The orchestrated music from Georges Bizet’s opera, Carmen, is some of the most widely recognized classical music to this day. In the unabridged and in act classroom version of Carmen, it is regarded as “The most famous, and perennially and universally the most popular of French operas, performed the world over more frequently than any other…” (Meilhac 1). Carmen first premiered in Paris on March 3, 1875 at the Opera Comique and contained music composed by Georges Bizet and libretto written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy (Opera Carolina, 2018). The opera is a tragedy about sex, betrayal, rivalry and ends with Carmen’s tragic demise; with a musical score to match. Bizet used his outlet through his composition of Carmen to create a groundbreaker for the portrayal of true “verismé”, the French translation of the revolutionary genre of artistic expression known as Realism. Realism captured a more realistic portrayal of the common man and his everyday, personal life drama along with his corruption and immorality. Within Realism, human passions became the subject of the action; no subject was too harsh or ugly. Bizet himself said, “As a musician, I tell you that if you were to suppress hatred, adultery, fanaticism, or evil, it would no longer be possible to write a single note of music.” Being able to express these unconventional aspects of society in such an open and sensory stimulating way as opera, Bizet’s Carmen became an icon of free expression and thus highly representative of the flaws in human nature. For these reasons, its popularity skyrocketed, making it highly utilized in various aspects of popular culture. This wide acknowledgement amongst the general public can be attributed to media outlets, such as television and movies, repeatedly using Carmen’s score and the message it conveys to the listener in order to advance plot and convey desired themes. The music composed by Georges Bizet in his hit opera, Carmen, highlights the themes of sex, betrayal, rivalry, and tragedy which can be further applied to its representations in popular culture through television and movies to convey versimé.
The historical and thematic context associated with the opera Carmen helps one to better understand the message the music is able to produce. Based on Prosper Merimee’s novel, Carmen is about a woman, fittingly named Carmen, who is a “feminist heroine for the ages” (Opera Carolina, 2018). Carmen is a gypsy working in a cigar factory who is arrested for assaulting a fellow worker. She seduces Don José, the soldier assigned to guard her, into letting her escape causing him to serve time in prison. Following his release, José reunites with her to find that his commanding officer, Captain Zuniga, has also fallen under her spell. The two rivals argue over Carmen, forcing José to desert the army and join Carmen and the gypsies in the mountains. Carmen gets tired of José and starts a new romance with bullfighter, Escamillo. A jealous José confronts Carmen at the bullring where she has arrived on Escamillo’s arm, but she ignores his pleas and threats. In a fit of frustrated passion, José stabs her to death; bringing the story to a tragic and abrupt end (Fisher 25). Carmen’s portrayal of a violent crime of passion signaled the end of the nineteenth century Romanticism and its glorification of sentimentalism and noble ideals. Realism, or verismé in opera, searched for the underlying truth in man’s existence, bringing violent and savage passions to artistic expression. Realism probed deeply into every area of human experience, documented every social ill with plots containing alcoholism, prostitution, adultery and suicide. Not only was Carmen’s story entirely too much verisme, but its highly sensual music was deemed too offensive. Carmen is thematically modern and audiences no longer present strong opposition to its story, proving it to be willingly integrated into society to this day (Fisher, 13-24). Furthermore, there is a considerable amount of musical meaning associated with Carmen’s score, making it easily transferable to modern society.
125 years after the opera’s premiere, Carmen has become one of the world’s most enormously popular operas, containing a music score saturated with hit tunes that have become the tops of the operatic song charts: “Habanera” and “Toreador Song” among many. From the point of view of the lyric theater, “the opera moves swiftly from scene to scene, pounding like a pulse with sensuous melodies, vivid orchestral harmonies, and captivating rhythms that are so “listener friendly” that there is hardly a note we could do without” (Fisher, 13-24). Each song has contextual meaning that can transcend into the music itself. For example, “Habanera” is Carmen’s gypsy lecture on the nature of volatility, and dangers of love. She speaks of love as a rebellious bird that no one can tame, a metaphor for Carmen herself: free to love and independent. During her singing of “Habanera”, Carmen glances seductively at José who attempts to protect himself from her seductive charms. When he eventually is forced to make eye contact with her, the “Death” motive is heard, indicating that uncontrollable passions have been aroused. The “Death” motive is leitmotif, a musical designation, or signature, signaling the forthcoming tragedy and echoes repeatedly throughout the score at portentous moments in the drama. The integration of the “Death” motive during “Habanera” signals José’s doom to be a victim of Carmen. This “Death” motive or musical signature is also apparent following the “Toreador Song”, signalling to tragedy to come. During the “Toreador Song”, the famous bullfighter, Escamillo, toasts a vivid picture of his public and private life while boasting about the rewards of a courageous toreador: his reckless daring, the bloodshed, the adoration and cheering of crowds, and the irresistible sexual power of men who kill bulls. During the scene, Carmen succeeds at getting his attention, a turning point in the drama and the beginning of a love triangle and rivalry that leads to ultimate tragedy (Fisher, 27-30). The use of “Death” motive to add meaning from the plot to the music allows it to transcend to differing contexts while maintaining meaning. This can be seen through the use of Carmen’s score in various television and movie representations that convey similar themes and messages.
In contemporary America, popular culture attempts to integrate Carmen’s orchestral score into society through its representation in television and movies. The most commonly used songs from Carmen are “Habanera” and “Toreador Song” and their appearances span from teen dramas to children’s cartoons. Each of these representations portray similar depictions of the original themes and message of the acclaimed opera which are enhanced by the use of Carmen’s score. It has been found that music in cinema adds to the allure of the audience’s cinematic experience and the active participation in the construction of both the story and narration (Meilhac, 2018). In an episode of the teen drama show, Gossip Girl, a teenager’s dramatic sleepover unfolds to the sounds of Bizet’s Habanera playing in the background. The sleepover host lays on a chaise lounge as the attendees speak of how much they admire her for hosting such a great sleepover and being their role model. In Carmen, Carmen holds a similar role for her fellow gypsies and is seen a symbol of feminist herocism. Finally the theme of betrayal comes into play as the host discovers that her lover has been spotted out on the town with her mortal enemy and rival, all to the orchestral notes of Carmen. Similarly, in an episode of the musical comedy-drama show, Glee, a runaway bride situation unfolds at a wedding and again “Habanera” plays in the background as the groom is informed. Hurt and betrayal are portrayed as the brides intentions are revealed to the groom by his nemesis, producing a scene that is on par with Carmen’s intentions. Furthermore, there are some popular culture works, that go beyond musical message portrayal, and additionally embody the essence of the opera in its entirety. Many children’s shows, such as Tom and Jerry, Animaniacs, and even the Simpsons stay on theme for the intentions of Carmen and further include some aspects of historical context to the opera. Bringing to life Bizet’s masterpiece centuries later further exemplifies the permanent and impactful nature of music and the message it conveys.
Carmen’s tale about a crime of passion involving love, jealousy, rivalry, betrayal and murder is thematically very modern. Modern audiences no longer reel from outrage at this story’s portrayal of loose morals, hot tempter, fiery passions, and raging jealousies because they often receive their daily share of Carmen’s violence in their newspapers and on television. Instead of living in fear of these aspects of verismé, it serves society better to highlight them in a positive and creative light, such as art forms like opera. By producing more pieces of popular culture that are able to educate on the opera and bring knowledge to new generations about an aspect of culture that is generations old would greatly benefit society.