Editing Georges Bizet (section)

===Late career===

====''Djamileh'', ''L'Arlésienne'' and ''Don Rodrigue''====
As life in Paris returned to normal, in June 1871, Bizet's appointment as chorus-master at the Opéra was seemingly confirmed by its director, [[Émile Perrin]]. Bizet was due to begin his duties in October, but on 1 November, the post was assumed by [[Hector Salomon]]. In her biography of Bizet, Mina Curtiss surmises that he either resigned or refused to take up the position as a protest against what he thought was the director's unjustified closing of [[Ernest Reyer]]'s opera ''Erostrate'' after only two performances.<ref>Curtiss, pp. 315–317</ref> Bizet resumed work on ''Clarissa Harlowe'' and ''Grisélidis'', but plans for the latter to be staged at the Opéra-Comique fell through, and neither work was finished; only fragments of their music survive.<ref>Dean (1965), pp. 91–95</ref> Bizet's other completed works in 1871 were the piano duet entitled ''[[Jeux d'enfants (Bizet)|Jeux d'enfants]]'', and a one-act opera, ''[[Djamileh]]'', which opened at the Opéra-Comique in May 1872. It was poorly staged and incompetently sung; at one point the leading singer missed 32 bars of music. It closed after 11 performances, not to be heard again until 1938.<ref>Dean (1965), pp. 96–98</ref> On 10 July Geneviève gave birth to the couple's only child, a son, [[Jacques Bizet|Jacques]].<ref>Curtiss, pp. 329–330</ref>
[[File:Paris Opera fire 29 10 1873.jpg|thumb|left|The Opéra, destroyed by fire, 29 October 1873]]
[[File:Georges Bizet L'Arlésienne Suite no. 1 1st movement excerpt.mp3|thumb|''L'Arlesienne Suite no. 1'', first movement (excerpt)]]
Bizet's next major assignment came from Carvalho, who was now managing Paris' Vaudeville theatre and wanted incidental music for [[Alphonse Daudet]]'s play ''[[L'Arlésienne (novel and play)|L'Arlésienne]]''. When the play opened on 1 October, the music was dismissed by critics as too complex for popular taste. However, encouraged by Reyer and [[Jules Massenet|Massenet]], Bizet fashioned [[L'Arlésienne (Bizet)|a four-movement suite]] from the music,<ref>Curtiss, pp. 332–340</ref> which was performed under Pasdeloup on 10 November to an enthusiastic reception.<ref name= OMO/>{{refn|A second ''L'Arlésienne'' suite was prepared by Guiraud and performed in 1879, four years after Bizet's death. This is generally known as ''L'Arlésienne suite No. 2''.<ref>Curtiss, p. 332</ref>|group= n}} In the winter of 1872–73, Bizet supervised preparations for a revival of the still-absent Gounod's ''Roméo et Juliette'' at the Opéra-Comique. Relations between the two had been cool for some years, but Bizet responded positively to his former mentor's request for help, writing: "You were the beginning of my life as an artist. I spring from you".<ref>Curtiss, p. 342</ref>

In June 1872, Bizet informed Galabert: "I have just been ordered to compose three acts for the Opéra-Comique. [[Henri Meilhac|[Henri] Meilhac]] and [Ludovic] Halévy are doing my piece".<ref>Dean (1965), p. 100</ref> The subject chosen for this project was [[Prosper Mérimée]]'s short novel, ''[[Carmen (novella)|Carmen]]''. Bizet began the music in the summer of 1873, but the Opéra-Comique's management was concerned about the suitability of this risqué story for a theatre that generally provided wholesome entertainment, and work was suspended.<ref name= OMO/><ref>Schonberg (Vol. II), p. 36</ref> Bizet then began composing ''Don Rodrigue'', an adaptation of the [[El Cid]] story by [[Louis Gallet]] and [[Édouard Blau]]. He played a piano version to a select audience that included the Opéra's principal baritone [[Jean-Baptiste Faure]], hoping that the singer's approval might influence the directors of the Opéra to stage the work.<ref>Dean (1965), p. 107</ref> However, on the night of 28–29 October, the Opéra burned to the ground; the directors, amid other pressing concerns, set ''Don Rodrigue'' aside.<ref>Curtiss, pp. 352–353</ref> It was never completed; Bizet later adapted a theme from its final act as the basis of his 1875 overture, ''Patrie''.<ref name= OMO/>

====''Carmen''====
{{main|Carmen}}
[[File:Prudent-Louis_Leray_-_Poster_for_the_première_of_Georges_Bizet's_Carmen.jpg|thumb|Poster from ''Carmen'''s première]]
[[Adolphe de Leuven]], the co-director of the Opéra-Comique most bitterly opposed to the ''[[Carmen]]'' project, resigned early in 1874, removing the main barrier to the work's production.<ref name= OMO/> Bizet finished the score during the summer and was pleased with the outcome: "I have written a work that is all clarity and vivacity, full of colour and melody".<ref>Dean (1965), p. 108</ref> The renowned mezzo-soprano [[Célestine Galli-Marié]] (known professionally as "Galli-Marié") was engaged to sing the title role. According to Dean, she was as delighted by the part as Bizet was by her suitability for it. There were rumours that he and the singer pursued a brief affair; his relations with Geneviève were strained at this time, and they lived apart for several months.<ref>Dean (1965), pp. 110–111</ref>

When rehearsals began in October 1874, the orchestra had difficulties with the score, finding some parts unplayable.<ref name= D758>Dean (1980), pp. 758–760</ref> The chorus likewise declared some of their music impossible to sing and were dismayed that they had to act as individuals, smoking and fighting onstage rather than merely standing in line.<ref>McClary, p. 24</ref> Bizet also had to counter further attempts at the Opéra-Comique to modify parts of the action which they deemed improper. Only when the leading singers threatened to withdraw from the production did the management give way.<ref>Dean (1965), pp. 112–114</ref><ref>McClary, p. 23</ref> Resolving these issues delayed the first night until 3 March 1875 on which morning, by chance, Bizet's appointment as a Chevalier of the [[Legion of Honour]] was announced.<ref name= C387/>

Among leading musical figures at the premiere were [[Jules Massenet]], [[Camille Saint-Saëns]], and [[Charles Gounod]]. Geneviève, suffering from an abscess in her right eye, was unable to be present.<ref name= C387>Curtiss, p. 387</ref> The opera's first performance extended to four-and-a-half hours; the final act did not begin until after midnight.<ref name= S604>Sheen, pp. 604–605</ref> Afterwards, Massenet and Saint-Saëns were congratulatory, Gounod less so. According to one account, he accused Bizet of plagiarism: "Georges has robbed me! Take the Spanish airs and mine out of the score and there remains nothing to Bizet's credit but the sauce that masks the fish".<ref>Curtiss, p. 391</ref>{{refn|The acknowledged Spanish melodies are the Habanera, which uses a popular tune by [[Sebastián Iradier]], and the entr'acte to Act 4 which is based on an aria from [[Manuel García (tenor)|Manuel Garcia]]'s opera ''El criado fingido''.<ref>McClary, p. 26</ref><ref name= Locke>Locke, pp. 318–319</ref>|group= n}} Much of the press comment was negative, expressing consternation that the heroine was an amoral seductress rather than a woman of virtue.<ref name= S604/> Galli-Marié's performance was described by one critic as "the very incarnation of vice".<ref>Dean (1965), p. 117</ref> Others complained of a lack of melody and made unfavourable comparisons with the traditional Opéra-Comique fare of [[Daniel Auber|Auber]] and [[François-Adrien Boieldieu|Boieldieu]]. Léon Escudier in ''L'Art Musical'' called the music "dull and obscure&nbsp;... the ear grows weary of waiting for the cadence that never comes".<ref>Dean (1965), p. 118</ref> There was, however, praise from the poet [[Théodore de Banville]], who applauded Bizet for presenting a drama with real men and women instead of the usual Opéra-Comique "puppets".<ref>Curtiss, pp. 408–409</ref> The public's reaction was lukewarm, and Bizet soon became convinced of its failure: "I foresee a definite and hopeless flop".<ref>Dean (1965), p. 116</ref>