UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO Presented to the FACULTY OF MUSIC LIBRARY by George A. Smale Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2021 with funding from University of Toronto https://archive.org/details/carmenoperainfou0Obize_O0 GEORGES BIZET. 1838-1875. Opera in Four Acts BY GBEIOERZGTES ZBRZET WORDS BY MEILHAC AND L. HALEVY ADAPTED FROM THE NOVEL BY PROSPER MERIMEE ENGLISH VERSION BY DR. TH. BAKER CARMEN. FIRST PERFORMED AT THE OPERA-COMIQUE, PARIS, MARCH 3, 1875. Characters of the Drama, With the Original Cast as presented at the first performance. DON JOSE, Corporal of Dragoons E e - 5 5 > M. Lherie. ESCAMILLO, Toreador M. Bouhy. ZUNIGA, Captain of Dragoons - = e e ß M. Dufriche. MORALES, Officer 5 : : 2 - a : A M. Duvernoy. LILLAS PASTIA, Innkeeper : 5 B - ® M. Nathan. CARMEN, a Gypsy-girl ; 2 ü ; 2 Mme. Galli-Marie. MICAELA, a Village maiden 6 0 © ; ® - Mille. Chapuy. FRASQUITA Mille. Ducasse. MERCEDES |Companions of Carmen “228. Mille: Chevalier. EL DANCAIRO EL REMENDADO |Smugglers. A GUIDE. Dragoons, Gypsies, Smugglers, Cigarette-girls, Street-boys, etc. Act l.—A Pustic SQUARE IN SEvILLA. Act Il.—Lıras Pasrtıa’s TAVERN. Acr II.—A Wırp MOounTAIn-Pass. AcT IV.—PuBLic SQUARE IN SEVILLA AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE CIRCUS. The Story of Carmen. The scene of the opera is Sevilla and environs; the time, 1820. Act I opens in a square of Sevilla. «Morales, officer of dragoons, is lounging, with the soldiers of the guard, in front of the guard-house, watching the people come and go. Among them he notices a maiden, Micaela, whose shy glances betray an interest in the soldiers. Questioning her, he finds that she wishes to see ’Don Fose, a corporal in the regiment; she then evades too pressing attentions, and leaves the square. The relief-guard, with ‘Don Fose and his captain, Zuniga, appears, and the other guard marches off. Now, at the stroke of noon, the cigarette-girls pour out from the adjacent tobacco-factory; last of all comes Carmen, the beautiful, bold, heartless Gypsy-girl. Scoffing at the gallants who crowd around to seek her favor, her eye chances to light on Don ‚Jose, still quite oblivious of her presence. He takes her fancy; after momentary hesitation she approaches him, throws him a nosegay, and, with a passionate glance, turns and flees. “Don Jose, amazed and, against his will, flattered by such a token of partiality, is presently surprised by his village EEE EEE ET ne Baal a. LP EEE IIANVEDCITV NT TNTNRNIr f /ERNIIYV NE \ Li > 3 E \ f Iran) i UNIV I #] ven fat Taur p N f I ee sweetheart, @Micaela, who brings a message from his mother, exhorting him to be true to his first love. Micaela discreetiy withdraws while Don Fose reads the letter; filled with tender thoughts of earlier days, he would renounce the fitful passion inspired by Carmen, —but a sudden disturbance breaks in upon this softer mood; Carmen has wounded one of her companions in a quarrel, and ‘Don Jose himself is commissioned by Zuniga to arrest her and take her to jail. But her passionate wiles overbear his good resolutions; he lets her escape, and is punished by imprisonment. Act II plays in a suburban resort of smugglers, of whom Carmen is a faithful ally. Here she had promised to meet ‘Don Fose,; just now she is passing the time agreeably in the company of Zuniga and other officers. Escamillo, a redoubtable toreador, joins them, and falls in love with Carmen, who repulses his advances. Two Gypsies, leaders of the smugglers, enter to inform Carmen and her two companions Frasquila and Mercedes, that their aid is needed, the same evening, to pass some ‘“ merchandise”. Carmen, awaiting ‘Don Jose, who has just been set at liberty, refuses to go. He comes; the rest retire, leaving him alone with Carmen, who, enchanted at recovering her lover, employs all her art to entertain and fascinate him. But, ofa sudden, he hears distant bugles sounding the ‘‘retreat”, realizes that he will be treated as a deserter if absent without leave, and, despite Carmen’s astonishment and growing disdain and fury, is in the act of departing, when the door is forced by Zuniga. He peremptorily orders Don Jose to be gone, who as haughtily refuses to yield to his rival; swords are drawn, but Carmen summons the Gypsies from their hiding-places. Zuniga is disarmed, and ‘Don Fose is forced, as an open mutineer against his superior officer, to leave Sevilla and join the smugglers. In Act III the band is assembled within a wild mountain-gorge, waiting to carry their bales into the city. ‘Don Fose is also there; but he takes no interest in their enterprise, and bitter regrets continually assail him. Carmen, already tired of her half-hearted lover, tauntingly advises him to go back to his mother; she persists in tormenting him, although the cards, in which she implicitly believes, foretell that she is doomed to the speedy death which his gloomy looks presage. The band departs, leaving ‘Don ‚Fose to mount guard over goods left behind for another trip. Micaela, unseen by him, approaches; she catches sight of Don Jose, but at the same instant he levels his carbine and fires in her direction. Overcome by fright, she swoons and sinks down behind the rocks. The shot, however, was aimed at Escamillo, who clambers unharmed over the rocks, and introduces himself to Don Jose, whose pleasure at their meeting is quickly turned to bitterest hatred when Escamillo nonchalantly announces his errand—to meet his sweetheart, Carmen. A terrible duel ensues, fought with the deadly navajas (large, keen-bladed clasp- knives). Escamillo’s life is saved by the unexpected intervention of Carmen, whose love is now wholly transferred to him ; and leaves the scene defiantly. The smugglers are about to follow, when they espy @Micaela, who, awakened from her swoon, implores ‘Don Fose to hasten to his dying mother. Unable to resist this appeal, he goes but warns Carmen that they will meet again elsewhere. The scene of Act IV is another square in Sevilla, before the ancient amphitheatre in which the bull-fights are held. Last in the brilliant procession formed by the participants in the combat, comes Escamillo, with him Carmen, radiant with delight in her latest conquest. Her friends warn her to go away, telling her that ‘Don Jose is lying in wait. She does not heed the warning. The two meet. “Don Fose is in no murderous mood ; for the time, love has wholly gained the mastery. He im- plores Carmen to be his, even promises to rejoin the band of smugglers for her sake. She repels him with inflexible determination ; laughs him to scorn, and throws at his feet the ring he had given her; fearlessly confronting his rising fury, she tells him that all is over between them, that Escamillo is everything to her, and that, though she feels that death is near, she will love him to her last breath. Exulting in the outburst of applause from the arena, telling of Escamillo’s triumph, she attempts to join him; but Don ‚7ose, maddened by jealousy, seizes her and stabs her to the heart at the very moment when Escamillo, flushed by victory, issues from the amphi- theatre with the exultant throng. The plot here sketched in outline, is based on Prosper Merimee’s story, “Carmen” The very skilfully adapted libretto of the opera is the joint production of Henry Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy. The action is animated, well-knit, and flow- ing, never dragging or becoming tiresome. And it was a most masterly stroke to introduce the character of Micaela, which is not found in Merimee’s tale, into the play as a contrast and foil to that of Carmen, and in motivation of ‘Don ‚Fose's irreso- lution :—Micaela, the simple, true-hearted village maid,—Carmen, the passionate, artful, fickle Gypsy-gir. An opportunity for musical characterization was thus presented, which the gifted composer has made one of the most attractive and effective features in a work replete with charming and striking musical effects. Bizet, well acquainted with Spanish folk-life and folk-music through frequent sojourn in the Pyrenees, portrays scenes and personages in the magical light of real ‘local color””—a phrase (and effect) too often misused by mediocrity. His melody is his own. The leading character, Carmen, occupies the foreground, dramatically and musically, whenever she is on the stage ; yet the lesser röles are so carefully handled that there is no sense of disproportion. The total effect is that of a grand art-work, cunningly wrought in the least details ;an imperishable monument to one of the greatest among modern French composers. Prelude Scene and Chorus Chorus of Street-boys Chorus of Cigarette-girls Habanera ; £ Scene Duet Chorus 5 Song and kennst % Seguidilla and Duet Finale e Entr’acte Gypsy song Chorus Toreador Song Quintet Canzonetta Duet Finale Entr’acte Sextet and Chorus Trio Morceau d’ ensemble Air Duet Finale Entr’acte Chorus March and Chorns Duet and final Chorus ACHzL Sur la place. (Micaela, Morales, Chorus) Avec la garde montante La cloche a sonn& (Carmen). L’amour est un oiseau (Carmen) Carmen, sur tes pas 5 Parle-moi de ma mere (Micaela, Don Tose) Que se passe-t-il donc la-bas ? 0 Coupe-moi, brüle-moi (Carmen, Don Jose, Zune Chorus) 88 Pres des remparts de Seville (Carmen, Don Jose) 095 Voici l’ordre, partez 5 : n ACTZEIT: Les tringles des sistres (Carmen, Frasquita, Mer- cedes) Vivat, vivat le Tore&ro!. : Voire toast, je peux vous le rendre Eeekalla Nous avons en tete une affaire (Carmen, Frasquita, Mercedes, El Dancairo, El Remendado) Halte-lä, quı valä? (Carmen, Don Jose) Je vais danser en votre honneur (Carmen, Don Jose) Hola, Carmen, ho!ä! ACT I. Ecoute, compagnon Melons, coupons (Carmen, are Mereae Quant au douanier. C’est des contrebandiers (Micasla) Je suis Escamillo (Escamillo, Don Jos£) Hola, hola Jose | ACTIVE A deux cuartos Les voici! C’est toi? C’est moi! ae De Te Carmen. NI#IR Prelude. 116.) GEORGES BIZET. “. giocose. Allegro Copyright renewal assigne Printed inthe U.S. A. d, 1923, to @. Schirmer, Inc. Copyright, 1895, by @. Schirmer, Inc. 12117 El He — u eu Bu. ee Tee ee [6 1 I 1 | T j N MA = Ih Ann i lil ES S Ä S ul = 5 m Silo [BR | Pe. 12117 [I Tuer 7 | I TU m ’sSeiruinnnn Ben EEE 2 u U ----—- BENE PAHEHHE Be I 27 ee 12117 S a N a N a S n Ye MENO altfacca subito. 12117 Act I. A square in Sevilla. On the right, the door of the tobacco - factory. At the back, a real bridge. house. a guard- ’ On the left of the front When the curtain rises, Corporal Morales and the soldiers are discovered, grouped in guard- house. 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