Carmen is a short story by French writer Prosper Merimee, and later became the theme of the famous opera Carmen.
The opera Carmen, a four-act opera. 1875 premiered at the Paris Opera House on March 3rd. The plot describes the beautiful and strong-willed gypsy girl Carmen who falls in love with Sergeant Holsey and makes her fall in love. Holsey therefore abandoned her original lover and left the army to join Carmen's smugglers. But then Carmen fell in love with the matador Escamilio. As a result, the contradiction between Halsey and Carmen became increasingly fierce. Finally, the stubborn Carmen flatly rejected Hawthorne's love and finally died by Hawthorne's sword. This is an opera famous for its chorus.
The opera Carmen has become the most popular and frequently performed work in all opera houses. It has also been adapted into ballets and musicals and spread to thousands of households through film and television. The famous passages in the opera, including the provocative dance of Habanella and Segidia, Song of the Matador, and the overtures of the first and fourth acts, are well known.
However, Carmen of 1875 was a failure. One critic thought the band's performance was "a mess"; Another commented that music lacks "innovation and individuality".
For modern people, Paris critics wantonly belittle this opera with beautiful melody, excellent orchestration and amazing creativity, which shows their ignorance and malice. But the critics at that time only expressed a broad view: the upper class in Paris could not tolerate the theme of this opera.
Today, Carmen has not only won the reputation of critics, but also been welcomed by the public, becoming one of several operas comparable to Mozart's works in the19th century.
On Guan Yu and the opera Carmen;
The opera Carmen is Bizet's masterpiece in opera art, and it is still the highest performing drama in the world!
Carmen's famous aria "Love is a Free Bird": At the beginning of the plot, sexy Carmen slowly appeared, and a large group of handsome guys immediately courted Carmen. Carmen winked at the sentry Don Hauser, but she stared at him, so she followed the rhythm of Habanella to seduce Don Hauser and show her love. The lyrics are full of Carmen's self-expression of love.
synopsis
Act I Seville City Square
On the left side of the square, cavalry are stationed in the barracks. Near noon, a group of officers and men are bored looking at the crowds coming and going in the square. Suddenly, a little girl with a slightly flustered look appeared in the crowd. She is from Mikaela, a rural area, and went to the city to find her fiance who is a corporal in the cavalry. Under the inquiry of cavalry soldiers, she realized that she was looking for Tang, but she was still standing guard at this time and left under the excuse of avoiding other cavalry officers and soldiers.
Not long after, the footsteps of the guards led back to the camp by Hesse came in the distance, and the children in the square flocked to imitate the cavalry marching (the song of soldiers). During the shift change, a sergeant told Hesse that a woman had just visited him and gave a general description of each other's appearance. Hearing this voice, Hesse knew that this was Mikaela, his fiancee from his hometown, and was waiting for Mikaela to visit again. At this time, it was nearly noon, and the lunch bell of the tobacco factory opposite the square rang. A group of factory women rushed out, holding a cigarette, and went to the square to date their lovers (factory women sang: smoke floating into the sky). Suddenly a group of people asked, "Where is Carmen? Immediately, Carmen entered the stadium with great fanfare, only to see men around Carmen, wanting to see her charming style, but Carmen was only interested in Hesse, who sat there quietly and absorbed in his work. She sang intentionally or unintentionally: "Love is like a bird that is difficult to tame, and it is also like a wild gypsy child. Lang didn't mean it, but his sister did. If you don't love me but I love you, then you must. ""(Habanella).
After the song was finished, Hesse still didn't look at Carmen, so Carmen took the initiative to strike up a conversation and took out a red flower from her chest and threw it at Hesse. In the sound of people making fun of Hershey, Carmen left like a whirlwind, leaving only matches in the small shock brought by Carmen's loss. Suddenly, a soft voice came from behind Hesse. Looking back, it was Mikaela! She brought Hesse's mother's greetings and a letter. While feeling the warmth of family, Hesse seems to see her beautiful hometown and kind mother again, and acquiesces in her heart that she will marry Mikaela (duet: greetings from her mother). Mikaela was shy for a while and said that she would go to the street to buy something, and then she would come back to get Hesse's letter to her mother.
Shortly after Mikaela left, there were screams and fights in the cigarette factory. Carmen had an argument with another female worker and got into a fight. The other female workers supported each other and blamed each other. The cavalry captain Zunica assigned hershey to investigate in the factory and arrested Carmen. The chaos finally came to an end, and then the crowd dispersed, leaving only Carmen and hershey in the square. Carmen lured hershey to let her go, and went to the pub near the city wall to drink and have fun with her (Sejidila dance); Hesse originally refused, but after all, he couldn't resist Carmen's magical attraction, so he untied the rope that bound Carmen's hands, and Carmen colluded with Hesse. On the way to escort her to prison, she will unexpectedly knock down Hayes and run away. Hauser, who has been deeply puzzled, actually agreed to Carmen's request, and such a naive idea will of course pay a price; Finally, hershey was demoted by captain Zunika and ordered to be taken into custody.
Act II The tavern by the wall in Seville
Carmen and her two female companions-Frascata and Mercedes-danced to the passionate gypsy dance music in a dim pub where drinkers, smugglers and gypsies were mixed. Just as the hotel owner announced that it was closing time and everyone was ready to leave, another group of people poured in outside. It turned out that the matador Ace Camiro came to the hotel to celebrate a little under the crowd. The drinkers who were ready to leave stayed to see the true face of the famous Ace Camiro. Ace Camiro sang the famous Song of the Bullfighter to thank everyone for their support and described the tension and excitement in the bullring. Finally, Ace Camiro noticed Carmen sitting on the side. He originally wanted to pay attention to this charming gypsy woman, but Carmen replied, "It is impossible to fall in love with you now." But there is still hope for Ace Camiro to leave.
Finally, everyone dispersed and two smuggling leaders-Dan Kailuo and Ramendado-appeared. They claim to have a good life to do, but they need the help of ladies; On the other hand, Carmen said that she is immersed in love now, and work is the second priority for her. The two smuggling leaders and Carmen's two female companions were surprised and urged her to think clearly (quintet: there are good deals to be made). At this time, there was a loud song in the distance. Carmen ran to the window and saw that it was her "now" sweetheart Don! Carmen loves her by dancing for the sacrifice made by the big Sheikh for her; What a coincidence, I was intoxicated by Carmen's graceful dance in Hesse.
At the same time, the horn of the troops returning to camp sounded in the distance. Although Hesse was reluctant to part with Carmen, he took care of his military position and honor and reluctantly left, which made Carmen very unhappy. So Hesse took out the little flower that Carmen had thrown to him before, and now it has changed from red to yellow to prove his love for Carmen. Hayes told Carmen that when he was in prison, he looked at the flower every day and missed Carmen. Carmen turned from anger to joy after hearing this. She wants hershey to go to the mountains with her to live a gypsy life and fully enjoy her freedom. Originally, Hesse almost fell into Carmen's moving temptation again, but suddenly it occurred to him that he had military duties and could not wander around with Carmen. Just as Hesse was about to leave, the cavalry captain Zunika suddenly appeared! It turned out that he also admired Carmen, because he couldn't take it easy and came back to chat with Carmen, only to find Hesse, who had just been released from prison, present. Zunica ordered Hesse to return to the camp in real time in a tone of "stay above", and there was a fierce battle between them. When Carmen saw this, she shouted for help. As a result, a large group of accomplices controlled Zunica. At this point, Hesse is riding a tiger, so he has to live a gypsy wandering life with Carmen who takes heaven and earth as his home.
The barren hills and valleys at night
With the music played by flute and harp, the scene moved to the barren hills and valleys at night. Carrying heavy luggage, the smuggling team slowly climbed up the hillside (smugglers chorus). After the rest of the group, Hesse went to Carmen and tried to reconcile with Carmen, but Carmen replied coldly that she didn't love Hesse as much as before, and she asked Hesse to take care of herself. Then Carmen and her companions picked up cards and played fortune-telling games. Unexpectedly, there is another symbol of "death" (the orchestra plays "Destiny Theme"): "I die first, then he (hose)! Although Carmen feels helpless, she has to accept it, because the card is honest and won't lie (Card Trio).
After the rest of the smuggling team, they went down the mountain to trade, leaving only one person in the camp. At this time, Mikaela appeared under the guidance of a mountaineering guide. The purpose of her trip is to find Hesse who has been completely fascinated by Carmen and persuade him to go home as soon as possible. After the guide left, Mikaela was alone in a deserted field, and she prayed to God to help her accomplish her mission (aria: I am fearless). When Mikaela found Hesse's figure, she was about to open her mouth to shout Hesse, only to see Hesse pick up a gun and aim at a specific target. It turned out that another visitor came on stage at this time. The visitor is the bullfighter Ace Camiro, who went up the mountain to find his beloved woman-Carmen.
He was jealous when he saw his rival in love. There was a fierce fight between the two men, and he was pulled away by the smugglers who came back. Before leaving, Escamilo politely invited everyone to visit his upcoming bullfighting performance in Seville, and then went down the mountain singing the tune of the matador's song. By this time Carmen's heart was completely captured by Escamilo, and Hesse was even more angry when he saw it!
Just as the smuggling team was about to start again, someone found a figure behind the big stone. He said, "Yes, it's Mikaela!" ! Mikaela told Hesse that his mother was very ill and would die soon, and asked him to go home as soon as possible. Although Hesse was unwilling, he left a message to Carmen before leaving: "We will meet again one day! 」
Act IV Seville Bullfighting Square
On the day of the bullfight performance, the square was crowded with people, and vendors, gamblers and spectators gathered together, waiting for the performance to begin. Then, under the cheers of everyone, Ace Camiro appeared (The Matador March); He confided his love to Carmen and hoped to dedicate his glory in the bullfight performance to Carmen. At this time, Frasketta and Mercedes found that Hesse was also mixed in the crowd. They reminded Carmen to be extra careful, but Carmen didn't care and walked out of the bullring to make it clear to Hesse. At this point, Hesse has been down and out. He gave up his military career and family for Carmen. He asked Carmen to read a past relationship and change her mind, but Carmen was unmoved, indicating that she no longer loved Hesse. At this time, cheers rang out in the bullring, and Carmen heard that she was going to turn around and enter the arena. Hesse blocked Carmen's way with an arrow. He forced Carmen to ask twice if she still loved the matador Ace Camiro, but Carmen was totally resistant to Hesse's threat and returned the ring that Hesse had given her earlier. In a rage, Hesse took a short knife and stabbed Carmen in the chest. After the clever bullfighting performance, everyone dispersed, only to see Carmen lying in a pool of blood, Hesse lying on Carmen crying! (The curtain falls)