Macdonald Hugh J. Bizet

Oxford University Press, 2014. — 321 p.: musical examples: tables — (The master musicians).Today Georges Bizet is most immediately recognized as the composer of the acclaimed opera Carmen. One of the most frequently performed operas for over a century, Carmen explores concepts such as the femme fatale and murderous jealousy with vivacity, color, and a wealth of melody. Yet it is only one act in Bizet's story. In Bizet, renowned musicologist Hugh Macdonald goes beyond the composer's most famous opera to take an in-depth look at his entire life and oeuvre. In so doing, Macdonald identifies a number of previously unknown pieces by Bizet, assembling the first comprehensive catalogue of the composer's work.Incorporating these little-known pieces with a thorough reading of primary sources, Macdonald considers the latest in Bizet scholarship to create a complete biography of the composer. Revealing the true extent of Bizet's work as arranger and transcriber, Macdonald sheds light on the composer's complex relationships with his contemporaries, and traces the strange misrepresentation of Bizet's work by French publishers and opera houses in the 1880s, when Carmen rose to worldwide popularity ten years after the composer's early death. The first biography of Bizet in the Master Musicians series in nearly four decades, Bizet will be essential reading for students and scholars of nineteenth-century opera, as well as for Carmen devotees and opera fans.1838-1857: Le Docteur Miracle
1858-1860: Don Procopio
1860-1863: Les Pêcheurs de perles
1864-1865: Ivan IV
1866-1867: La Jolie Fille de Perth
1868-1870: La Coupe du Roi de Thulé
1870-1872: Djamileh
1872-1873: Don Rodrigue
1873-1875: Carmen
1875-2014: Life after death
Appendices: Calendar
List of works
Personalia