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Georges Bizet

Georges Bizet (né Alexandre César Léopold Bizet; 25 October 1838 – 3 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, which has become one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertoire.

During a brilliant student career at the Conservatoire de Paris, Bizet won many prizes, including the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1857. He was recognised as an outstanding pianist, though he chose not to capitalise on this skill and rarely performed in public. Returning to Paris after almost three years in Italy, he found that the main Parisian opera theatres preferred the established classical repertoire to the works of newcomers. His keyboard and orchestral compositions were likewise largely ignored; as a result, his career stalled, and he earned his living mainly by arranging and transcribing the music of others. Restless for success, he began many theatrical projects during the 1860s, most of which were abandoned. Neither of his two operas that reached the stage in this time—Les pêcheurs de perles and La jolie fille de Perth—were immediately successful.

After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, during which Bizet served in the National Guard, he had little success with his one-act opera Djamileh, though an orchestral suite derived from his incidental music to Alphonse Daudet's play L'Arlésienne was instantly popular. The production of his final opera, Carmen, was delayed because of fears that its themes of betrayal and murder would offend audiences. After its premiere on 3 March 1875, Bizet was convinced that the work was a failure; he died of a heart attack three months later, unaware that it would prove a spectacular and enduring success.

Bizet's marriage to Geneviève Halévy was intermittently happy and produced one son. After his death, his work, apart from Carmen, was generally neglected. Manuscripts were given away or lost, and published versions of his works were frequently revised and adapted by other hands. He founded no school and had no obvious disciples or successors. After years of neglect, his works began to be performed more frequently in the 20th century. Later commentators have acclaimed him as a composer of brilliance and originality whose premature death was a significant loss to French musical theatre.

Birth and Death Data: Born October 25, 1838 (Rue Louise-Émilie-de-La-Tour-d'Auvergne), Died June 3, 1875 (Bougival)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1895 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 626-650 of 738 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Gramophone 2151f 12-in. December 1907 Habanera Maria Gay Mezzo-soprano, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 2354L 10-in. 1904 Scena delle carte Bianca Lavin de Casas Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Gramophone 2355c 12-in. 9/7/1911 Ich seh' die mutter dort Max Kuttner ; Gertrud Runge Vocal duet (soprano and tenor), with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 02366v 12-in. 3/13/1912 Romanza del fiore Artists vary Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 02379½v 12-in. 5/6/1912 Je t'aime encore Suzanne Brohly ; Léon Campagnola Vocal duet (mezzo-soprano and tenor), with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 02390v 12-in. 5/6/1912 C'est toi Suzanne Brohly ; Léon Campagnola Vocal duet (mezzo-soprano and tenor), with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 2736f 12-in. 11/25/1908 Cancion del toreador Titta Ruffo Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra and chorus composer  
Gramophone 3185c 12-in. 5/19/1917 Il fior che avevi Bernardo De Muro Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone HO3859af 12-in. 7/4/1919 Air de la fleur Fernand Ansseau Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 3881h 10-in. 1905 Habanera Guido Gialdini Whistling solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 4230L 10-in. Jan. 1906 Kvét onen z ruky tvé mi dàn Otakár Mařák Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone HO4414af 12-in. 5/29/1920 Siccome un dì caduto Graziella Pareto Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 5828h 10-in. 1908 Celle que vous aimez est ici Léon Beyle ; Hector Dufranne Vocal duet (tenor and baritone), with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 7293e 10-in. approximately Dec. 1907 Seguidilla Maria Gay Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 8000b 10-in. May 1906 Carmen : Overture Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Gramophone 8007b 10-in. May 1906 Temer non so per me Emilia Corsi Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 8121b 10-in. May 1906 Intermezzo, Atto 3 Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Gramophone 10383b 10-in. April 1907 Preludio, Atto iv Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Gramophone 10385b 10-in. Apr. 1907 Preludio Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Gramophone 10516b 10-in. May 1907 Toreador Francesco Cigada ; Josephina Huguet ; Ines Salvador Vocal trio (soprano, mezzo-soprano, and baritone), with chorus and orchestra composer  
Gramophone 10518b 10-in. May 1907 Se tu m’ami Francesco Cigada ; Ines Salvador Vocal duet (mezzo-soprano and baritone), with orchestra composer  
Gramophone 14211u 10-in. 12/23/1908 Agnus Dei Léon Beyle Tenor vocal solo, with chorus and orchestra composer  
Gramophone 16186u 10-in. 12/19/1910 Pastorale Orchestre symphonique du Gramophone Orchestra composer  
Gramophone 16187u 10-in. 12/19/1910 Pastorale Orchestre symphonique du Gramophone Orchestra composer  
Gramophone YY20712 10-in. December 1930 Carmen march Black Diamonds Band Band composer  
(Results 626-650 of 738 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bizet, Georges," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102559.

Bizet, Georges. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102559.

"Bizet, Georges." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102559

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