Georges Bizet: Carmen (Cambridge Opera Handbooks)

Extremely helpful as part of my research for my graduate thesis.

This was delivered quickly and I am very pleased with the quality of the book. It is exactly what I wanted.

many audiences when viewing Carmen in various art forms(movies, TV,plays,opera) and in various settings. In order to understand what Bizet's Carmen was all about, we need to read and understand France's history toward its southern neighbors and the metropoles as well as its superiority and contempt the country have toward them, which continues today.Carmen has been called many things by many people. She's been called animalistic, loose woman, tramp, predator as well as worse things that I wouldn't say, read, or print.As for gender, French society in the 19th century experienced an upheaval in which women fought equal rights for themselves. That threatened middle class French men, who are already threatened by the demands of the working and lower classes who only wanted to better themselves and to participate in French political and social life just like their upper class counterparts.Also, the influx of immigrants to France also upset many of its inhabitants, then and now.Carmen exemplifies all the social disorders French society wants to control through repressive laws and customs during the course of the nineteenth century.When the opera first premiered in 1875, it was denounced as immoral and superficial, not fit for women and families attending the opera. However, as decaded gone by, many people are attracted to the play and some artists were influenced by it. John Singer Sargent was one such person. His Spanish and flamenco paintings were partially influenced by the plain. "Carmela Bertagna", "El Jaleo", and "The Spanish Dance" are such examples.Also, Carmen exudes strong sensuality, which was a no-no in French bourgeois society, which tried to assert itself by being the arbiter of morality. Case in point: The outrage over Manet's painting of a courtesan in 1865. Carmen elicit the same outrage in 1875 because of her strong sensuality and assertiveness. Even today, the double standard is still in operation, punishing women for being agressive, while praising the same in men.