Georges Bizet

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Biography

Born: 1838   Died: 1875   Country: France   Period: Romantic
Known for one of the world's most popular operas, Carmen, Georges Bizet deserves attention as well for other works of remarkable melodic charm. Many of his works received cool receptions on their premieres but are now considered central to the repertory of classical music.

Bizet was born in Paris on October 25, 1838, and grew up in a happy, musical family that encouraged his talents. He learned to read music at the same time he learned to Read more read letters, and equally well. Entering the Paris Conservatory before he was ten, he earned first prize in solfčge within six months, a first prize in piano in 1852, and eventually, the coveted Prix de Rome in 1857 for his cantata Clovis et Clotilde. His teachers had included Marmontel for piano and Halévy for composition, but the greatest influence on him was Charles Gounod, of whom Bizet later said "You were the beginning of my life as an artist." Bizet himself hid away his Symphony in C, written when he was 17, feeling it was too much like its models, Gounod's symphonies. The two years spent in Rome after winning his prize, would be the only extensive time, and a greatly impressionable one, that Bizet would spend outside of Paris in his brief life. When he returned to Paris, he lost confidence in his natural talents and began to substitute dry Germanic or academic writing for his own developing idiom. He composed a one-act opera for production at the Opéra-Comique, but the theater's director engaged him to write a full-length opera instead, Les pęcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers). It was not a success at the time, but despite a few weaknesses, the work was revived in 1886, and its sheer beauty has earned it a respected position among the lesser-played operatic repertory. In 1863 Bizet's father bought land outside Paris where he built two bungalows, one of which Bizet frequently used as a compositional retreat. He began a friendship (apparently not a physical one) with a neighbor-woman named Céleste Mogador, a former actress, author, courtesan, circus rider, and dance-hall girl. She is said to have been the model for his masterpiece's title role of Carmen. Bizet earned his living as an accompanist and publishing house arranger. Meanwhile, he poured his creative efforts into an immense five-act opera in the grand tradition, Ivan IV, but it was never performed. This proved to be a pattern for the rest of his career. Bizet would work hard to get an opera produced, and even if he did, it would usually receive only a handful of performances. Bizet's corpus of unfinished works is large, and testifies to his unsettled existence and his difficulty in finding a place in France's notoriously hierarchical and conservative musical world. In 1869 Bizet married Genevičve Halévy, daughter of his teacher. The marriage did not turn out to be a happy one, primarily due to her family's history of mental illness. In 1872, Bizet's splendid incidental music for the play L'arlčsienne was poorly received, but when the composer assembled the music into an orchestral suite for a November performance, it found great acclaim. At last confident of his creative vision, Bizet was able to steer his final masterpiece through various obstacles, including the objections of singers and theater directors who were shocked by Carmen's subject matter. When the opera had its premiere on March 3, 1875, it was received barely well enough to hang on for future productions. Although it took audiences only a few weeks to catch on, Bizet died convinced it was a failure. Read less

Featured Georges Bizet CDs & DVDs:

Callas Edition - Bizet: Carmen / Prętre, Guiot, Gedda, Et Al
Callas Edition - Bizet: Carmen / Prętre, Guiot, Gedda, Et Al
Release Date: 08/19/1997   Label: Emi Classics  
Catalog: 56281   Number of Discs: 2
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Bizet: Carmen / Karajan, Baltsa, Carreras, Van Dam Et Al
Bizet: Carmen / Karajan, Baltsa, Carreras, Van Dam Et Al
Release Date: 11/17/1983   Label: Deutsche Grammophon  
Catalog: 410088   Number of Discs: 3
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La Belle Époche - Bizet, Lehar, Verdi / Maurice André
La Belle Époche - Bizet, Lehar, Verdi / Maurice André
Release Date: 09/07/1993   Label: Erato  
Catalog: 92126   Number of Discs: 1
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Bizet: Carmen / Sinopoli, Larmore, Gheorghiu, Moser, Ramey
Bizet: Carmen / Sinopoli, Larmore, Gheorghiu, Moser, Ramey
Release Date: 09/03/1996   Label: Teldec  
Catalog: 12672   Number of Discs: 3
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Bizet: Carmen - Highlights / Lombard, Crespin, Py, Van Dam
Bizet: Carmen - Highlights / Lombard, Crespin, Py, Van Dam
Release Date: 09/03/1996   Label: Erato  
Catalog: 13801   Number of Discs: 1
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Work: Carmen: Toreador Song

Browse 101-125 of 134 Available Recordings
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  • 101.
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Andrej Ivanov
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Andrej Ivanov
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 89067 Release Date: 07/03/1998   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Anton Rubinstein,  Gioachino Rossini,  Richard Wagner  ... 
    Performer:  Andrei Ivanov,  Irina Maslennikova
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  • 102.
    Callas Edition - Bizet: Carmen Highlights / Prętre, Paris
    Callas Edition - Bizet: Carmen Highlights / Prętre, Paris
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 66663 Release Date: 06/02/1998   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Georges Bizet
    Performer:  Nicolai Gedda,  Maria Callas,  Andréa Guiot,  Nadine Sautereau  ... 
    Conductor:  Georges Prętre
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Paris Opera Orchestra,  René Duclos Chorus,  Jean Pesneaud Children's Choir
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  • 103.
    Bizet: Carmen - Highlights / Solti, Troyanos, Domingo, Et Al
    Bizet: Carmen - Highlights / Solti, Troyanos, Domingo, Et Al
    Label: London/Decca Opera Gala Series   Catalog: 458204 Release Date: 05/12/1998   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Georges Bizet
    Performer:  Placido Domingo,  Tatiana Troyanos,  Dame Kiri Te Kanawa,  Jane Berbié  ... 
    Conductor:  Sir Georg Solti
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  John Alldis Choir,  London Philharmonic Orchestra,  Haberdashers' Aske's School Boys Choir
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  • 104.
    Maurice Renaud - Complete Gramophone Recordings 1901-1908
    Maurice Renaud - Complete Gramophone Recordings 1901-1908
    Label: Marston   Catalog: 52005 Release Date: 12/09/1997   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Gioachino Rossini,  Ernest Reyer,  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,  Jules Massenet  ... 
    Performer:  Maurice Renaud
    Conductor:  Alfred Fock
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Orchestra
    CD: $36.99
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  • 105.
    The Only Opera Cd You'll Ever Need
    The Only Opera Cd You'll Ever Need
    Label: Rca   Catalog: 68823 Release Date: 10/14/1997   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Engelbert Humperdinck,  Gioachino Rossini,  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Richard Wagner  ... 
    Performer:  Anna Moffo,  Helen Donath,  Roberta Peters,  Robert Merrill  ... 
    Conductor:  Kurt Eichhorn,  Erich Leinsdorf,  Lorin Maazel,  Eugene Ormandy  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra,  Metropolitan Opera Orchestra,  Orchestra  ... 
    CD: $3.99
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  • 106.
    Greatest Opera Show On Earth
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 4581182 Release Date: 08/11/1997   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Georges Bizet,  Giuseppe Verdi,  Giacomo Puccini,  Léo Delibes  ... 
    Performer:  Bryn Terfel,  Tatiana Troyanos,  Renata Tebaldi,  Dame Kiri Te Kanawa  ... 
    Conductor:  Sir Georg Solti,  Richard Bonynge,  Herbert von Karajan,  Alberto Erede  ... 
    CD: $14.99
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  • 107.
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Joel Berglund
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Joel Berglund
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 89151 Release Date: 07/15/1997   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Modest Mussorgsky,  Johan August Söderman,  Andreas Hallén,  Georges Bizet  ... 
    Performer:  Joel Berglund
    Conductor:  Nils Grevillius,  Leo Blech
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra,  Orchestra
    CD: $18.99
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  • 108.
    25 Opera Favorites
    25 Opera Favorites
    Label: Vox Cameo Classics   Catalog: 8838 Release Date: 07/01/1997   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Pietro Mascagni,  Giacomo Puccini,  George Frideric Handel  ... 
    Performer:  John Oakman,  Elvira Cirje-Druica,  Eugenia Moldoveanu,  Ludovic Spiess  ... 
    Conductor:  Julian Bigg,  Mircea Popa,  Constantin Petrovici,  Rudolph Palmer  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Czech Symphony Orchestra,  Romanian Opera Chorus of Bucharest,  Romanian Opera Orchestra of Bucharest  ... 
    CD: $4.99
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  • 109.
    Stanford Archive Series / Lawrence Tibbet
    Stanford Archive Series / Lawrence Tibbet
    Label: Delos   Catalog: 5500 Release Date: 05/20/1997   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Richard Wagner,  Georges Bizet
    Performer:  Lawrence Tibbett,  Giordano Paltrinieri
    Conductor:  Artur Bodanzky
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Orchestra
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  • 110.
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Leonard Warren
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Leonard Warren
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 89145 Release Date: 04/22/1997   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Gioachino Rossini,  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Georges Bizet,  Jacques Offenbach  ... 
    Performer:  Leonard Warren,  Jan Peerce
    Conductor:  William Tarrasch,  Frieder Weissmann,  Wilfrid Pelletier,  Jean Paul Morel
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra,  Robert Shaw Chorale
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  • 111.
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Wilhelm Rode
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Wilhelm Rode
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 89137 Release Date: 01/21/1997   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Richard Wagner,  Giacomo Puccini,  Georges Bizet,  Giuseppe Verdi  ... 
    Performer:  Wilhelm Rode,  Eva Hadrabova
    Conductor:  Selmar Meyrowitz,  Carl Besl,  Hermann Weigert
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin City Opera Orchestra,  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,  Berlin State Opera Orchestra
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  • 112.
    Bizet: Carmen - Highlights / Lombard, Crespin, Py, Van Dam
    Bizet: Carmen - Highlights / Lombard, Crespin, Py, Van Dam
    Label: Erato   Catalog: 13801 Release Date: 09/03/1996   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Georges Bizet
    Performer:  Gilbert Py,  Régine Crespin,  Nadine Denize,  José Van Dam  ... 
    Conductor:  Alain Lombard
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Rhine Opera Chorus,  Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra,  St. Maurice Children's Chorus
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  • 113.
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Hans Reinmar
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Hans Reinmar
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 89112 Release Date: 02/20/1996   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Engelbert Humperdinck,  Franz Wilhelm Abt,  Viktor Nessler,  Heinrich Marschner  ... 
    Performer:  Hans Reinmar
    Conductor:  Wilhelm Franz Reuss,  Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt,  Hermann Weigert,  Frieder Weissmann  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,  Berlin State Opera Orchestra,  Berlin City Opera Orchestra
    CD: $18.99
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  • 114.
    Leonard Warren - His First Recordings
    Leonard Warren - His First Recordings
    Label: Vai Audio   Catalog: 1017 Release Date: 11/06/1995   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Georges Bizet,  Giuseppe Verdi
    Performer:  Leonard Warren,  Rose Bampton,  Lucielle Browning,  Jean Dickenson  ... 
    Conductor:  Wilfrid Pelletier
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Chorus
    On sale! $16.98
    CD: $14.99
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  • 115.
    The Best Of Opera Vol 1
    The Best Of Opera Vol 1
    Label: Naxos   Catalog: 8553166 Release Date: 06/27/1995   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Giacomo Puccini,  Georges Bizet,  Giuseppe Verdi  ... 
    Performer:  Nicola Martinucci,  Luba Orgonasova,  Alan Titus,  Jozef Spacek  ... 
    Conductor:  Alexander Rahbari,  Will Humburg,  Oliver Dohnányi,  Michael Halász  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava,  Czecho-Slovak Radio Orchestra,  Bratislava Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra  ... 
    CD: $9.99
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  • 116.
    The Canadian Brass - Bolero And Other Classical Blockbusters
    The Canadian Brass - Bolero And Other Classical Blockbusters
    Label: Rca   Catalog: 68109 Release Date: 06/13/1995   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Peter Christian Lutkin,  Malcolm Forsyth,  Arthur Sullivan  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Canadian Brass
    CD: $8.99
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  • 117.
    Opera's Greatest Drinking Songs
    Opera's Greatest Drinking Songs
    Label: Rca Victor Red Seal   Catalog: 68095 Release Date: 04/11/1995   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Carl Maria von Weber,  Johann Strauss Jr.,  Bedrich Smetana,  Giuseppe Verdi  ... 
    Performer:  Kurt Rydl,  Peter Seiffert,  Walter Berry,  René Kollo  ... 
    Conductor:  Marek Janowski,  Jaroslav Krombholc,  James Levine,  Werner Schmidt-Bölke  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra,  Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra,  Bavarian Radio Chorus  ... 
    CD: $8.99
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  • 118.
    Heinrich Schlusnus - Arien Und Szenen
    Heinrich Schlusnus - Arien Und Szenen
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 89212 Release Date: 02/28/1995   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Giuseppe Verdi,  Gioachino Rossini,  Albert Lortzing  ... 
    Performer:  Heinrich Schlusnus,  Erna Berger
    Conductor:  Alois Melichar,  Leo Blech,  Manfred Gurlitt,  Arthur Rother  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin State Opera Orchestra
    CD: $39.99
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  • 119.
    Hans Hotter In Frühen Aufnahmen
    Hans Hotter In Frühen Aufnahmen
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 90200 Release Date: 02/07/1995   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Heinrich Marschner,  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Georges Bizet,  Giuseppe Verdi  ... 
    Performer:  Hans Hotter,  Hilde Scheppan
    Conductor:  Arthur Rother,  Hans Weisbach,  Heinrich Hollreiser,  Robert Heger
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra,  Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra,  Bavarian State Orchestra  ... 
    CD: $18.99
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  • 120.
    Immortal Voices Of The Vienna Opera
    Immortal Voices Of The Vienna Opera
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 89999 Release Date: 02/07/1995   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Richard Wagner,  Giuseppe Verdi,  Richard Strauss  ... 
    Performer:  Leo Slezak,  Hilde Konetzni,  Hans Hermann Nissen,  Franz Völker  ... 
    Conductor:  Manfred Gurlitt,  Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt,  Bruno Seidler-Winkler,  Franz Alfred Schmidt  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Orchestra
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  • 121.
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Carlo Tagliabue
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Carlo Tagliabue
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 89015 Release Date: 02/07/1995   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Gioachino Rossini,  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Richard Wagner,  Giuseppe Verdi  ... 
    Performer:  Carlo Tagliabue
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  • 122.
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Heinrich Schlusnus
    Lebendige Vergangenheit - Heinrich Schlusnus
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 89006 Release Date: 02/07/1995   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Richard Wagner,  Giuseppe Verdi  ... 
    Performer:  Heinrich Schlusnus
    Conductor:  Alois Melichar,  Leo Blech,  Johannes Schüler,  Gerhard Steeger
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin State Opera Orchestra
    CD: $18.99
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  • 123.
    Unvergessene Stimmen Der Wiener Staatsoper
    Unvergessene Stimmen Der Wiener Staatsoper
    Label: Preiser Records   Catalog: 89401 Release Date: 02/07/1995   Number of Discs: 4
    Composer:  Carl Maria von Weber,  Richard Strauss,  Richard Wagner,  Giuseppe Verdi  ... 
    Performer:  Hilde Konetzni,  Elisabeth Höngen,  Esther Réthy,  Set Svanholm  ... 
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  • 124.
    Basic 100 Vol 52 - Bizet: Carmen Highlights / Karajan, Et Al
    Basic 100 Vol 52 - Bizet: Carmen Highlights / Karajan, Et Al
    Label: Rca   Catalog: 68021 Release Date: 11/08/1994   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Georges Bizet
    Performer:  Franco Corelli,  Mirella Freni,  Leontyne Price,  Robert Merrill
    Conductor:  Herbert von Karajan
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,  Vienna Philharmonic Chorus
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  • 125.
    The Harold Wayne Collection Vol 12
    The Harold Wayne Collection Vol 12
    Label: Symposium   Catalog: 1112 Release Date: 10/24/1994   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Gioachino Rossini,  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Carl Zeller,  Traditional  ... 
    Performer:  Catherine Mastio,  Alexander Davidov,  Nikolai Seversky,  Rosalia Chalia  ... 
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