"Carmen," or how a fiasco became the most famous of French operas

Carmen tells the story of a gypsy woman from Seville, Spain, with multiple lovers who flouts laws and morality. A tragic opera from the mid-19th century that ends in bloodshed. Its creator, Georges Bizet, is a young French composer who had never set foot in Spain. Born to a pianist mother and a singing teacher father, he entered the conservatory at the age of nine and wrote his first symphony at 17.

Carmen was supposed to be his masterpiece, but nothing went as planned: the musicians didn't understand the music, the actors threatened to go on strike, and the singer chosen for the role of Carmen had a tumultuous relationship with the composer. For the main aria, she asked him to revise his copy no fewer than 13 times. Months of work that didn't prevent the premiere from being a real shock for the Parisian public. The opera was a flop, and it would take several years to become the success we know today.

Watch the full report in the video above