Editing Georges Bizet (section)

===Marriage===
[[File:Madame Georges Bizet by Jules-Élie Delaunay (conrasted).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Geneviève Bizet, painted in 1878 by [[Jules-Élie Delaunay]]]]
Not long after Fromental Halévy's death in 1862, Bizet had been approached on behalf of Mme. Halévy about completing his old tutor's unfinished opera ''[[Noé (opera)|Noé]]''.<ref name= D84>Dean (1965), p. 84</ref> Although no action was taken at that time, Bizet remained on friendly terms with the Halévy family. Fromental had left two daughters; the elder, Esther, died in 1864, an event which so traumatised Mme. Halévy that she could not tolerate the company of her younger daughter [[Geneviève Halévy|Geneviève]], who from the age of 15 lived with other family members.<ref name="Dean 1965, p. 82">Dean (1965), p. 82</ref> It is unclear when Geneviève and Bizet became emotionally attached, but in October 1867, he informed Galabert: "I have met an adorable girl whom I love! In two years she will be my wife!"<ref>Dean (1965), pp. 69–70</ref> The pair became engaged, although the Halévy family initially disallowed the match. According to Bizet they considered him an unsuitable catch: "penniless, left-wing, anti-religious and Bohemian",<ref>Steen, pp. 589–590</ref> which Dean observes are odd grounds of objection from "a family bristling with artists and eccentrics".<ref>Dean (1965), p. 70</ref> By summer 1869, their objections had been overcome, and the wedding took place on 3 June 1869. Ludovic Halévy wrote in his journal: "Bizet has spirit and talent. He ''should'' succeed".<ref>Curtiss, p. 250</ref>

As a belated homage to his late father-in-law, Bizet took up the ''Noé'' manuscript and completed it. Parts of his moribund ''Vasco da Gama'' and ''Ivan IV'' were incorporated into the score, but a projected production at the Théâtre Lyrique failed to materialise when Carvalho's company finally went bankrupt, and ''Noé'' remained unperformed until 1885.<ref name= OMO/><ref name= D84/> Bizet's marriage was initially happy, but was affected by Geneviève's nervous instability (inherited from both her parents),<ref name="Dean 1965, p. 82"/> her difficult relations with her mother and by Mme. Halévy's interference in the couple's affairs.<ref name= D757/> Despite this, Bizet kept on good terms with his mother-in-law and maintained an extensive correspondence with her.<ref name= Letters/> In the year following the marriage, he considered plans for at least half a dozen new operas and began to sketch the music for two of them: ''Clarissa Harlowe'' based on [[Samuel Richardson]]'s novel ''[[Clarissa; or, The History of a Young Lady|Clarissa]]'', and ''Grisélidis'' with a libretto from [[Victorien Sardou]].<ref>Curtiss, pp. 254–256</ref> However, his progress on these projects was brought to a halt in July 1870, with the outbreak of the [[Franco-Prussian War]].<ref>Curtiss, p. 258</ref>