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Grave of Georges Bizet

Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875) - Find A Grave Memorial Composer. He wrote "Carmen" (1875), one of the best-loved operas of all time. Set among the gypsies and bullfighters of Spain, it is a violent, colorful tale of love and jealousy between an amoral gypsy woman and a weak-willed soldier. Many of the opera's melodies are almost as familiar as pop songs. They include the rousing "Prelude", the arias "Habanera", "The Toreador's Song", "Seguidilla", "The Flower Song", and "The Card Song", and the choral number "March of the Street Urchins". Early critics were shocked by the earthy naturalism of "Carmen", which was new to the operatic stage of the time. But the effectiveness of Bizet's music, with its irresistible tunes and exciting rhythms, conquered all objections and remains undiminished today. Alexandre-Cesar-Leopold Bizet was born in Paris, into a musical family. He was given the name Georges at his baptism in 1840. A child prodigy, he entered the Paris Conservatory at age nine and distinguished himself as a brilliant pianist; his playing would later be praised by Franz Liszt, among others. While still a student he composed his well-known Symphony in C (1855), though he dismissed it as a mere exercise and it was not performed until 1935. He won the Conservatory's top award, the Prix de Rome, in 1857. After three years of post-graduate study in Italy, he returned to Paris in 1860 and sought his fortune as an opera composer. Bizet was an impulsive man, sensitive to criticism and rather bohemian in his lifestyle. He started many stage projects but completed only a few, and most of his career was spent in obscurity. His first important opera, "The Pearl Fishers" (1863), was poorly received, as was his next, "The Young Girl of Perth" (1867). When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870 Bizet joined the National Guard, even though his Prix de Rome status exempted him from military service.

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