Full of melodrama and not shy to show the vagabonds, thieves and outlaws at the bottom rungs of the socials ladder, the piece was bound to stir a furore. Full Synopsis Act 1 Full Synopsis Act 2 Full Synopsis Act 3 Full Synopsis Act 4 Quick Answers Is Carmen based on a true story Carmen is based on Prosper Mrime’s 1845 novella Carmen, which was inspired by scandalous tales about the Roma people that the author heard while traveling in Spain. To deliver a shock to the system, he chose the novel by Prosper Mérimée, also titled simply Carmen, for librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy to adapt for the musical theatre stage. The performance at Teatro Costanzi in Rome is yet another confirmation of this fact.Īt the time he started work on the opera, Bizet was tired of the stiff conventions of the genre. However, Carmen has persevered and proven itself a landmark in the opera catalogue. Shining a light on the outcasts of society and turning away from the safety of telling the stories of the upper classes only earned Bizet some of his worst critical press. Puritan and conservative Paris was not ready for the lurid and graphic violence and sexual charge of the debut performance at the Opera Comique on 3 March 1875.

Georges Bizet passed away before his greatest opera, Carmen, gained the critical appeal it so rightfully deserved.

Carmen opera length