Editing Georges Bizet (section)

====Family background and childhood====
Georges Bizet was born in Paris on 25 October 1838. He was registered as Alexandre César Léopold, but baptised as "Georges" on 16 March 1840, and was known by this name for the rest of his life. His father, Adolphe Bizet, had been a hairdresser and wigmaker before becoming a singing teacher despite his lack of formal training.<ref>Dean (1965), p. 1</ref> He also composed a few works, including at least one published song.<ref name= C7>Curtiss, p. 7</ref> In 1837, Adolphe married Aimée Delsarte, against the wishes of her family who considered him a poor prospect; the Delsartes, though impoverished, were a cultured and highly musical family.<ref name= D2>Dean (1965), pp. 2–4</ref> Aimée was an accomplished pianist, while her brother [[François Delsarte]] was a distinguished singer and teacher who performed at the courts of both [[Louis Philippe I|Louis Philippe]] and [[Napoleon III]].<ref>Curtiss, pp. 8–10</ref> François Delsarte's wife Rosine, a musical prodigy, had been an assistant professor of [[solfeggio|solfège]] at the [[Conservatoire de Paris]] at the age of 13.<ref>Curtiss, pp. 12–13</ref> At least one author has suggested that Aimée was from a Jewish family, but this is not substantiated in any of Georges' official biographies.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9YZgJW1u9vYC&pg=PA123|title=Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)|first=Timothy L.|last=Jackson|author-link=Timothy L. Jackson|date=7 October 1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521646765|access-date=17 November 2017|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>[[Philip Bohlman]], ''Jewish Musical Modernism, Old and New'', University of Chicago Press (2008), p. 10</ref>

Georges, an only child,<ref name= D2/> showed early aptitude for music and quickly picked up the basics of musical notation from his mother, who probably gave him his first piano lessons.<ref name= C7/> By listening at the door of the room where Adolphe conducted his classes, Georges learned to sing difficult songs accurately from memory and developed an ability to identify and analyse complex [[chord (music)|chordal structures]]. This precocity convinced his ambitious parents that he was ready to begin studying at the Conservatoire even though he was still only nine years old (the minimum entry age was 10). Georges was interviewed by [[Joseph Meifred]], the [[French horn|horn]] virtuoso who was a member of the Conservatoire's Committee of Studies. Meifred was so struck by the boy's demonstration of his skills that he waived the age rule and offered to take him as soon as a place became available.<ref name= D2/><ref>Curtiss, pp. 15–17</ref>