Crying for "Carmen"
As the masterpiece of the musical genius Bizet, the premiere of the opera "Carmen" will definitely not be considered a success. Maybe it was because the overly strong rhythm was difficult to accept, or maybe the audience thought the work was not elegant enough. During the performance, the audience left one after another, and the whole theater was noisy. After that, people who continued to escape continued to flow down the slope like a landslide or mudslide. , the performance had to end hastily. Bizet's frail body could not withstand such stimulation. He died three months later at the age of only 37. After Bizet's death, the Paris Opéra Comique stopped performing this work, but this could not prevent the success of "Carmen". In the following three months, it was performed continuously in Vienna, Brussels, London and New York. Five years later, it returned to the Paris stage. This time, "Carmen" was enthusiastically welcomed by the audience. Just as Tchaikovsky predicted in 1880: ""Carmen" will become the most popular opera in the world in 10 years." Now, "Carmen" has become one of the most popular works in the world.
"Carmen" is a love tragedy. From the perspective of tune, "Carmen" has a rigorous form, fresh melody and bright colors, which fully demonstrates Bizet's creative talent. The music in the opera is full of life, the melodies are rich and beautiful, the characters in the play are portrayed in detail, and the harmonies are novel and bold. In terms of musical rhythm, "Carmen" emphasizes the contrast and intensity of plot development, making it vivid, flexible and full of brilliance. It can be said that Bizet established his unique style with "Carmen". In this work, Bizet's orchestration skills and musical structure began to receive people's attention. The exotic harmonies and bold orchestration won him a reputation. The superb piano performance techniques and score he used in it His reading ability shocked the famous pianist and composer Liszt at that time.
In a sense, "Carmen" is a tragedy. This tragic meaning stems not only from the death of the heroine Carmen, but also from the disastrous failure of "Carmen"'s first performance, and even more from "Carmen" "Death of Bizet, author. Because even if people can appreciate his "Carmen", they can't save the life of a genius. From the day "Carmen" was created, it was destined to be a tragedy, a tragedy that can never be resolved. However, this tragedy is the most beautiful in the world, and its desolate love cannot conceal its inner beauty. "Carmen" strives to stage the most beautiful, charming, and majestic touching scenes for us.
The music of "Carmen" is even more widely known. Among them, the "Carmen Suite", composed of famous music such as "Carmen Overture", "Song of the Matador", and "Habanera", is Word of mouth spreads. The most famous soprano singer of the 20th century, Maria Callas, specially recorded the opera "Carmen" in the 1960s. Someone once asked Callas: "In your opinion, Carmen is a bad woman?" Callas replied: "Of course not, she is a gypsy. She believes that an individual's destiny is destined in a previous life and cannot be changed. The only thing in Carmen's life is The moral standard is to never do anything against your will." Perhaps it is this persistent pursuit of individuality that infects thousands of viewers and makes them cry for Carmen.
(Lin Xue)