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George Bizet composed his opera Carmen following the old tradition of setting operas in Spain. It opened in 1875 at the Opera Comique in Paris. The story-line is more complicated than Prosper Merimée's novel; more characters were added and stereotypes exaggerated by the libbrétists Meilhac and Halevy. Carmen was a public enemy, a threat to law and order, conjuring revolutionary ghosts, and inevitably had to die in the end. The play was not a success initially. Nevertheless, Carmen would soon become one of the most popular opera's of all time as testified by the numerous versions and resurrections of Carmen, on stage, on screen, and even on ice. |