The image of Carmen in world art. Opera masterpieces

J. Bizet's opera "Carmen"

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

Summary of Bizet's opera "Carmen" and many interesting facts Read about this work on our page.

Summary

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 the admiring male gazes immediately turn to her. Carmen takes particular pleasure in mocking the men around her and their feelings. But the temperamental girl does not like the fact that Jose is indifferent to her; she tries in every possible way to attract his attention. Having failed, the gypsy, along with other girls, returns to work. However, a quarrel breaks out among them, which instantly turns into a fight. The culprit of the conflict turns out to be Carmen. She is sent to a cell, where she languishes while awaiting a warrant under the supervision of Jose. But the insidious seductress makes the sergeant fall in love with her, 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 collaborate with smugglers and flirt with the bullfighter Escamillo. Soon Jose appears at the tavern, but not for long - it’s time for him to return to the barracks for an evening check. However, the gypsy uses all her charm so as not to let the soldier leave her. 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 - she is bored with Jose. Now she was seriously infatuated with the bullfighter, who even promised to fight in her honor. And the soldier in love is forced to temporarily leave her - from his ex-lover he finds out that his mother is dying, and he hastily goes to her.

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

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Interesting Facts

• Surprisingly Georges Bizet I've never been to Spain. Therefore, 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 at the screening of Carmen 27 times under various circumstances.
• English musicologist Hugh MacDonald wrote that French opera does not know a greater fatalist than Carmen. Outside France, its descendants could be Richard Strauss's Salome and Alban Berg's Lulu.
• The play premiered on March 3, 1875 and ended a complete failure. And exactly 3 months after it, the composer himself died. The causes of his death are still debated. According to one version, Bizet could not survive the fiasco of “Carmen” and the “immorality” of 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 characterizing main character opera connoisseurs and art connoisseurs did not mince words at all - she was the true embodiment of vulgarity and dirt.
• The opera was designated by the composer as comic. And the first performance took place at the Opera-Comic. What does the comic have to do with it, you ask? It's simple. By tradition French theater, all works whose main characters are simple people, classified as a comedy genre. It is for this reason that the opera alternates musical numbers with spoken dialogues - all comic operas in France were built according to this scheme.
• Shortly before his death, J. Bizet entered into a contract with the Viennese State Opera about 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 spectators, but also from such prominent composers as Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner. This was the first serious success of J. Bizet’s creation on the way to world recognition.
• On October 23, 1878, the first premiere took place at the New York Academy of Music. of this work in USA. In the same year, the opera appeared before the audience in St. Petersburg.
• One of the co-directors of the Opera Comique theater had to leave his position because of this work. Adolphe de Leuven believed that in a genre such as 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 inviting librettists to talk with him, 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 in a great mood. However, they never reached agreement, and as a result Adolf was forced to leave his post. This became a kind of sign of protest against the performance, which promoted murder.
• “Carmen” was the last opera staged on the stage of the Bolshoi (Kamenny) Theater. It was with this work that the theater decided to end its history - after the last production 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.

The text was completely ready by the spring of 1873, and then the composer began work. The opera was completely finished in the summer of 1874.

However, rejection of this opera appeared long before its production, as soon as the idea was voiced - the abundance 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 Comique 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 a light genre with an abundance of funny situations. This audience was far from frenzied passions, and certainly from bloody murders. The opera presented characters and passions unacceptable to the public - girls unencumbered by morality, cigarette factory workers, robbers, military deserters.

THE IMAGE OF CARMEN IN ART

1. During music lessons we were introduced to the opera “Carmen” by Georges Bizet and the ballet “Carmen Suite” by Rodion Shchedrin. Bright, catchy music sounded. I had a desire to find out if there are other types of art in which the image of the gypsy Carmen is embodied and why everyone is attracted to this image. This is how it appearedresearch topic"The Image of Carmen in Art."

2. I set before myself target : to systematize ideas about the integrity of the artistic image of Carmen.

Solve problems:

• reveal the concept " artistic image»;
• analyze the artistic image of Carmen in various types art;
• carry out experimental work to identify color associations of the image of Carmen;
• introduce comparative analysis color representations of the artistic image of Carmen.

Practical significanceThe research is that the work examines the ways of perceiving the image of Carmen through the means of literature, music, fine art, and choreography.

3. On Wikipedia we read that “An artistic image is any phenomenon creatively recreated in work of art". An artistic image is created on the basis of one of the means of an art form or a combination of several. Under the artistic image in art withwith the help of means and techniques, an idea of ​​the hero, the phenomenon of a work of art, is created.

In literature, an artistic image is created on the basis of words, in music - through sound, in fine arts– based on paints, in choreography – using movements, etc.

4. The image of Carmen originated in literature. The character was created by Prosper Merimee. The writer tells the love story of a young gypsy woman and a soldier, full of passion and drama. Carmencita has a hypnotic effect on Jose. Because of her, he breaks the law and deserts the army. She draws him into a gang of smugglers, and their life becomes full of dangers and unforeseen situations. Carmen is not used to limiting herself in anything, and anyone who tries to fit her life into strictly established frameworks becomes her enemy.

The image of Carmen is presented in the words of three men.

The narrator-traveler sees in her something exotic, alien to his world. He does not understand her extravagant behavior, but he is amazed by her “strange and wild” beauty. Carmen simultaneously frightens and fascinates the respectable scientist; he compares her either to a wolf or to a chameleon.

The second narrator, the robber and smuggler Jose Navarro, portrays Carmen as a witch, the devil himself, or even a “pretty girl.” But the irresistibly attractive, criminal, unpredictable and mysterious gypsy is still alien to him.

The third person from whose words we draw a portrait of Carmen is the author. He does not describe or express his attitude towards her, allowing the reader to draw his own conclusions.

In the novella, Carmen is freedom-loving, cruel, unfaithful girl with a quick temper, for whom deception and cunning are part of life.

5. World fame Prosper Mérimée's novella received thanks to the immortal opera "Carmen" by Georges Bizet and is still one of the most popular in the world.In the opera, Carmen is ennobled. The composer also portrays her as freedom-loving, cruel, independent, and temperamental, but the librettists excluded her cunning, thievery, and everything petty and ordinary.

6. The first performer of the role of Carmen in the opera was Galli-Marie.

The audience liked the image of the young beautiful gypsy; it was happily picked up by artists, choreographers, and directors and made it a collective one. Over time, Carmen “penetrated” many areas of art.

7. There is a “Carmen Suite” - one act ballet usmusic by Georges Bizet, orchestrated by Rodion Shchedrin. Carmen in ballet - beautiful girl, charming, seeking true love. She strives for mutual understanding with people, but the people around her are hostile to her.

8. The first performer of the role of Carmen in Rodion Shchedrin’s ballet was his wife Maya Plisetskaya.

9. Alexander Blok has a cycle of 10 poems of the same name. Nikolai Gumilev and Marina Tsvetaeva wrote about the gypsy. Blok's image of Carmen is endowed with divine features that raise her to the level of an ideal. Marina Tsvetaeva's perception of Carmen is more human, feminine and passionate.

10. Artists were interested not only in the image of the passionate Carmen, they eagerly depicted the actresses playing her role. For example, Vrubel has “Portrait of Tatyana Lyubatovich as Carmen”,

11. And Edouard Manet has Emilia Ambre.

Each artist “sees” Carmen in his own way, but in not a single portrait does she look like a “villain”. The artists painted Carmen with a sad, slightly tired look, the colors of her clothes are not flashy, but eye-catching.

12. Polish surrealist Rafal Olbinski depicted Carmen on opera posters in an original, expressive and abstract way.

13. Today, there are more than ten film incarnations of the image of Carmen.

14. There are several film productions in Russia and abroad.

15. And also film adaptations of opera and ballet, and even cartoons.

16.B unusual technique works by Polish animator Alexandra Koreiwo - sand animation, in which the design is created with colored salt (bright iridescent and abstract images).

Having analyzed the features of the image of Carmen in various forms of art, we can say that a desire has been identified to improve and elevate it.

17. An asteroid discovered in 1905 was named after the heroine.

18. The second part of my work is an experimental one, which was carried out at the State Budgetary Educational Institution Secondary School No. 3 of the urban settlement. Smyshlyaevka m.r. Volzhsky Samara region in 7th grade in three stages: ascertaining, formative and final. The method used was a survey.

Progress of the experiment.

At the ascertaining stage of the experiment, its participants were identified - students of grades 7A and 7B in the amount of 50 people.

At the formative stage of the experimental work, color associations of the image of Carmen in different types art.

During a music lesson, a survey was conducted with the teacher.

Students were given questionnaires with excerpts from P. Merimee's short story and poems by A. Blok and M. Tsvetaeva. After reading the relevant passages, the children were asked to choose the colors that, in their opinion, were most suitable for the image of Carmen based on the text they read.

Then excerpts from the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet and the ballet Carmen Suite by Rodion Shchedrin were offered. It was proposed to again select several colors with which the image of Carmen was associated.

19. A reflection of Carmen’s image is presented in a bar graph.

The diagram shows that there is a dynamic of “raising the image of Carmen to the ideal” in Blok’s poetry and Shchedrin’s “Carmen Suite”.

On final stage was held detailed analysis the data obtained and conclusions drawn:

the color associations of the image of Carmen become lighter as they move away from the short story “Carmen” by Prosper Merimee;

the main colors indicated by the students are red, yellow, black;

the lightest colors are noted in Blok’s poetry (the image of Carmen becomes sublime) and in Rodion Shchedrin’s ballet “Carmen Suite” (more yellow and red, less black);

girls have a wider range of colors than boys (schoolchildren chose a wide range of colors (purple was considered blue, brown was considered black, orange was considered yellow, pink was considered red).

20. The ballet was created by Shchedrin for his beloved wife Maya Plisetskaya. Maybe that's why negative traits(cunning, thieving efficiency) are eliminated, the image is ennobled. Alexander Blok elevates the image to the level of a deity intuitively, using the genre of poetry, which brings the image of Carmen closer to perfection. They have Carmen - the goddess of love, beauty, freedom.

The completed research shows the solution to the problem of embodying the image of a gypsy in various types of art and its integrity.

During the work, I realized that Carmen, a bright representative of her people, is depicted as the embodiment of vice. Her image attracts everyone with her courage and strength of character.

21. The last slide of the presentation shows the sources that I used.

Thank you all for your attention!

References and sources

Prosper Merimee. Novels (translated from French) [Text]. - Fiction, 1978. 371 p.

Bizet, J. Opera “Carmen” staged by the Mariinsky Theater. [Video]

Shchedrin, R. K. Ballet “Carmen Suite” [Video]

Block A. Cycle “Carmen”. [Website]. -http://er3ed.qrz.ru/index.htm?blok-carmen.htm

Illustrations of portraits of Carmen. [Website]. -http://arts-all.ru/otechestvennye-xudozhniki/vrubel-karmen.html

Tsvetaeva M. Poems about love. Poetry Library. [Site].- hyyp://cvetaeva.ouc.ru/karmen.html

The image of the young Spanish gypsy Carmen was originally described in the novel of the same name by P. Merimee in 1845. The general picture of the character of the fatal beauty is formed from men's book narratives.

The narrator meets a gypsy woman on the embankment. The Frenchman has mixed feelings when looking at the maid dark forces. He looks at her with interest, which turns into fear and alienation. The gloomy light, the background of a dark night river, add tragedy and a gloomy atmosphere that will haunt the heroes throughout the entire story.

Georges Bizet, the creation of an opera

Bizet began work on the opera in 1874. The stage "Carmen" subsequently underwent major changes. The libretto was rich in drama and deep emotional contrasts, acting heroes became brighter. A colorful folk gypsy theme was added to the opera. The premiere of the story of the life and love of a Spanish woman took place in 1875, but was absolutely unsuccessful, since the concepts of morality of that time differed from those embodied in the opera.

The first person to appreciate the girl’s image was Tchaikovsky. According to him, this masterpiece of Bidet reflects all the musical goals of the era. 10 years later, the film “Carmen” is becoming increasingly popular and winning the hearts of viewers.

Bizet's opera introduced folk character traits into the appearance of the gypsy. To do this, the composer moved the scene of events to the square and to the unimaginably beautiful mountainous expanses. The wild gorges and gloomy city slums have been replaced by the sunny streets of Seville. Bizet created a Spain full of joyful life.

He placed in all places a mass of people who are in constant motion, depicting happy life. An important aspect of the opera was the inclusion of folk episodes. The gloomy features of the drama took on the appearance of an optimistic tragedy of what was happening.

Bizet put into the idea of ​​the opera the importance of asserting the rights of people to express freedom of feelings. The opera was a collision of two points of view of the psychological development of mankind. If Jose defends only the patriarchal view, then the gypsy tries to prove that life in freedom, which is not constrained by the norms and dogmas of accepted morality in society, is much better and more beautiful.

Gypsy image of Carmen in the opera "Carmen"

The Gypsy is one of the brightest heroines opera life. Passionate temperament, feminine irresistibility and independence - all this literally screams in the image of Carmen. She has practically no connection with her literary heroine in the description. All this was done intentionally in order to reveal more passion in the heroine and remove the cunning and thieving habits of the book character. Moreover, Bizet gave her the opportunity to seek the right to gain her freedom with a tragic condition - the loss of her own life.

The Opera Overture is the initial description musical image Carmen. A fatal passion plays out between a gypsy woman and a Spaniard, Jose. The music is reminiscent of a leitmotif from a bullfighter festival, it is sharp and hot-tempered. Subsequently, this motif returns in dramatic scenes.

Portrait of a Spanish woman

The full image of Carmen is revealed through the famous Spanish dance habanera, which is the progenitor of tango. Bizet created a whole range of languid, sensual, passionate movements to the true melody of Cuban freedom. This is not just a portrait of a hot gypsy, but also a story in movements about her desire to be free in her love - this is her position in life.

The girl's characterization continues in the dance variation until the third act. This is a series of scenes with songs and dances to Spanish rhythms. Gypsy folklore completes the picture when the interrogation sequence comes. In it, Carmen performs a playful gypsy song, she mocks and defies, singing one verse after another.

Spanish-gypsy character

More meaningful description Carmen's image appears in Spanish folk dance Seguidilla. Under the virtuoso playing, the gypsy shows her unique Spanish character, and the composer compares the minor and major scales.

The cymbals, tambourine and triangle in the next action return the gypsy appearance to the image of Carmen. The increasing dynamics of the tempo gives the girl a perky, energetic and temperamental look.

Image of Carmen in a duet

The military guy Jose, in love with the gypsy, watches with joy in his eyes her songs and dances using a castanet. The melody is simple enough that Carmen sings it without using words. Jose admires the girl, but remembers his military duty as soon as he hears the call for military training.

However, freedom-loving Carmen does not understand this affection; even after Jose declares her love, she does not stop reproaching the guy. Afterwards the duet turns into a solo gypsy woman who wants to lure the young military man into her life of freedom. Here you can see a very simple and frivolous image of a passionate gypsy.

Big solo outing

Her solo performance takes great place at the opera. It is built on the themes of saying goodbye to one’s debt and escaping to one’s native land. The second theme is accompanied by a tarantella dance, and the first by song motifs. As a result, all this turns into a kind of hymn to freedom.

However, the conflict worsens, and the more the girl’s experience grows, the deeper and more dramatic the image of Carmen becomes. The turning point comes only during the aria in the fortune telling scene. Carmen finally realizes that having exclusively selfish intentions to select those around her to her will, she is losing her own “I”. For the first time, the gypsy thinks about how she is wasting her life.

The end of the opera

In the fortune telling scene, the characterization of Carmen's image takes three forms. The first and last are funny songs with her girlfriends, the second is a separate aria of a gypsy. The expressiveness of the performance of the aria is distinctive feature the image of Carmen in this phase of the opera. The song was originally intended to be performed in a minor key, without dance accompaniment. The low tones of the orchestra part, the gloomy coloring of which is achieved thanks to the sound of the trombones, bring an atmosphere of mourning. The wave principle of vocals is adjacent to the rhythmic pattern of musical accompaniment.

The gypsy performs the last act in duets with Escamillo, who brings a touch of love to the image of Carmen. The second duet is embodied with Jose, it resembles a tragic duel, full of sorrow - it is the culmination of the entire opera "Carmen". The image of Carmen is adamant in the face of José's pleas and threats. She responds dryly and laconically to the melodic songs of the military man. The theme of passion appears again in the orchestra.

The development of events takes place along a dramatic line with the invasion of screams from outsiders. The opera's finale ends with Carmen's death while Escamillo is being celebrated as the winner. Born in freedom, the gypsy decides to commit suicide and prove that she is also free in this choice. The festive sound of the bullfighter march theme is juxtaposed with a fatal motif.

Impressed by what I saw yesterday of the performance "Carmen" of the Vologda Puppet Theater. Performance nominated for the award " Golden mask"Of course, I have not seen the performances of the “rivals” for the award, but I have already given my vote for the performance of the Vologda residents. The performance by St. Petersburg director Boris Konstantinov (by the way, already a winner of the “Golden Mask”) turned out to be brightly theatrical, stylishly musical, very emotional and imaginative. And even those who do not happen to be familiar with the names of Carmen, Merimee or Bizet will still understand the passionate story of love, played by puppets and wonderful theater actors. "The special charm of the play (I quote one of the reviews with which I completely agree) is that It’s not clear where the actor ends and the puppet begins and vice versa.” As the director said in one of his interviews: “At some point, already during rehearsal, I noticed that it was not the actors who were leading the puppet, but the puppet leading them. She decides where to go, where to look, who to love..."

Scenes from the play "Carmen" of the Vologda Puppet Theater "Teremok".

If we add to this the fact that there is practically no text in the play - only the exclamations of the characters, plastic music and music. If we note that the musical score, which is based on Spanish songs and melodies, is very rarely and very accurately “spiced up” with the themes of Bizet’s brilliant music. If you say that you, like a child, are surprised and delighted by the decorative rearrangements from simple sticks and cart wheels, the images and symbols that arise during the performance, then all this still cannot describe the sensations of what you saw. At the same time, the performance turned out to be both a festival and international - it will be understood in every corner of the planet.
I decided to take a look through the museum galleries to see how the image of Carmen is depicted in painting. I realized that the topic could be explored endlessly, so I put together two vernissages - classics and modern authors dedicated to the gypsy Carmen. By the way, female name Spanish origin Carmen (Carmen) is derived from the epithet of the Virgin Mary “Madonna of Mount Carmel”, where Her appearance took place. Now let's look at the pictures!

Artist unknown Poster for Carmen's premiere. 1875

Édouard Manet (French, 1832-1883) Émilie Ambre as Carmen. Philadelphia Museum of Art

Valentine Cameron Prinsep (British, 1838-1904) Carmen. 1885

Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel (1856-1910) Portrait of T.S. Lubatowicz as Carmen. 1895 Tretyakov Gallery

Alexander Yakovlevich Golovin (1863-1930) Portrait of Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova-Benois in the role of Carmen. 1908 Theater Museum named after. A.A.Bakhrushina

Alexander Yakovlevich Golovin (1863-1930) Women's costume for the actress Pavlova for the opera "Carmen" by J. Bizet.

Alexander Yakovlevich Golovin (1863-1930) Carmen. Costume design for the opera by G. Bizet. 1908 Theater Museum named after. A.A.Bakhrushina

Marc Zakharovich Chagall (1887-1985) Carmen. 1966

Tatyana Georgievna Bruni (1902-2001) Sketch theatrical costume Carmen.

Pavel Aleksandrovich Skotar (born 1920) Irina Arkhipova as Carmen in J. Bizet's opera "Carmen".

Savva Grigorievich Brodsky (1923-1982) Carmen, illustration for Merimee’s one-volume book in the BVL series. 1968

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) Carmen. 1949

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois(1870-1960) Costume design for Carmen for the opera of the same name by J. Bizet. 1931

Ernesto Fontana (Italian, 1837-1918) Carmen. 1886

And finally, several watercolors, which are attributed on auction sites as the work of Prosper Merimee himself, the author of the novel about Carmen. However, this is not surprising, since the writer’s father, Jean-François-Léonor Mérimée (September 16, 1757 - September 26, 1836), was an artist and art historian. To be honest, it seems to me that only the first and last illustrations belong to Merimee, the rest are openly naked, in style and manner they are not similar to mid-19th century. Although, who knows, who knows... As they say, “what you bought for, you sold for.”

Prosper Mérimée (French, 1803-1870) Carmen.

Prosper Mérimée (French, 1803-1870) Carmen suivi de la course de taureaux (Carmen after a bullfight).

Prosper Mérimée (French, 1803-1870) Carmen et Don José. 1845 Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Georges Bizet (lived 1838-1875) “Carmen” based on the short story of the same name by Prosper Merimee has now gained world fame. Popularity piece of music so great that in many theaters it is performed in the national language (including in Japan). The summary of the opera “Carmen” by Bizet generally corresponds to the plot of the novel, however, there are some differences.

Opera production

It may seem surprising to a modern listener that the first production of the opera, which took place on March 3, 1875 in Paris (Opera-Comique Theater), was a failure. The scandalous debut of "Carmen", accompanied by an abundance of accusatory comments from French journalists, nevertheless had its positive effect. The work, which received such a wide response in the press, could not help but attract the attention of the world. On the stage of the theater alone Comic opera There were about 50 performances during the premiere season.

Nevertheless, after some time the opera was withdrawn from the show and returned to the stage only in 1883. The author of the opera “Carmen” himself did not live to see this moment - he died suddenly at the age of 36, three months after the premiere of his great work.

Opera structure

Bizet's opera Carmen has a four-part form, each act of which is preceded by a separate symphonic intermission. All overtures of the work in their development contain musical material, to one degree or another representing a given action (general picture of events, tragic premonition, etc.).

Place of action and specific characters

The plot of the opera "Carmen" takes place in the city of Seville and its environs (Spain) in the beginning. 19th century. The specific character of the characters chosen by the author of the opera was somewhat provocative for that time. The images of ordinary tobacco factory workers behaving rather cheekily (some of them smoke), soldiers, police officers, as well as thieves and smugglers ran counter to the strict requirements of secular society.

In order to somehow smooth out the impression created by such a society ( women lung behavior that is fickle in their affections; men sacrificing honor in the name of passion, etc.), the author of the opera "Carmen" together with the authors of the libretto are introduced into the work new character. This is the image of Michaela - a pure and innocent girl, which was not in the novel by Prosper Merimee. Due to this heroine, touching in her affection for Don Jose, the characters acquire greater contrast, and the work, in turn, acquires greater drama. Thus, summary The libretto of the opera "Carmen" has its own specifics.

Characters

First action

Let's look at the summary of the opera "Carmen". Seville, city square. Hot afternoon. Off-duty soldiers stand outside the barracks, next to a cigar factory, cynically discussing passers-by. Michaela approaches the soldiers - she is looking for Don Jose. Finding out that he is not there now, she leaves, embarrassed. The changing of the guard begins, and Don Jose appears among those who took up the guard. Together with their commander, Captain Zuniga, they discuss the attractiveness of cigar factory workers. The bell rings - it's a break at the factory. The workers run out into the street in a crowd. They smoke and behave quite cheekily.

Carmen comes out. She flirts with young men and sings her famous habanera (“Love has wings like a bird”). At the end of the singing, the girl throws a flower at Jose. Laughing at his embarrassment, the workers return to the factory.

Michaela appears again with a letter and a gift for Jose. Their duet “What the Relatives Said” sounds. At this time, a terrible noise begins in the factory. It turns out that Carmen slashed one of the girls with a knife. Jose receives orders from the commander to arrest Carmen and take her to the barracks. Jose and Carmen are left alone. The seguidilla “Near the Bastion in Seville” sounds, in which the girl promises to love Jose. The young corporal is completely fascinated. However, on the way to the barracks, Carmen manages to push him away and escape. As a result, Jose himself is taken into custody.

Second act

We continue to describe the summary of the opera “Carmen”. Two months later. The tavern of Lilyas Pastya, Carmen's friend, is the very place where the young gypsy promised to sing and dance for Jose. Unbridled fun reigns here. Among the most important visitors is Captain Zuniga, Commander Jose. He tries to woo Carmen, but he doesn't succeed very well. At the same time, the girl learns that Jose’s period of detention is ending, and this makes her happy.

The bullfighter Escamillo appears and performs the famous couplets “Toast, friends, I accept yours.” The tavern's patrons join in his singing in unison. Escamillo is also fascinated by Carmen, but she does not reciprocate.

It's getting late. Jose appears. Delighted by his arrival, Carmen escorts the remaining visitors from the tavern - four smugglers (bandits El Dancairo and El Remendado, as well as the girls Mercedes and Frasquita). A young gypsy performs a dance for Jose, as he was promised before his arrest. However, the appearance of Captain Zunig, who also came on a date with Carmen, destroys the romantic atmosphere. A quarrel breaks out between the rivals, ready to escalate into bloodshed. However, the gypsies who arrive in time manage to disarm the captain. Don Jose has no choice but to refuse military career. He joins a smuggling gang, to Carmen's delight.

Third act

What else does the summary of the opera “Carmen” tell about? An idyllic picture of nature, in a secluded place among the mountains. The smugglers have a short break. Don José is homesick peasant life, the business of smugglers does not seduce him at all - only Carmen and his passionate love for her seduce him. However, the young gypsy no longer loves him, and things are approaching a breakup. According to the fortune telling of Mercedes and Fransquita, Carmen is in danger of death.

The halt is over, the smugglers go to work, only Jose remains to look after the abandoned goods. Suddenly Michaela appears. She continues to look for Jose. Her aria “I assure myself in vain” sounds.

At this time, the sound of a shot is heard. Frightened, Michaela hides. It turns out that Jose, who saw Escamillo, was the shooter. A bullfighter in love with Carmen is looking for her. A fight begins between the rivals, which inevitably threatens Escamillo’s death, but Carmen, who arrives in time, manages to intervene and save the bullfighter. Escamillo leaves, finally inviting everyone to his performance in Seville.

The next moment, Jose discovers Michaela. The girl tells him the sad news - his mother is dying and wants to say goodbye to her son before her death. Carmen contemptuously agrees that Jose should leave. In anger, he warns her that they will meet again, and only death can separate them. Roughly pushing Carmen away, Jose leaves. Sounds ominous musical motive bullfighter.

Act Four

The following is a summary of the opera “Carmen” about the festive festivities in Seville. Residents of the city in smart clothes are all in anticipation of the bullfighting performance. Escamillo is scheduled to perform in the arena. Soon the bullfighter himself appears, arm in arm with Carmen. The young gypsy woman is also dressed with great luxury. A duet of two lovers sounds.

Escamillo, and behind him all the spectators rush into the theater. Only Carmen remains, despite the fact that Mercedes and Fransquita manage to warn her about Jose hiding nearby. The girl defiantly says that she is not afraid of him.

Jose enters. He is wounded, his clothes have turned into rags. Jose begs the girl to return to him, but receives only a contemptuous refusal in response. The young man continues to insist. An angry Carmen throws him what he gave him. Golden ring. At this time, a choir sounds behind the stage, glorifying the victory of the bullfighter, Jose’s lucky rival. Losing his mind, Jose takes out a dagger and plunges it into his lover just at the moment when the enthusiastic crowd in the theater welcomes Escamillo, the winner of the bullfight.

The festive crowd pours out of the theater onto the street, where a terrible picture opens before their eyes. A mentally broken Jose with the words: “I killed her! Oh, my Carmen!..” - falls at the feet of his dead lover.

Thus, “Carmen” is an opera, the summary of which can be described in almost two sentences. However, that range human feelings and the passions experienced by the heroes of the work cannot be conveyed in any words - only through music and theatrical acting, which Georges Bizet and the opera actors managed to masterfully accomplish.