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Carmen (tr McAlister)

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Georges Bizet

Georges Bizet (trans. Clark McAlister; ed. Alfred Reed)


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Subtitle: Suite from the Opera


General Info

Year: 1875 / 2000
Duration: c. 13:10
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: LudwigMasters Publications
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $185.00   |   Score Only (print) - $30.00


Movements

1. Prelude to Act I – 3:10
2. Aragonaise – 2:55
3. Habañera – 2:35
4. Toreador's Song – 4:20


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet (optional)
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet (optional)
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium I-II
Tuba I-II
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III

(percussion detail desired)


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Carmen is an opera in four acts by French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875 and was not well received, largely due to its breaking of convention and controversial main characters, which shocked and scandalized its first audiences. Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, and therefore was unaware of its outstanding success in Vienna later that year, or that it would win enduring international acclaim within the next ten years. Carmen has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon; the Habañera from act 1 and the Toreador Song from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias.

The opera is written in the genre of opéra comique with musical numbers separated by dialogue. It is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsy Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen's love to the glamorous toreador Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage. The depictions of proletarian life, immorality, and lawlessness, and the tragic death of the main character on stage, broke new ground in French opera and were highly controversial.

After the premiere, most reviews were critical, and the French public was generally indifferent. Later commentators have asserted that Carmen forms the bridge between the tradition of opéra comique and the realism or verismo that characterised late 19th-century Italian opera.

The music of Carmen has since been widely acclaimed for brilliance of melody, harmony, atmosphere, and orchestration, and for the skill with which Bizet musically represented the emotions and suffering of his characters. The opera has been recorded many times since the first acoustical recording in 1908, and the story has been the subject of many screen and stage adaptations.

- Program Note from Wikipedia


Media


State Ratings

  • Florida: VI


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Bizet, G.; McAlister, C.; Reed, A. (2000). Carmen: Suite from the Opera [score]. Masters Music: Boca Raton, Fla.
  • Carmen, Wikipedia Accessed 11 April 2016
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