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Carmen Suite No. 1 I. Aragonaise

from Winter 2018 by Redlands Community Orchestra

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Carmen Suite No. 1 (1882)
Prélude
Aragonaise
Intermezzo
Les Toréadors
Carmen Suite No. 2 (1887)
Habanera
Nocturne
Chanson du Toréador
Danse Bohème
Instrumentation: 2 flutes, piccolo,
2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets,
2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets,
3 trombones, tuba, timpani,
side drum, tambourine, triangle,
bass drum, cymbals, harp, and strings
Performance time 24 minutes
The World’s Most Popular Opera
Caarmen is considered one of the world’s most popular operas. There is something about this opera that puts it ahead of all others in its familiarity and fascination. It’s the opera we’ve all grown up with, the one whose melodies we’re most likely to hear in the schoolyard or as elevator music. Most of all, there is Carmen herself, opera’s most seductive temptress. Nobody—not even a lover—can tame her. Just like the titular character, the opera is an intoxicating whirl of thrilling choreography, vivid orchestrations, and heart-stopping drama; the allure is dangerous and yet, irresistible. The music is an endless parade of one great melody after the other, from the languid allure of a sensual song to the macho boasts of a dashing bullfighter.
Background
Georges Bizet was a French-born romantic composer. He was one of the youngest students ever admitted to the rigorous Paris Conservatoire. At 19 he was awarded the fabled Prix de Rome—the conservatoire’s highest award for composition. Considering the high expectations set so early for him in the musical circles of France, Bizet’s career, up until his masterpiece Carmen, had been something of a disappointment.
Creation
In 1873 writing partners Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac adapted the libretto of Prosper Mérimée’s 1845 novella Carmen. It was written in the opéra comique genre, which replaced the sung recitative with spoken dialog and got its name from the Parisian opera company in which Carmen premiered. Bizet began composing in the summer of that year and said of his commission, “the absolute certainty of having found my path.” Controversy erupted even before rehearsals began, and the opera was fraught with delays. Perhaps the Parisian opera house Opéra-Comique was the last venue to expect such shocking material, but a change was in the air by the name of Realism. By the time of its premiere on March 3, 1875, arguments were raging not only in the theater itself but also cafés around Paris.
What’s it About?
Set in southern Spain, Carmen tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier, with a troubled past, who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsy Carmen. Don José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties to pursue Carmen, yet loses her to the famous bullfighter Escamillo. Afterwards which Don José kills Carmen in a fit of jealous rage.
A Supposed Failure
The calamitous first-season failure of Carmen convinced Bizet, “I foresee a definite and hopeless flop.” Three months after the premiere, in the early hours of June 3, his wedding anniversary, Bizet suffered a fatal heart attack. He was just 36 years old. He could have never dreamed his wildly revolutionary opera would become one of the most popular and influential works in the history of music.
What to Listen For
We hear the heady fascination of the Iberian Peninsula’s sun and warmth in the explosive opening bars, which evoke the visceral excitement of the bullring in Seville. Almost immediately after we hear those smashing, cymbal-accented chords, we hear a second theme that takes Bizet’s drama to the source of Carmen’s preoccupation with fate. Against a foreboding background of tremolo strings, we hear a second, five-note “fate” theme, which evokes the fatal destiny that looms ever closer to this femme-fatale.

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from Winter 2018, released March 11, 2018
Georges Bizet

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Redlands Community Orchestra Redlands, California

The Redlands Community Orchestra is a brand new orchestra in Redlands, California, where amateur musicians of all ages can play orchestral music together. We are an independent community organization which seeks to share the joy of music-making with our members and our audience.

Our conductor is James Benanti, Director of Instrumental Music at Redlands High School.
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