Georges Bizet won early success as a composer and initially as a pianist. His later career in Paris was more variable, and a number of stage works remained unfinished at the time of his early death, which took place as his most famous opera, Carmen, was enjoying increasing favour.

Stage Works

Bizet’s last opera, Carmen, is among the most famous of all operas, with its realistic Spanish setting and strongly dramatic story. Concert audiences are familiar with two concert suites drawn from the opera. His melodrama L’Arlésienne, a collaboration with the writer Alphonse Daudet, was coolly received in the theatre. The two suites from the work are well known, the second arranged by Bizet’s friend Ernest Guiraud. His f...