in 1869).

Learn Georges it was easy, he grasped everything on the fly. At nineteen Bizet graduated from the conservatory and became the youngest laureate to receive the Grand Prix de Rome - for the cantata “Clovis and Clotilde”. This award provided the opportunity to travel to Italy for 4 years and receive a state scholarship.In Italy, Bizet, enchanted by the fertile southern nature, monuments of architecture and painting, worked a lot and fruitfully (1858-60). He studies art, reads many books, and comprehends beauty in all its manifestations. The ideal for Bizet is the beautiful, harmonious world of Mozart and Raphael. Truly French grace, generous melodic gift, and subtle taste have forever become integral features of the composer's style. Bizet is increasingly attracted to operatic music, which can “merge” with the phenomenon or hero depicted on stage. Instead of the cantata, which the composer was supposed to present in Paris, he writes the comic opera Don Procopio, in the tradition of G. Rossini.

In 1860, he completed the symphony-cantata “Vasco da Gama” (based on the epic poem “The Lusiads” by L. Camões). In the same year he returned to Paris, where to earn money he was forced to give private lessons, write dance music and arrange other people's works.

The return to Paris was associated with the beginning of serious creative quests and at the same time hard, routine work for the sake of a piece of bread. Bizet has to make transcriptions of other people's opera scores, write entertainment music for cafe-concerts and at the same time create new works, working 16 hours a day. "I'm working like a black man, I'm exhausted, I'm literally torn apart... I've just finished romances for a new publisher. I'm afraid it turned out mediocre, but I need money. Money, always money - to hell!"

Bizet returned to Paris at the end of September 1860. The series of events in his life turned out to be much more tragic than his expectations.

Georges Bizet - Ernest L'Epin
Paris, autumn 1860

“My mother is seriously ill. We have lost all hope of saving her. I don't have time for anything but tears. How bitter my return home is and how hateful Paris is to me.”

A year after Bizet returned to Paris, Aimé Bizet, his mother, perhaps his closest friend, died. Trying to somehow cope with the irreparable loss, Bizet tried to delve into his work. As a report to the Academy, he submitted the ode-symphony “Vasco da Gama”, almost completed in Italy, the symphonic plays “Scherzo” and “Funeral March”, agreed with one of the librettists of “Doctor Miracle” Ludovic Halevi - the nephew of his teacher F. Halevi - on the creation of a libretto for a comic opera. But after a few weeks he realized that creating slapstick music was out of the question.

Georges Bizet to Ludovic Halévy
Paris, October 1860

“I can’t even think about writing... The death of my mother caused me the greatest grief... But I do not lose hope of working together with you.”

This hope will become a reality in Carmen.

Six months after the death of his mother, Bizet faced a new blow. His teacher, composer Fromental Halévy, died. Bizet was his favorite student, and the master's death seemed to deprive him of his last support in the French opera world. Charles Gounod then provided friendly support to Bizet. But somehow she didn’t seem completely disinterested. Bizet was literally inundated with rough work on editions and productions of Gounod's operas.

In 1863, Bizet’s opera “The Pearl Fishers” was staged in Paris with an oriental plot that was then fashionable. Despite some melodically expressive numbers (the famous romance of Nadir from Act 1), the opera as a whole was not successful with the public, but received an approving review from G. Berlioz.

Listen to this romance performed by Placido Domingo. What divine music!

You can listen to the entire opera

And I want to present to you the Duet-memory of Nadir and Zurga “And there, among the flowers” ​​is full of enthusiastic feeling; a smooth melody in an oriental spirit sounds against the backdrop of a magically transparent orchestral accompaniment.

The plot of the opera is quite simple: Zurga and Nadir love the same girl. In order not to become enemies, they part. Their beloved, Leila, took a vow of chastity; she became a priestess, helping pearl seekers with her singing. Zurga is elected leader, and Nadir returns. He realizes that he still loves Leila. Her heart has not yet cooled down either. Nadir strives to take her out of the temple on top of the cliff. As soon as he enters the temple, he is captured by order of the priest Nurabadu. Zurga wants to save her friend, but after learning that the priestess who broke her vow is Leila, she decides not to interfere. But suddenly he learns from Leila’s necklace that it was she who once saved his life, and distracts the attention of the villagers by setting their huts on fire. Nadir and Leila manage to escape. By order of the priest, Zurga is thrown into the fire.

“The Pearl Fishers” was the first opera that the Parisian Lyric Theater commissioned for the young composer, in mid-19th century centuries - main theater French capital. Bizet composed the opera quickly. It was written in just a few months. After the premiere, Hector Berlioz wrote that the opera's score "contains many wonderful expressive moments, full of fire and rich color." “Pearl Finders” captivates with its melodic richness and dramatic expressiveness.

“Pearl Seekers” was first presented to audiences in September 1863 at the Théâtre-Lyrique in Paris. During the composer's lifetime, The Searchers had no fans, as did other operas.

The next opera, “The Beauty of Perth” (based on novel of the same name W. Scott, 1867).

In 1867, Bizet published (under the pseudonym Gaston de Betzy) a polemical article “Conversation on Music” (“Causerie musicale”) - a kind of artistic manifesto, where he demanded spontaneity and truthfulness from the composer.

The success of these operas was not so great as to strengthen the position of the author. Self-criticism and a sober awareness of the shortcomings of “The Perth Beauty” became the key to Bizet’s future achievements. He wrote about his opera “The Beauty of Perth”: “This is a spectacular play, but the characters are poorly outlined... The school of hackneyed roulades and lies is dead - dead forever! Let’s bury her without regret, without worry - and move on!” A number of plans of those years remained unfulfilled.

He is 30 years old, but Georges is not yet married. Overweight and shortsighted, with curls that curled so tightly that it was difficult to comb them, Bizet did not consider himself attractive to women. He always spoke quickly, a little confusingly, and was sure that women did not like this manner of expression at all. The first time he met a two-room apartment was in Italy, but she did not follow him to France. The next attempt was when the young man was 28 years old.One day on the train Georges Bizet met Mogador - opera diva Madame Lionel, writer Celeste Venard, Countess de Chabrilan. She spent her youth in brothels, then became a dancer, and then became interested in literature and began to describe what she knew about life in novels. Her books did not sit on the shelves. They tried not to talk about them in decent houses, but every Parisian knew about the existence of this woman. During a meeting with Bizet the lovely Mogador was a widow and owner musical theater, where she sang the main roles.He is twenty-eight, she is forty-two. All his hardships and sorrows were drowned in the unfeigned passion of this woman. The happiness was short-lived. Mogadors were plunged into mood swingsGeorges into despair. In a fit of anger, all the bad habits of the Mogadors woke up. Bizet with his delicate taste and vulnerable soul suffered. Mogador was getting old. She was haunted by financial troubles, and he could do nothing to help her. His income still barely paid the bills, and she had no need for his love. But break up with this woman Bizet was unable to. During another scandal, my beloved doused Georges a tub of cold water from head to toe. Bizet went out into the street, where the snow was quietly swirling.

“...I met an amazing girl whom I adore!”- letter to Bizet in 1867. Who is this adorable girl? This is Genevieve Halévy, daughter of Bizet's teacher Fromental Halévy, now deceased. It is worth saying a few words about the Halevi family. This is a wealthy, influential family. Its members: a banker, financier, historian (this is Leon Halévy, a member of the French Academy), a learned Talmudist (Genevieve’s grandfather), a religious researcher (Genevieve’s uncle Hippolyte Rodrigue), a famous opera composer (Fromental Halévy), a famous playwright and librettist (his nephew, Genevieve's cousin) Louis Halévy. Genevieve's mother, Leonie Halévy, is a very peculiar lady. In young age - socialite, then - an art collector and a talented sculptor (one of her works is kept in the Versailles Museum, another - sculptural portrait husband - in the Paris City Hall).

Of course, such a family is in no hurry to become related to the unsuccessful composer Georges Bizet.

Georges Bizet - Edmond Galabert
October 1867

“...I was deeply depressed. The hopes I had so cherished were shattered. - The family objected. I'm very unhappy."

November 1867
“Perhaps all is not lost yet...”

This state - “all is not lost yet” - lasted about a year and a half. The family reflected, either giving Genevieve and Georges, who were in love with each other, some kind of hope, then taking it away. Finally, Genevieve's stubbornness and Bizet's patience were rewarded.

Beginning of May 1869

“I’m telling you secretly. I am getting married. We love each other. - I'm completely happy. We will be poor for a while, but what does it matter. Her dowry for now is 150,000 francs, later it will be 500,000. Don’t tell anyone anything.”

So, a year and a half after the refusal, consent to the marriage was received. It is possible that not last role This decision was influenced by the fact that F. Halévy’s operas were gradually disappearing from the stage, and the composer’s widow saw in Bizet a musician capable of prolonging their lives. In any case, the marriage contract connects most of Genevieve’s dowry with the receipt of royalties from F. Halévy’s operas and, in addition, stipulates Bizet’s obligation, having urgently completed Halévy’s unfinished opera “Noah,” to achieve its production. (Bizet completed the opera, but it did not reach the stage during his lifetime.) However, then, when signing the marriage contract, the lover Bizet does not delve too deeply into all this operatic and financial casuistry.

Georges Bizet - Hippolyte Rodrigue
June 1869

“I am incredibly happy, Genevieve is amazingly good. We are in love with each other and we love you for making our life together possible.”

Hippolyte Rodrigue is the only one from the Halevi clan who sympathized with this marriage. The wedding posed the problem of faith for the future spouses for the families of Bizet and Genevieve. But when asked to convert to Catholicism (the zealous Catholic Gounod advocated this), Genevieve replied: “I’m not so religious as to change religion.” It was decided to abandon the church marriage. For Bizet this did not matter. The appearance of Genevieve in his life was for him a “meeting with a miracle.” He saw in his wife the embodiment of an ideal, “open to everything bright, to all changes, not believing in either the God of the Jews or the God of Christians, but believing in honor, duty and morality.”

Louis Halévy. Diary.

“Today Genevieve became Bizet’s wife. How happy she is, poor and dear child! How many disasters have surrounded it in recent years! How much grief and how much loss. If anyone has the right to ask life for a little peace and happiness, it is Genevieve. Bizet has intelligence and talent. He will succeed."

Later, facts became obvious to Bizet that completely discouraged him. His wife's mother suffers from recurring bouts of insanity. Her husband F. Halevi left his wife more than once and returned again. In the first year of marriage, he reached complete nervous exhaustion. Mental instability, severe depression and neuroses are also characteristic of her daughter. (Proust’s biographer called Genevieve “the queen of neurasthenia.”) Genevieve’s childhood was not happy. She repeatedly ran away from home and lived with some relatives and then with others. Perhaps this determined the daughter’s relationship with her mother. Her daughter loved her, but only from a distance. Communication with her mother was torment for her. If Leonie Halévy appeared at Bizet’s house, her daughter would become hysterical. Bizet, who loved his wife and treated his mother-in-law without any hostility, found himself between two fires.

These two women constantly claimed the composer's time and peace of mind. Added to all this was a cold, suspicious attitude towards any action of Bizet on the part of almost all of his wife’s relatives. Life sometimes turned into hell. And the fact that in all these situations Bizet managed, showing patience and calm prudence, to never allow himself to be thrown off balance is a simply amazing fact. It is not for us to condemn the woman whom Bizet loved. But, reflecting on his post-wedding life, it is difficult to dispute the gloomy conclusion of biographer Bizet Savinov, “On June 3, 1869, he married Geneviève Halévy. The clock was started. Exactly six years later - to the day - he was gone.”

In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, when France was in a critical situation, Bizet joined the ranks of the National Guard. A few years later, his patriotic feelings found expression in the dramatic overture “Motherland” (1874). 70s - the flourishing of the composer's creativity. In 1872, the premiere of the opera “Djamile” (based on the poem by A. Musset) took place, which subtly transformed; Arabic intonation folk music. For theater visitors Comic opera(Opera-Comique) it was a surprise to see a work telling about selfless love, full of pure lyricism. True music connoisseurs and serious critics saw in “Jamila” the beginning of a new stage, the opening of new paths.In the works of these years, the purity and grace of style (always inherent in Bizet) by no means interfere with the truthful, uncompromising expression of the drama of life, its conflicts and tragic contradictions. Now the composer’s idols are V. Shakespeare, Michelangelo, L. Beethoven.

1870s - heyday creative activity composer who focused on music for the theater. The opera “Djamile” (based on the poem “Namuna” by A. de Musset, staged in 1872, Paris) is devoid of conventionally “oriental” features; Using authentic Arabic melodies, Bizet subtly recreated the national flavor (the opera takes place in Cairo). The pinnacle of Bizet’s creativity is the music for A. Daudet’s drama “La Arlesienne” (1872, Vaudeville Theater, Paris; on its basis Bizet composed a suite, 1872; the so-called 2nd suite from “La Arlesienne” was composed by Bizet’s friend, the composer E. Guiraud, 1885)

1875 - Carmen

Before talking about the music, listen to this great opera, which, ironically, was the last opera of J. Bizet, who was only 37 years old.

Bizet- "Carmen". State Academic Bolshoi Theater of the USSR. 1982 Georges Bizet - "Carmen". The Bolshoi Theater's classic production of the famous opera by Georges Bizet. Stage director and choreographer: Rostislav Zakharov. Conducted by Mark Ermler. The main roles are performed by: Carmen - Elena OBRAZTSOVA, Don Jose - Vladimir ATLANTOV, Escamillo - Yuri MAZUROK, Mikaela - Lyudmila Sergienko, Frasquita - Irina Zhurina, Mercedes - Tatyana Tugarinova, Morales - Igor MOROZOV, Remendado - Andrey Sokolov, Dancairo - Vladislav Pashinsky, Tsuniga - Yuri Korolev.

The prototype of Carmen is Mogadar, whom we talked about - she was 42 years old and he was 28. Bizet sincerely fell in love with her, and Mogadar laughed at his love. She acted cruelly to Georges in the presence of her relatives, driving him out and ridiculing him. young man. Mogadar herself suffered mental trauma as a child; her mother’s husband raped the girl and constantly threatened her; Having gone to a brothel, she gained strength and the ability to attract men...

She understood that she was getting old and Bizet was young. By expelling Bizet from her life, she hurt Georges' pride. He was very worried about the separation. But - c’est la vie, as the French say! Fate brings great people together so that they can be inspired by the Muse.

Brief summary of the opera.

Carmen is a beautiful, hot-tempered, temperamental gypsy who works in a cigarette factory. Because of a fight that broke out among the factory workers, Carmen was arrested and taken to the police station. There she languishes waiting for a warrant, and Sergeant Jose guards her. The gypsy was able to fall in love with him and persuade him to release him. Jose at that time had a fiancée, a good position and a single mother, but his meeting with Carmen turned his whole life upside down. He lets her go, and loses his job and respect, becoming a simple soldier.

Carmen continues to have fun, visiting pubs and collaborating with smugglers. Along the way, he flirts with Escamillo, a famous handsome bullfighter. Jose, who raised his hand against his boss in the heat of a quarrel, has no choice but to stay with his Carmen and her friends who are illegally transporting goods. He loves her madly, he has long forgotten about his bride, but Carmen changes his feelings according to his mood, and Jose is bored with her. After all, Escamillo appeared on the horizon, rich and famous, who promised to fight in her honor. The ending is predictable and tragic. No matter how Jose begs Carmen to come back to him, she says in harsh terms that it’s all over. Then Jose kills his beloved so that no one gets her.

Final death scene in the background public speaking Escamillo, who himself has already lost interest in Carmen, is the most memorable scene of the entire opera.

Few 19th-century operas can compare with this one: the world of music would be incomplete without Carmen (here you can watch Carmen on the stage of the Paris Opera), and Bizet would only have to write this opera to become Bizet. But this is not what the audience at the Opera Comique thought when, in 1875, they first received the opera with increasing indifference and even indignation. The most violent scenes and the realistic performance of Marie-Celestine Galli-Marier, performer leading role, which subsequently contributed to the approval of Bizet’s masterpiece on stage. During the premiere, Gounod, Thomas and Massenet were present in the hall, praising the author only out of politeness. The libretto, to which the composer himself made changes several times, belonged to two masters of the light genre - Halévy (cousin of Bizet's wife) and Méillac, who first entertained the audience in collaboration with Offenbach, and then independently, creating comedies that were very much appreciated. They drew the plot from Mérimée’s novella (even earlier proposed to him by Bizet) and had to work hard to get him accepted into the Opera Comique, where love story with a bloody end and against a rather common background, caused considerable confusion. This theater, which, however, always tried to be less traditional, was visited by the well-meaning bourgeoisie, who used the performances to arrange the marriage affairs of their children. The motley cast of characters, mostly ambiguous, that Merimee introduced into his novella - gypsies, thieves, smugglers, cigar factory workers, women lung behavior and bullfighters - did not contribute to the maintenance of good morals. The librettists managed to create a vibrant Spanish flavor; they highlighted several bright images, framing them with exquisite choirs and dances, and added to this rather dark company an innocent and pure character - young Michaela, who, although she remained behind the threshold of the action, made it possible to create a number of solid and touching musical pages.

The music embodied the librettists' vision with a precise sense of proportion; this music combined the sensitivity, ardor and strong flavor of Spanish folklore, partly authentic and partly composed, and was intended to give pleasure even to a hostile taste. But this did not happen. Nevertheless, despite the failure, Carmen lasted forty-five performances in the year of its premiere. This was a real record, which was certainly facilitated by curiosity and the desire to see a “scandalous” performance of its kind. After the thirty-fifth performance, there was also added shock caused by the death of the still young author, killed, as they said, by undeserved failure. The first signs of real approval for the opera appeared after the Viennese production in October of the same year (in which spoken dialogues were replaced by recitatives), which attracted the attention and approval of such masters as Brahms and Wagner. Tchaikovsky saw “Carmen” in Paris more than once throughout 1876 and wrote the following enthusiastic words in one of his 1880 letters to von Meck: “... I don’t know anything in music that has a greater right to represent an element that I call pretty, le joli... There are many piquant harmonies, completely new sound combinations, but all this is not an exclusive goal. Bizet is an artist who pays tribute to the century and modernity, but is warmed by true inspiration. And what a wonderful plot of the opera! I can’t play the last scene without tears!” And that some melodies and harmonies, as well as partly the instrumental color, subsequently influenced him - this is beyond any doubt: Bizet portrayed too well the passion flaring up and raging in the soul of a beauty, as if spoiled by her own beauty - the beauty and depravity of the heroine feed flame of tragedy.

“Carmen” was received with hostility by the public, its “base” plot was considered immoral, its music was considered ugly; the performance was removed from the stage. Bizet died suddenly 3 months after the premiere. The triumphant success of the opera on the world stage began after the production in 1875 in Vienna, for which E. Guiraud replaced the spoken dialogues with recitatives and supplemented the 4th ballet numbers from the music to “La Arlesienne” and from “The Beauty of Perth”. In 1878, Carmen was first staged in Russia (St. Petersburg, on Italian), resumed in Paris in 1883. P. I. Tchaikovsky became an admirer of Bizet, who found in “Carmen” “an abyss of harmonic courage.” “Carmen” still remains one of the most repertoire operas on the world stage.

The Russian premiere took place in 1885 ( Mariinskii Opera House, conductor Napravnik, as Carmen Slavina). Carmen has enjoyed unprecedented popularity for over 100 years. Her incendiary melodies: habanera “L'amour est oiseau rebelle”, couplets of the bullfighter “Votre toast”, heartfelt lyrical episodes (José’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, and Freni. A new version of the opera was filmed in 1983 by F. Rosi (director Maazel, soloists Migenes-Johnson, Domingo, etc.). Among the productions of recent years, we note the 1996 performances at the Metropolitan Opera (Graves in the title role) and at the Mariinsky Theater (director Gergiev).

The opera premiered on March 3, 1875, three months before the composer's death. The premiere was a failure, friends turned away from the composer, Georges' wife left the hall arm in arm with her lover.

There is an assumption that Bizet died of a broken heart, and there is an assumption that he committed suicide.

Oh women, your name is “PERFORMANCE”!

It is interesting to note that the ballet Carmen, based on the story of the same name by Prosper Merimee, was first staged in 1845 under the title “Carmen and the Toreador” (French: “Carmen et son toréro”) by choreographer Marius Petipa at the Teatro del Circo in Madrid. But after the birth of Georges Bizet’s music in 1875, all subsequent performances were staged specifically to Bizet’s music for the opera “Carmen.” The famous French choreographer Roland Petit (French Roland Petit) staged the ballet “Carmen” on February 21, 1949. based on Bizet's opera, on tour in London, on a tour called “Les Ballets de Paris au Prince's Theatre”. The choreographer himself performed the part of Don José, and entrusted the part of Carmen to his wife Zizi Jeanmaire (Renée Jeanmaire), Escamillo was performed by Serge Perrault. Later, the role of Jose in the choreography of Roland Petit was performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Maya Plisetskaya turned to Dmitry Shostakovich with a request to write music for Carmen, but the composer refused, not wanting, according to him, to compete with Georges Bizet. Then she asked Aram Khachaturian about this, but was again refused. She was advised to contact her husband, Rodion Shchedrin, also a composer.

- Do it on Bizet! - said Alonso... The deadlines were pressing, the music was needed “yesterday”. Then Shchedrin, who was fluent in the profession of orchestration, significantly rearranged musical material operas by Bizet. Rehearsals began with the piano. The music for the ballet consisted of melodic fragments of the opera "Carmen" and the suite " big theater in Moscow (Carmen - Maya Plisetskaya). In 1970, I was able to watch this performance on the stage of the Bolshoi. I was impressed. The press wrote at the time:

“All of Carmen-Plisetskaya’s movements carried a special meaning, a challenge, a protest: a mocking movement of the shoulder, an outstretched hip, a sharp turn of the head, and a piercing glance from under her brows... It is impossible to forget how Carmen Plisetskaya - like a frozen sphinx - looked at the dance of the Toreador, and her entire static pose conveyed colossal internal tension: she captivated the audience, captivated their attention, unwittingly (or deliberately?) distracting them from the Toreador’s spectacular solo.

The new Jose is very young. But age itself is not an artistic category. And does not allow discounts for lack of experience. Godunov played age in subtle psychological manifestations. His Jose is wary and distrustful. Trouble awaits people. From life: - tricks. We are vulnerable and proud. The first exit, the first pose - a freeze frame, heroically sustained face to face with the audience. A lively portrait of the fair-haired and light-eyed (in accordance with the portrait created by Mérimée) Jose. Large strict features. The wolf cub's gaze is sullen. Expression of aloofness. Behind the mask you can guess the true human essence - the vulnerability of the soul thrown into the World and hostile to the world. You contemplate the portrait with interest.

And so he came to life and “spoke.” The syncopated “speech” was perceived by Godunov accurately and organically. No wonder the talented dancer Azary Plisetsky prepared him for his debut, own experience knowing both the part and the whole ballet. Hence the carefully worked out, carefully polished details that make up the stage life of the image."

THIS IS HOW WE GOT TO KNOW THE GREAT Georges Bizet.

I hope you liked it.

See you again!

George Bizet. Biography of this legendary French composer begins October 25, 1838. It was on this day that Alexandre-Cesar-Leopold Bizet was born in Paris, whom his family named George. The boy was brought up in an atmosphere of boundless love for music, since his uncle and father were singing teachers, and his mother played the piano. It was Mom who became George’s first music teacher and mentor. The boy's gift manifested itself in early childhood; from the age of four he knew notes.

At the age of 10, George entered the Paris Conservatory, where he studied for 9 years. During his studies, the young man wrote quite a lot musical compositions, among which is a symphony that is successfully performed to this day. In the last year of his studies, the guy composed a cantata based on a legendary ancient plot. With her, Bizet took part in a competition to write a one-act operetta, where she was awarded a prize. After graduating from the conservatory, composer Bizet lived in Italy from 1857 to 1860. There George traveled a lot and got acquainted with local life. While in Italy, he wrote the cantata symphony Vasco da Gama, as well as several orchestral pieces, some of which were later included in the symphonic suite Memories of Rome.

When Bizet returned to Paris, hard times began for him. It was not easy for him to achieve recognition; George earned money by giving private lessons, composing music to order, and working with other people's compositions. After some time, his mother died. Due to constant overstrain and sharp declines in creative forces that accompanied Bizet throughout his life, genius composer didn't live long. In 1863, George presented the opera The Pearl Fishers, and in 1867 he wrote another opera, The Beauty of Perth. The year 1868 was a difficult year in the composer’s biography; he began to have serious health problems, as well as creative crisis. In 1869 he married his teacher's daughter, and in 1870 he enlisted in the National Guard.

Interesting on the web:

The life and work of Georges Bizet. The mature years of the composer.

The 70s became the heyday of Bizet’s creative biography. In 1871, he began to study music again and composed the piano suite “Children's Games.” Through a short time he composed a one-act romantic opera “Djamile”; in 1872 the public saw the play “La Arlesienne”, for which Bizet wrote the music. This opera confirmed the composer's creative maturity. It is generally accepted that it was she who contributed to the emergence opera masterpiece,which Georges Bizet wrote, "Carmen".

Despite the fact that “Carmen” by Bizet, which is a pleasure to listen to, was written specifically for production at the Opera Comic Theater; it belongs to this genre only formally, since in essence “Carmen” is a musical drama in which the author vividly depicted folk scenes and characters.

The premiere of the work took place in 1875, but it was unsuccessful. Bizet took this very hard, it greatly affected his health. George Bizet's opera "Carmen" was appreciated only after the author's death, it was recognized as the pinnacle of Bizet’s work a year after the failed premiere. Tchaikovsky called the opera a true masterpiece that reflects the strongest musical aspirations of an entire era, and he was convinced that Carmen would enjoy timeless popularity.

The uniqueness of the great composer's work was expressed not only in the highest merits of his works, but also in Bizet's deep understanding of theatrical music. Georges Bizet died on June 3, 1875 due to a heart attack.

Georges Bizet is a short biography of the French composer presented in this article.

Georges Bizet short biography

Alexandre César Leopold Bizet was born October 25, 1838 to Paris in musical family. The boy's talent was discovered early: at the age of four he already knew all the notes, and at the age of nine he entered the famous Paris Conservatory. He had phenomenal hearing, memory, brilliant pianistic and compositional abilities, which delighted all his teachers.

Bizet was awarded more than once at conservatory competitions, and after completing courses at the conservatory in 1857, he was awarded the right to spend 3 whole years in Italy for the purpose of improvement. These were years of intense creative search. The composer tried his hand at various musical genres: he created a symphonic suite, a one-act operetta, a cantata, piano romances and plays. But Bizet's true vocation was musical theater.

Upon returning from Italy, he wrote the opera “The Pearl Fishers” (1863) on an exotic plot, telling about the love drama of Leila and Nadir, and after that “The Beauty of Perth” (1867). Both musical works were not successful, and the composer continued his intense search for something new in his work. “I am going through a crisis,” he wrote in those years.

The opera “Djamile” (1872) marked the onset of his creative maturity - psychological expressiveness in its music is perfectly combined with the brightness of oriental flavor. Then the music was created for A. Daudet’s drama “The Arlesian”. Opera " Carmen"was the largest creative achievement Bizet and at the same time his swan song. But its premiere ended in failure. He died of a heart attack just three months later, not knowing that Carmen would turn out to be the pinnacle of his success and forever be among the most recognizable and popular classical works peace.