Georges Bizet
Known for one of the world's most popular operas, Carmen, Georges Bizet deserves attention as well for other works of remarkable melodic charm. Many of his works received cool receptions upon their premieres but are now considered central to the repertory of classical music.
Bizet was born in Paris on October 25, 1838 and grew up in a happy, musical family that encouraged his talents. He learned to read music at the same time he learned to read letters, both equally well. Entering the Paris Conservatory before he was ten, he earned first prize in solfège within six months, a first prize in piano in 1852, and eventually, the coveted Prix de Rome in 1857 for his cantata Clovis et Clotilde. His teachers had included Marmontel for piano and Halévy for composition, but his greatest influence was Charles Gounod, of whom Bizet later said, "You were the beginning of my life as an artist." Bizet himself hid away his Symphony in C, written when he was 17, feeling it was too much like its models, Gounod's symphonies. The two years spent in Rome after winning his prize would be the only extensive amount of time (and a greatly impressionable one) that Bizet would spend outside of Paris in his brief life. When he returned to Paris, he lost confidence in his natural talents and began to substitute dry Germanic or academic writing for his own developing idiom. He composed a one-act opera for production at the Opéra-Comique, but the theater's director engaged him to write a full-length opera instead, Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers). It was not a success at the time, but despite a few weaknesses, the work was revived in 1886, and its sheer beauty has earned it a respected position among the lesser-played operatic repertory. In 1863, Bizet's father bought land outside Paris where he built two bungalows, one of which Bizet frequently used as a compositional retreat. He began a friendship (apparently not a physical one) with a neighbor-woman named Céleste Mogador, a former actress, author, courtesan, circus rider, and dancehall girl. She is said to have been the model for his masterpiece's title role of Carmen. Bizet earned his living as an accompanist and publishing house arranger. Meanwhile, he poured his creative efforts into an immense five-act opera in the grand tradition, Ivan IV, but it was never performed. This proved to be a pattern for the rest of his career. Bizet would work hard to get an opera produced, but even so, it would usually receive only a handful of performances. Bizet's corpus of unfinished works is large, and testifies to his unsettled existence and his difficulty in finding a place in France's notoriously hierarchical and conservative musical world. In 1869, Bizet married Geneviève Halévy, the daughter of his teacher. The marriage did not turn out to be a happy one, primarily due to her family's history of mental illness. In 1872, Bizet's splendid incidental music for the play L'arlèsienne was poorly received, but when the composer assembled the music into an orchestral suite for a November performance, it found great acclaim. At last confident of his creative vision, Bizet was able to steer his final masterpiece through various obstacles, including the objections of singers and theater directors who were shocked by Carmen's subject matter. When the opera had its premiere on March 3, 1875, it was received barely well enough to hang on for future productions. Although it took audiences a few months to catch on, Bizet died convinced it was a failure.
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Classical Sampler
Clásica - Editado por Piros Comercial Digital el 15 abr. 2015
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Royal Opera House Covent Garden: An Early History on Record
Música vocal (profana y sacra) - Editado por Prima Voce el 1 ene. 1991
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Bizet - Great Recordings
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 29 may. 2021
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Symphonie n° 1 - L'Arlésienne, suites n° 1 & 2
Clásica - Editado por Classical.com Music el 16 feb. 2009
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Los Grandes de la Musica Clasica - George Bizet Vol. 1
Clásica - Editado por ClassicalPirosDigital el 20 jun. 2015
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Liceu Brass Ensemble
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Georges Bizet, Christian Lindberg, Liceu Opera Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE el 27 jun. 2023
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Only The Best From Georges Bizet
Pop - Editado por Only Between Us Records el 31 mar. 2017
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Carmen Suite - Symphony In C (Alternate Mix)
Clásica - Editado por YOYO USA, Inc. el 1 ene. 2006
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EG Favorites
Gioachino Rossini, Carl Maria von Weber, Georges Bizet
Clásica - Editado por EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE el 6 jul. 2022
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Classical Hall: Georges Bizet
Pop - Editado por Only Between Us Records el 5 may. 2017
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Bizet: Highlights from Carmen (Digitally Remastered)
Ópera - Editado por EMG Classical el 27 ago. 2013
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Grandes Maestros, Obras Clásicas Vol. 7
Clásica - Editado por Piros Comercial Digital el 30 sep. 2014
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Carmen Suite
Hercules Brass Ensemble, Christian Lindberg, Georges Bizet
Clásica - Editado por EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE el 13 sep. 2022
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Bizet - L'Arlesienne Suites - Symphony In C
Georges Bizet, Hans Hagen, Vienna Colonaden Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Denon el 1 ene. 2007
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Bizet: Symphony in C, L'Arlésienne Suites - Debussy: Children's Corner Suite
Leopold Stokowski's Symphony Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Cala Records el 1 sep. 2008
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Classical Romance with Georges Bizet
Lounge - Editado por PMI Collins Classics el 1 feb. 2019
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George Bizet
Radio Bratislava Symphony, Karin Lechner, Daniel Tiempo
Clásica - Editado por Piros Comercial Digital el 19 may. 2015
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Carmen Jones (Original Film Soundtrack)
Georges Bizet, Oscar Hammerstein II
Bandas sonoras de cine - Editado por Supreme Media el 2 ene. 2013
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Carmen' Act I, II
Clásica - Editado por Pipeline Music el 6 jun. 2006
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