Bizet, Georges, 1838-1875

A French composer of the Romantic era, Bizet is best known for Carmen, one of the most often performed and popular works in the opera repertoire. His realistic approach influenced the verismo school of opera.

A brilliant student at the Conservatoire, Bizet won many prizes including the Prix de Rome which brought with it a five-year state pension and two years to be spent at the French Academy in Rome.

When his Rome grant expired, Bizet discovered that Parisian opera theatres preferred the established classical repertoire. His keyboard and orchestral compositions were also ignored and he was unable to make a living from writing music and resorted to teaching and arranging and transcribing others’ work.

His Symphony in C Major of 1855 was lost and not discovered until 1935 but compares favourably to works written by Mozart and Mendelssohn at the same age. After his death, except for Carmen, his work was largely neglected. After its premiere in March of 1875 Bizet was convinced it was a failure and died suddenly a few months later.

Bizet’s output was considerable but very few of his compositions - opera, orchestral works and songs and works for piano - were performed. His manuscripts were given away or lost, and published versions of his works were frequently revised and adapted. After long being neglected, his work began to be performed in the 20th century and he was acclaimed as a brilliant composer and his death a loss to French musical theatre.