How to understand the Opera ?

Question

Hello,
I am about to go and watch the Opera Carmen ( Bizet) and would like to get some info before watching it ,...as to impress a little the friends I am going out with.
I tried to search the net for some valuable info on that opera, like the story behind it , the music..etc.. and I couldnt find much...
any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

Carmen (one of my favorite operas) is about this.....in today's hip terms....A floozy woman named Carmen who looks extremely sensual, looks good, but has a manipulative character. Everything is about her her her and her, and she plays men like lotto (which is basically what she says in her first big aria "Lamour est...."). Here comes this goody two shoes guy Don Jose in the army who later arrests Carmen for stabbing someone, but old gullible doofis falls in love with her. Another woman is in love with Don Jose, but he kicks her to the curb for Carmen. He gets in trouble later....well I am not going to ruin the end for you. But Carmen is a female pimp where her game backfires on her in the end. It is one of the most understandable operas around. And a little known fact. Although Carmen is one of the most famous operas in the world, it's debut was not good at all. It was basically called a trashy opera and critics dogged it. After Bizet died shortly afterward, people realized how genuis the opera was and brought it to popularity. Isn't that pitiful? Anyway, enjoy! It is a fun opera!

PS. Try wikipedia. They have everything. Also check out the Met or opera database websites. Trust me, info is out there about it.

Answer 2

OOO!!! This is the best opera to begin with!

It's set in Seville, a town in Spain. It begins with the soldiers singing "Sur le place chacun passe, chacun vient, chacun va." (very catchy) with basically means watching the people come and go. They sing this as Morales (a coporal) spots a girl (macaela) enter. She asks for Don Jose (another coporal) and Morales tells her that he won't be there until soldiers switch shifts. Micaela is very pretty and the soldiers tell her to stay, but she regects and leaves. Enter--the children "Avec la garde montante"... they sing, the soldiers switch shifts. don jose speaks with morales, they go to the cigarette factory, bleh. macaela comes back to see Don Jose with news from his mother. THIS IS THE BEST DUET EVER!!

Micaela tells hims he brought new from his mother and a little money. Plus a kiss from her, which she puts on his forehead. Etc. He gives a kiss to her to give to his mother. Says yes I will marry her etc etc

Micaela then leaves, carmen enters. Habenrna, she taunts the soldiers and throws a flower a Don Jose, which he picks up and puts in his shirt near his heart. He doesn't think twice of Carmen until a fight breaks out in the factory, and he is assigned to drag her to jail. He does, Carmen promises to dance for him if he will set h er free, he does, instead he is arrested for releasing her.

Act II
Carmen is dancing in a cavern for soldiers. When they leave Don Jose comes in (free from his sentence) and she makes him jealous and then dances for him. This part is really cool. She sings, but a bugle calls in the distance. Jose says I have to go, the military is dong a call, carmen says don't go etc etc. (Non tu ne m'aimais pas.) Pay attention here, for it is quite a cool duet. She gets angry, forces him out, he ends up staying however when someone else enters the room.

bah, too lazy to write out other four acts. Just google Carmen synopsis, Basically Carmen ends up falling in love with Escamillio (You know, his theme is the famous toreador song) and tells Don Jose (who deserted the army, left his micaela, AND sick mother for her) to leave. Which he doesn't. So at the Bull fight, just as emcamillio wins, he stabs her.

Note: Micaela's aria in the third act is very famous and one of the most beautiful in the opera. Listen for it.

Answer 3

If there isn't much information available via the web, then I doubt anyone on here is gonna be able to help you...sorry.